Drillers update: Dominant pitching keys second consecutive extra-inning win over Naturals

Up next: 7:05 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Tulsa vs. Northwest Arkansas Naturals at ONEOK Field

Radio: KTBZ am1430

Probable pitchers: Thursday — NW Arkansas, RHP Beck Way (0-3, 12.18 ERA); Tulsa, RHP Kyle Hurt (2-1, 1.17 ERA); Friday — NW Arkansas, RHP Andrew Hoffmann (2-3, 4.54 ERA); Tulsa, RHP Nick Nastrini (1-1, 2.55 ERA).

Promotions: $2 Thursday/Star Wars Night/T-Shirt giveaway — Beers, sodas and hot dogs are available for $2. There will be Star Wars trivia, video clips and characters. The Drillers will wear Star Wars-themed jerseys in this promotion rescheduled from May 4. There will be an auction for the jerseys during the game with proceeds to benefit Hearts for Hearing. The first 1,000 fans will receive a Drillers May the Fourth T-shirt. Friday -- Fireworks.

On deck: 7:05 p.m. Saturday vs. NW Arkansas (Fireworks)

Driller bits

Wednesday's pitching gem: For the second night in a row, the Drillers won in extra innings against Northwest Arkansas. Kody Hoese's foul sacrifice fly in the 10th inning gave the Drillers a 1-0 victory at ONEOK Field.

But the story of the night was right-hander Landon Knack becoming the Drillers' first pitcher this season to complete seven innings. He also had the previous longest outing -- 5 1/3 innings.

"It's a testament to him that he's in great shape," Drillers manager Scott Hennessey said.

Knack, who lowered his ERA to a Texas League-leading 1.32 in nine starts, blanked the Naturals (18-23) on four hits, walked one and struck out six as he threw 63 strikes in 86 pitches. His velocity reached as high as 95 mph.

"He threw all four of his pitches for strikes," Hennessey said. "He spun the curveball early to left-handed hitters. He located well all night. 

Ben Harris (1-0), a lefty, picked up the win as he struck out three in the 10th after inheriting a ghost runner at second base.

"He gets left-handed and right-handed hitters out," Hennessey said. "He was lights out. We've been waiting for him to throw like that."

Tulsa (26-15) won despite collecting only three hits. Naturals lefty Noah Cameron, in his Double-A debut, matched Knack with seven shutout innings as he turned in the longest outing for a Northwest Arkansas pitcher this season. He walked one and struck out six as he threw 56 of 83 pitches for strikes.

It would have been the shortest nine-inning game in ONEOK Field history at 1:51 if extra innings hadn't been necessary.

Big comeback: Eddys Leonard had a tying two-run single in the eighth and a walk-off RBI double in the 11th inning to lift the Drillers past Northwest Arkansas 6-5 in the opener of a six-game series Tuesday night. The Drillers trailed 5-0 before scoring five runs in the eighth.

"It shows the fight in our team," Hennessey said. "We kept saying, `get one (run), get one,' and you never know."

Strong start: Drillers right-hander Emmet Sheehan struck out nine of 15 hitters and walked three in four hitless shutout innings Tuesday before reaching his pitch limit at 77. His velocity reached 100 mph. His last pitch registered 99 mph for a strikeout. Sheehan leads Double-A with 67 strikeouts in 38 innings.

Versatility: Tulsa's Bryson Brigman, who has been a second baseman and shortstop in his pro career that started in 2016, has made his first six outfield appearances during the past week. Brigman spent his previous four seasons with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

Wednesday

DRILLERS 1, NATURALS 0 (10 innings)

NW Arkansas 000 000 000 0 — 0 5 0

Tulsa 000 000 000 1 — 1 3 0

Cameron, Klein (8), Wallace (10) and Tresh; Knack, Gowdy (8), Bettencourt (9), Harris (10) and Taylor. W: Harris (1-0). L: Wallace (0-4). RBI: Tulsa, Hoese (6). DP: NWA 1. LOB: NWA 8, Tulsa 5. T: 2:07. A: 4,673.

Tuesday

DRILLERS 6, NATURALS 5 (11 innings)

NW Arkansas 000 000 320 00 — 5 7 2

Tulsa 000 000 050 01 — 6 10 0

Bowlan, Chamberlain (6), Cruz (8), Del Rosario (8), Biasi (10) and Tresh;  Sheehan, Fisher (5), Rooney (6), Pilarski (7), Dodson (8), Leasure (9), Sublette (11) and Cartaya. W: Sublette (1-1). L: Biasi (2-2) HR: NWA, Means (4), Tolbert (1). RBI: NWA, Govern 2 (12), Tolbert 2 (13), Means (12); Tulsa, Leonard 3 (19), Taylor (9), Diaz (4). E: NWA, Wilson (8), Chamberlain (1). DP: NWA 2, Tulsa 2. LOB: NWA 9, Tulsa 13. T: 3:13. A: 4,529.

— Barry Lewis, Tulsa World

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