Drillers Use Familiar Formula to Top Naturals

The Tulsa Drillers used a familiar formula to record a victory over Northwest Arkansas Monday afternoon at ONEOK Field. The Drillers got a pair of home runs and another strong outing from the bullpen in an 8-2 win over the Naturals.
The result wrapped up a successful series for the Drillers as they claimed four wins in the five-game set with Northwest Arkansas.
The Naturals jumped on top in Monday's game with an unearned run in the top of the third, but the Drillers quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning. Lefthander Jake Kalish, who was making his first start of the season for the Naturals, retired the first two batters in the third before Luke Raley lined his fifth home run of the season, just inside the right field foul pole.
After the homer, a walk and an error put runners at the corners, and Yusniel Díaz brought both home with a double into the right-center field gap to put Tulsa in front 3-1.
Another two-out rally in the fourth gave the Drillers a fourth run. Mike Ahmed drew a walk, advanced to second on a balk and scored on a base hit by Errol Robinson.
The Naturals got back on the scoreboard in the fifth, facing reliever Shea Spitzbarth. Nick Dini singled and raced home on Samir Dueñez's double into the right field corner.
The Drillers again answered with a run in the bottom half of the fifth. D.J. Peters led off with a double and came home on Keibert Ruiz's two-out single to make it 5-2.
They used another homer to put the game out of reach in the bottom of the seventh. Raley singled, and Peters was hit by a pitch. Jacob Scavuzzo drilled a three-run home run onto the berm in left-center field to increase the lead to 8-2.
It was more than enough offense for the Tulsa bullpen. A trio of Tulsa relievers combined to limit the Naturals to just three hits and one run over the final six innings.
Things became heated in the bottom of the eighth when Ahmed became the second Driller and the third batter of the game to be hit by a pitch. Home plate umpire Jon Felczak immediately issued warnings to both teams, bringing Naturals manager Mike Rojas out of the third-base dugout. Felczak eventually ejected Rojas from the game.
WHAT YOU MISSED
The Drillers announced a player move just prior to game time. Kyle Garlick was assigned to Oklahoma City by the Dodgers, while Tulsa added outfielder Logan Landon from Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. Landon was hitting .300 with a pair of homers and 10 RBI for the Quakes this year. He 25-year-old appeared in six games for Tulsa last April.
Yadier Alvarez made his fourth start of the season on the mound for the Drillers and did not allow an earned run in three innings, but he again struggled with his command. Alvarez, who is ranked as the third-best pitching prospect in the LA Dodgers farm system, did not allow a hit on Monday, but he walked six batters. For the season, the right-hander has now issued 14 walks in just 13.1 innings.
Diaz finished 2-4 and raised his average to .412.
Tulsa has now hit 38 home runs in just 23 games this season, a pace that would break last season's record of 168 homers.
Newcomer Vinny Santarsiero picked up his first Double-A victory in game. Santarsiero, in just his second outing for the Drillers, worked a perfect fourth inning in relief of Alvarez to get credit for the win.
Shea Spitzbarth and Ariel Hernández followed Santarsiero to the mound, and both were effective. Spitzbarth allowed one run in 2.1 innings, while Hernandez held the Naturals without a hit or a run over the final 2.2 innings to close out the win and record his second save.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will open a four-game series with Arkansas Tuesday night at ONEOK Field. Starting time for the opener is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. in downtown Tulsa. The starting pitchers are scheduled to be:
ARK     RHP Johendí Jiminian (1-1, 2.49 ERA)
TUL      RHP Frank Duncan (0-0, 2.25 ERA)