Drillers Split Four-Game Series With Travelers

Originally Published: Jul 18, 2010 9:19 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

TULSA, Oklahoma – The Tulsa Drillers struggled to generate any offense Sunday and finished with a 6-1 loss to the Arkansas Travelers.

The Drillers (44-46) got off to a rough start in the first inning, when starter Christian Friedrich sustained an injury and had to be pulled before recording an out. The Travelers (35-57) scored two runs in the inning – both charged to Friedrich – to take an early 2-0 lead.

Arkansas stretched the lead to three thanks to an RBI single by Charlton Jimerson in the third, and Tulsa broke into the run column in the fifth. After the first two batters of the inning failed to reach base, the Drillers strung together a walk and two singles to cut the lead to 3-1.

The Travelers immediately responded in the sixth, when Jimerson led off with a triple. He later scored on a sacrifice fly by Efren Navarro. Arkansas added two more insurance runs in the ninth thanks to a solo home run by Tyson Auer and RBI double by Jimerson, giving him four hits on the night.

The Drillers managed to get a runner to third in the bottom of the ninth, but could not drive him home to seal the loss.

Friedrich (2-6) was given the loss after being credited with the game’s first two runs, while Will Smith (1-2) earned his first win of the season. He gave up just four hits in his six innings of work.

Sunday’s contest finished a four-game series between the two teams, which they split. Tulsa’s offense was quiet in the two losses, accounting for a total of just one run, and both losses came when Tulsa was on the verge of reaching the .500 mark. The Drillers will now hit the road for a series against the Springfield Cardinals that will begin at 7:10 p.m. Monday.