Drillers Halt Skid Against Northwest Arkansas

The Tulsa Drillers snapped a three-game losing streak Tuesday, knocking off the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 9-4 thanks to its early-inning offense.

In the top of the first inning, Josh Rutledge singled on a ground ball to center field and three at-bats later crossed home plate thanks to a passed ball, giving the Drillers (21-11) a 1-0 lead in the opening inning. Lars Davis added two to the lead in the top of the second with a two-run home run to right field.

Tulsa doubled its lead in the top of the third, capitalizing on a few miscues from Northwest Arkansas (16-16). Angelys Nina drew a walk to open the inning and advanced to third two at-bats later thanks to a single from Ben Paulsen. Kent Matthes followed with a soft fly to center field, allowing Nina to score.

Two at-bats later with runners on second and third, a wild pitch brought Ben Paulsen home to make it 5-0 in favor of Tulsa and Lars Davis followed two batters later, bringing Kent Matthes home making it a six-run lead.

Nolan Arenado singled in the top of the fourth to bring Nina across the plate yet again, giving Tulsa a nearly insurmountable 7-0 lead before the Naturals could manage a run.

The Naturals blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to score their first two runs of the game, but were unable to close the gap to anything manageable.

Edwar Cabrera (4-2) picked up a win for the outing, giving up three earned runs on four hits, in his six innings of service. Greg Holland (0-1) only lasted one inning in his first loss of the season, giving up one run on one hit.

Tulsa will now take a day off Wednesday and travel back home, to begin an eight-game home stand at 7:05 p.m. Thursday against the Arkansas Travelers.