Drillers Fall To San Antonio In Pitcher's Duel

The Tulsa Drillers were back in action Wednesday night in San Antonio following a two-day break for the Texas League All-Star Game. The Drillers got another solid outing from starting pitcher Sean Gallagher, but he was upstaged by Missions' starter Keyvius Sampson. Sampson allowed only 2 singles and recorded 12 strikeouts in 7 shutout innings, leading San Antonio to a 1-0 victory at Nelson Wolff Stadium.

The Drillers were held without a hit over the final seven innings and matched a season low with their two hits. They have now combined for only five hits in their past two games.

The Missions got the only run they needed in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, Yeison Asencio singled and moved to third on another base hit from Cory Spangenberg. Adam Buschini made it three straight singles with a liner to left, scoring Asencio to give the Missions a 1-0 lead.

Gallagher surrendered the one run on nine hits in six innings of work. He did not walk a batter and struck out seven. The loss dropped his record to 3-2.

Sampson was dominant in improving his record to 5-4 and lowering his ERA to 2.73.

Tyler Kuhn played in his first game with the Drillers, batting leadoff and playing right field. Kuhn led off the game with a base hit and finished 1-4 in his debut.

Tulsa's only other hit came from Angelys Nina when he led off the second with a base hit. Nina was erased when he was thrown out attempting to steal.

The Drillers lost another base runner in the eighth inning. Oklahoma native Jeremy McBride took over for Sampson and walked the first batter he faced, Jayson Langfels, on four straight pitches. After a fouled bunt by Jaron Shepherd, Langfels was also thrown out attempting to steal.

Missions' closer Matt Stites worked a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts to record his sixth save. Overall, San Antonio pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts in the game.

Kyle Parker did not play in the game after injuring his right wrist in the final game before the All-Star break. It is thought that Parker could be back in the Tulsa lineup by the weekend.

The three-game series will continue Thursday night in San Antonio. Tim Gustafson (5-5, 4.95 ERA) will pitch for the Drillers against Matt Wisler (3-3, 4.19 ERA) of the Missions. Starting time for the middle game of the series is scheduled for 7:05PM.