Drillers Rally to Record Their Sixth Straight Win

Tulsa OK – Outfielders Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope are considered to be the top two prospects in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system, and the duo has played a key role in the successful start to the season for the Tulsa Drillers.

Tuesday afternoon, the Drillers continued their winning ways with a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the Arkansas Travelers at ONEOK Field, and De Paula and Hope were both involved in a two-run eighth inning that provided the win.

De Paula doubled in the inning and Hope delivered what proved to be the game-winning RBI with a run-scoring single.

The win upped the Drillers winning streak to six straight games and improved their season record to 8-2.

BOXSCORE

For much of the afternoon, it appeared as if no comeback would be necessary after the Drillers took an initial lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Kyle Nevin led off the rally when he singled for just the second hit of the game. Nevin stole second base and eventually scored their first run of the game on a wild pitch.

Joe Vetrano walked on the wild pitch, and he also successfully swiped second. From there, he scored on a base hit by Griffin Lockwood-Powell, giving Tulsa a 2-0 lead.

Drillers starting pitcher Luke Fox was outstanding in his third start of the season. The lefthander did not allow a hit until Blake Rumbusch singled sharply on the first pitch of the sixth inning. After the hit, Fox got pair of outs in the sixth before departing the game. Another lefthander, Evan Shaw was summoned from the bullpen and recorded the final out in of the inning.

Tulsa’s third straight lefty, Maddux Bruns, took over for Shaw to open the seventh, and the Travelers ended the shutout. Lazaro Montes greeted Bruns with a leadoff single, and Caleb Cali followed with a walk. Jared Sundstrom replaced Cali on the base paths on a fielder’s choice grounder that put runners at the corners. After Montes scored on a wild pitch, another walk and a stolen base set up a two-run single from Rambusch that gave the Travelers a 3-2 lead.

The game-deciding eight inning for the Drillers began with a leadoff double from Chris Newell. De Paula followed with another double that landed at the base of the wall in straightaway centerfield, but Newell was only able to advance to third on the hit.

With runners at second and third, a sacrifice fly from Nevin scored Newell to tie the game. De Paula advanced to third on the sacrifice forcing the Travs to bring the infield in with just one out. Hope beat the strategy by lining a base hit into centerfield, plating De Paula and giving the Drillers a 4-3 lead.

Kelvin Ramirez kept this lead intact, working around a two-out walk to keep the Travelers scoreless in the top of the ninth inning. For Ramirez, it was his first save of the season.

GAME NOTES

*Hope’s game winning hit upped his RBI total for the year to 11 in 9 games played this season. The 21-year-old finished 2-3 in the game and now has a 9-game hitting streak. Hope has hit safely in every game he has played this year.

*De Paula was 1-3 in the victory and is now hitting .342 on the season. He has a hit in seven of the nine games he has played in.

*The three-run seventh inning for the Travs kept Fox from picking up his second win of the year. Fox allowed just one hit in 5.2 shutout innings while walking two batter and striking out six. The outing lowered his season ERA to 2.87 after three starts. Opponents are hitting only .137 against Fox, and he has 19 strikeouts in 15.2 total innings pitched.

*It was the second comeback victory of the year for the Drillers.

UP NEXT

The Drillers and Travelers will continue their six-game series on Wednesday evening in downtown Tulsa. First pitch for the second game of the series is set for 7:00 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:

ARK- LHP Nico Tellache (0-1, 5.63 ERA)
TUL – LHP Adam Serwinowski (0-1, 18.00 ERA)