Redhawks Top Tuscon To Snap Losing Streak

The Oklahoma City RedHawks continued their recent hot streak at the plate and paired it with a strong start from Jake Buchanan to beat the Tucson Padres, 8-2, before 2,494 Thursday night at Kino Stadium.

The win snapped a five-game losing streak, and the RedHawks (70-56) avoided being swept for the first time this season. Although they dropped three of four in the series, the RedHawks scored 25 runs over their four games in Tucson and hit .343 as a team.

Just like Wednesday, the RedHawks shot out to a 4-0 lead. The team was able to take advantage of three walks in the inning, including one with the bases loaded to Jon Singleton to score the game's first run.

Later in the inning, Jimmy Paredes ripped a two-run triple, and Che-Hsuan Lin followed with a squeeze bunt to score Paredes and make it a 4-0 game.

Tucson (66-60) was able to answer with one run in the bottom of the inning, courtesy of an RBI single by Ben Francisco.

The RedHawks got the run back in their next at bat. George Springer lined an RBI single to left field, scoring Trevor Crowe to push the lead to 5-1. Crowe singled earlier in the inning to extend his current hitting streak to 14 games.

The game stayed 5-1 until the eighth. Springer sent a two-run homer into the Tucson bullpen to extend the lead, as Springer connected on his 33rd overall home run of the season.

Two batters later, Jon Singleton hit a ball out of Kino Stadium, and his solo shot made it 8-1.

Tucson would score one final time in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI double by Jonathan Galvez, but that's as close as the Padres would get.

The victory was a well-rounded effort, as Buchanan (5-3) turned in his sixth straight quality start, lasting a season-high 7.2 innings. He allowed two runs and seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

Tucson starting pitcher Keyvius Sampson (1-2) struggled with his command and allowed five runs over five innings. Although he only gave up four hits, he walked six batters.

The RedHawks tied a season high for a nine-inning game, drawing nine walks on the night.

The RedHawks return home Friday to start a crucial five-game series against second-place Albuquerque at 7:05 p.m.