TEXAS LEAGUE

Errors extend Travs' skid to 5

The Arkansas Travelers' losing streak looked like it would end Wednesday night against Tulsa at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.

Then Kaleb Cowart's errant throw from third allowed Ryan Casteel to reach base, Eric Stamets' high throw from shortstop caused first baseman Brian Hernandez to leap off the bag and allowed a run to score, and Cowart had another wild throw go into the camera well near the Travs' dugout down the first-base line as two more runs scored.

The three errors committed by the Texas League's best defensive team led to three unearned runs and another loss for the Travs as the Drillers won 7-3 in front of an announced crowd of 3,354.

It was Arkansas' fifth consecutive loss and cut its North Division lead over the Springfield Cardinals to five games with 13 remaining.

"That's very uncharacteristic of us, to make three throwing errors, three any type of errors in one inning," Arkansas Manager Phillip Wellman said. "It cost us."

Stamets' throw was hurried as Will Swanner ran down the line, and Cowart's second errant throw came when he was charging a slow roller down the line.

Wellman said he didn't think either of them were particularly challenging plays, especially for a team whose 89 errors after Wednesday's game are 17 few than the next best team.

"Both of them have made those plays 100 times," Wellman said.

The three-run inning gave Tulsa a 4-3 lead and erased the early lead the Travs built against starter Jon Gray.

The Travs hadn't scored in the first inning of their four pervious games -- all losses -- but Drew Heid and Alex Yarbrough led off with singles and Brian Hernandez hit a two-run double. Hernandez moved to third on a groundout and scored on Matt Long's sacrifice fly to give the Travs a 3-0 lead off Gray, the Colorado Rockies' No. 1 overall prospect according to Baseball America.

Gray didn't allow a run in the second but was pulled after that inning as he turned in his second consecutive poor outing at Dickey-Stephens. The Travs scored four runs in the first off Gray in a 6-2 victory July 27.

Tulsa, which clinched a playoff berth by winning the first-half title, could earn its first three-game winning streak in more than a month with a victory tonight.

"We're busting our rear end," said Tulsa Manager Kevin Riggs, whose team is a league-worst 25-32 in the second half of the season. "Energy, effort and enthusiasm every day, I thought they did that. I don't see a whole lot of that energy on the other side.

"It's getting down to the wire, and it's the dog days in August right now. It's tough."

Sports on 08/21/2014

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