Richardson Leads Drillers Past Travelers, 2-1

Pitcher Dustin Richardson made sure the Tulsa Drillers four-game losing streak came to an end Tuesday night. The former Boston Red Sox lefthander was superb in his outing against the Arkansas Travelers. Richardson held the Travs without a hit through the first five innings, helping the Drillers to a to a 2-1 victory at ONEOK Field.

Dustin Richardson opened with five no-hit innings Tuesday and help the Drillers snap a four-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over Arkansas at ONEOK Field. (Photo by Rich Crimi)

The outing could not have come at a better time for the Drillers after getting swept in a four-game series at Northwest Arkansas. The win moved Tulsa's record back above .500 at 13-12.

Richardson's no-hit bid ended in the sixth when Drew Maggi led off with a single. He pitched around that hit before a pair of singles sandwiched around a passed ball allowed the Travelers to end his shutout bid in the seventh. His final line showed only three hits allowed with two walks and five strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work.

Richardson was a fifth-round selection by the Red Sox in the 2006 draft, making it to the majors in 2009. In 2010, he appeared in 26 big league games for Boston, compiling a 4.15 ERA as a left-handed set up man.

After a stint in an independent league, he has spent most of the last two seasons with Triple-A Salt Lake City in the Angels system. He signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers just prior to the start of spring training.

The Drillers only offense for Richardson on Tuesday came in the fifth inning. They loaded the bases with no outs when Yadir Drake drew a leadoff walk, and Brandon Dixon and Peter Lavin followed with consecutive singles. Drake came home with the game's first run on a ground out by Travis Witherspoon, and Dixon scored on a squeeze bunt from catcher Ali Solis.

Brandon Cash relieved Richardson and got the final out in the seventh. Jeremy Horst worked around a two-out double in the eighth to keep the lead in place.

With a steady rain falling, Horst went back out for the ninth and hit the first batter of the inning to put the potential tying run on base, but a double play grounder and another ground out ended the game and the losing streak.

There were only nine total hits in the game that took 2 hours and 17 minutes to complete.

It will be a quick turnaround for the two teams as they will be back in action Wednesday morning at 11:05AM. Chris Anderson (3-2, 4.67 ERA) will pitch for the Drillers, looking to snap his personal two-game losing streak. The Travelers will send Kyle McGowin (2-1, 6.97 ERA) to the mound.