Naturals Walk Past Drillers in Fourth Straight Loss

SPRINGDALE, AR- After a loss in game one, the Tulsa Drillers looked to bounce back Wednesday night in the second game of a six-game series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. It was not to be as the Drillers issued a season high nine walks as the Naturals won 9-2 to give the Drillers their fourth straight loss.

BOXSCORE

Michael Grove took the mound looking to redeem his first outing where he only went 2.1 innings, giving up five runs in the process. It did not look good early for Grove as the first Naturals batter, Clay Dungan, hit a deep home run to right. Two more Naturals runs came in on a sacrifice fly and a double giving the them a 3-0 advantage.

The Drillers quickly battled back in the second by scoring two runs on four hits. Donovan Casey came across first on a Carlos Rincon single followed by Rincon scoring on a Steve Berman single, cutting the deficit to 3-2.

The wheels fell off for Tulsa pitching in the fourth as Bobby Witt Jr. led off the inning with a solo home run and the Naturals scored three more runs on just one hit, thanks to five walks, bringing the score to 7-2.

Two more runs came across for the Naturals on an RBI single in the fifth and an RBI triple in the eighth extending the lead to 9-2.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

*Grove has pitched 5.0 innings this season, giving up 11 runs and 6 walks.

*Hunter Speer relieved Grove in the third and gave up four walks, facing four batters and throwing only four strikes.

*Rincon and Donovan Casey have now each hit safely in six straight games.

*Casey was the only Tulsa batter to have two hits Wednesday night.

UP NEXT: Tulsa at Northwest Arkansas, Thursday, May 13, 7:05 PM at Arvest Ballpark. Tulsa RHP Gus Varland (0-0, 0.00 ERA) versus Naturals LHP Marcelo Martinez (0-0, 1.80 ERA).