Missions Edge Drillers 4-3

The Tulsa Drillers dropped the second game of a three-game series in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Antonio Wednesday night by a score of 4-3. The Drillers took a first-inning lead, but watched it disappear quickly.   <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tulsa has split the first two games with the Missions, who own the best record in the Texas League.
The Drillers used a pair of runs in the top of the first inning to take an early lead. The rally began with two outs and the bases empty when Connor Joe and Tyler Colvin delivered consecutive singles. Two straight errors allowed both Joe and Colvin to score to give <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tulsa a 2-0 lead.
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Antonio answered with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the first off Drillers starter Devin Smeltzer. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Josh Naylor opened the inning with back-to-back doubles to quickly cut the lead to one run. After Ty <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">France made it three straight hits to put runners at the corners, Naylor came home with the tying run on a ground out by Austin Allen.
Naylor put the Missions in front with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second, his league-leading 41st RBI.
It remained 3-2 until Peter O'Brien struck with another long home run in the top of the sixth. O'Brien smashed an offering from Cal Quantrill onto the top of the berm beyond the left field fence for his seventh homer of the season to tie the score at 3-3.
The Missions again responded quickly. River Stevens singled with one out in the bottom of the sixth and moved into scoring position by stealing second base. Stevens raced home to make it 4-3 when <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tulsa left fielder Tyler Colvin could not track down a line-drive double off the bat of Michael Gettys.
It would end up being the winning run. The Drillers threatened in the eighth, putting runners at second and third with two outs, but the Missions escaped the jam when Zach Reks flied out.
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Antonio's 6'9" closer Brad Wieck struck out the side in the ninth to end the game and set up the series-deciding game in Thursday's finale.
WHAT YOU MISSED
Keibert Ruiz extending his hitting streak to 12 straight games with single to lead off the sixth inning. The streak equals the longest of the season for the Drillers, matching Luke Raley and Jacob Scavuzzo. Raley finished 0-5 in the game to end his streak.
With a 2-2 count leading off the eighth inning, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">San Antonio's Allen was called out on an automatic strike when he was not in the batter's box as the pitch clock expired.
Reliever Ariel Hernández re-joined the Drillers on Wednesday after spending two weeks with <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma City. James Carter returned to <st1:place w:st="on">Rancho Cucamonga to make room for Hernandez.
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tulsa finished with eight hits in the game with eight different players getting one hit each.
*Smeltzer allowed eight hits and four runs in 5.1 innings and was charged with the loss to drop his record to 1-4.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Drillers will look to pick up a series win Thursday night when they conclude their series in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Antonio. Starting time for the third and final game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with the starting pitchers slated to be:
TUL    Frank Duncan (1-2, 5.04 ERA)
SAN    Seth Simmons (0-0, 1.80 ERA)