Smeltzer Tosses Six Strong in Drillers Win
Tulsa Drillers starting pitcher Devin Smeltzer's previous start did not go well. He had allowed ten earned runs over just 3.1 innings last Sunday. But in front of a sell-out crowd at ONEOK Field on Friday night, the southpaw dominated the Arkansas Travelers for six innings and led the Drillers
Tulsa Drillers starting pitcher
The Drillers were the first to get on the board in the game.
The only trouble that Smeltzer had came in the top of the third. After giving up a double,
In the bottom half of the third, Raley led the inning off with a triple, followed by D.J. Peters getting hit by a pitch and Joe drawing a walk. With the bases loaded, Reks stepped in and provided a clutch single to bring home two runs.
The Travs cut the deficit to one in the top of the seventh.
Tulsa added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth when former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder
WHAT YOU MISSED
In the top of the sixth, the Drillers made two stellar defensive plays.
Friday was Smeltzer's second quality start of the season. His first came on May 2 at home against Arkansas when he pitched six innings and gave up only two runs.
Raley extended his hitting streak to nine games after his triple.
Despite allowing the first two men to reach in the top of the eighth, Copping retired the next six Travs to earn his first save of the season.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will face off against the Travelers in game two on Saturday night at ONEOK Field. The probable starting pitchers are:
ARK
TUL