Tulsa, OK – Back home for the first time in a week, the Tulsa Drillers opened their home stand Tuesday night with a narrow one-run loss. The Springfield Cardinals used a pair of big innings early in the game to hand the Drillers a narrow 7-6 loss at ONEOK Field.
The defeat dropped the Drillers record to 20-14, but they retained their hold on first place in the Texas League’s North Division, one game in front of Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas.
The game featured a total of 18 walks, with Tulsa pitchers issuing 11 of them.
The night got off to a tough start for the Drillers with the first five Springfield batters in the top of the first reaching base safely, setting up a three-run inning.
Jon Jon Gazdar led off with a double, and Rainiel Rodriguez followed with a single, putting runners at the corners. Tulsa starting pitcher Christian Ruebeck hit the next batter before walking Chase Davis to force home the game’s first run. Another hit batter brought in another run and ended the night for Ruebeck.
Evan Shaw relieved and got a fielder’s choice ground out that plated the third run of the inning. Shaw limited further damage by getting a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning with the Cardinals holding a 3-0 lead.
The Drillers used a big inning of their own to erase the deficit, scoring five runs with two outs in the third to go in front 5-3. After Springfield starter Braden Davis had retired the first two batters in the third, Frank Rodriguez drew what appeared to be a harmless, two-out walk.
It proved to be anything but harmless as Kendall George followed with a run-scoring triple off Davis, a former University of Oklahoma hurler. Josue De Paula singled home George before a pair of walks loaded the bases and ended the night for Davis.
Hunter Hayes took over on the mound for the Cardinals, and Chris Newell greeted him with a lined single to right field that plated two more runs and gave Tulsa the lead.
The fifth run of the inning scored when Newell stole second base and the throw sailed into centerfield, allowing Elijah Hainline to jog home from third.
The Drillers lead did not last long as the Cardinals responded with four runs of their own in the top of the fourth. After the inning’s leadoff batter reached on catcher’s interference, reliever Maddux Bruns loaded the bases with a pair of walks.
Chase Davis singled home two runs to tie the game at 5-5. Following strikeout, two more walks forced in another run.
Carson Hobbs came on for Bruns and got a pop out before Dakota Harris hit a chopper that deflected off Hobbs’ glove for an infield single that plated the fourth run of the inning.
The infield hit would turn out to be the difference in the game. Tulsa pulled to within 7-6 in the bottom of the sixth inning when Newell singled again and moved around the bases on three walks.
Newell would give the Drillers a chance to tie the game when he doubled to lead off the eighth, but he was left stranded when the next three hitters were retired.
GAME NOTES
*The Drillers finished the game with six hits, with three of them belonging to Newell. The outfielder also had two stolen bases and two RBI on the night.
*Nick Robertson was a pitching bright spot for the Drillers, retiring all six batters he faced in the eighth and ninth innings, three of them on strikeouts. Robertson has yet to allow a run this season in ten games and 16.0 innings pitched.
*Joel Ibarra pitched around a pair of walks in the top of the seventh to work a scoreless inning.
*For Ruebeck, it was his first professional start after appearing as a reliever in the first 83 games of his career.
UP NEXT
The Drillers and Cardinals will continue their series on Wednesday morning at ONEOK Field. First pitch for game two of the six-game series is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:
SPR – LHP Mason Molina (0-2, 3.86 ERA)
TUL – RHP Patrick Copen (3-1, 3.31 ERA)