Drillers Shut Out By Naturals

The Tulsa Drillers got a strong outing from injured Colorado Rockies pitcher Christian Bergman Sunday night, but it was not enough to produce a victory. The Drillers' offense was stymied by Northwest Arkansas starter Andy Ferguson and a trio of relievers as the Naturals blanked Tulsa 3-0 at ONEOK Field.

Centerfielder Delta Cleary Jr. fields a base hit during Tulsa's 3-0 loss Sunday night at ONEOK Field. (Rich Crimi)

The game marked the finale of a six-game homestand for the Drillers. They split their four-game series with the Naturals and finished 2-4 in their homestand.

Bergman, who is recovering from a broken left hand, was effective in his second rehab start with the Drillers. He held the Naturals without a run through the first five innings.

The lone blemish against the right-hander came from ninth-place hitter Ethan Chapman. Chapman led off the sixth inning with his first home run of the season, giving the Naturals a 1-0 lead.

Bergman threw 77 pitches, 47 for strikes, in his six innings of work. He was charged with the one run on five hits and two walks, while recording three strikeouts.

Ferguson more than matched Bergman, turning in his best performance of the season. The right-hander allowed only two hits and two walks while striking out five in his six shutout innings.

Tulsa's best chance to score came against reliever Angel Baez in the seventh inning. Tyler Massey led off with a double, and Trevor Story drew a walk. Brian Humphries laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third with only one out, but Jayson Langfels struck out and Jose Rivera popped out to end the threat.

Sam Selman set the Drillers down in order in the eighth, and Andrew Triggs did the same in the ninth to complete the shutout for the Naturals.

Shortstop Orlando Calixte had made things a little easier for Triggs with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth off Tulsa reliever Ken Roberts.

The Drillers will travel to Midland, Texas on Monday and will open a six-game road trip Tuesday evening against the RockHounds at Security Bank Ballpark. The pitchers for the opener will be Eddie Butler (4-6, 3.19 ERA) for the Drillers and Sean Murphy for the RockHounds (4-2, 3.67 ERA). Starting time in Midland is slated for 6:30 p.m.