Orangel Arenas could have used different results from the first four batters he faced Friday night at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
The Arkansas Travelers' right-hander pitched seven complete innings for the first time this season, finishing his outing with six consecutive shutout innings. The only problem was that the first four Drillers reached and scored as the Travs fell 5-2 in front of an announced crowd of 9,377.
Arenas (5-7), who hadn't thrown more than five innings in any of his last six starts, gave up a single to Delta Cleary Jr., and walked Joey Wong before Ryan Casteel drove a 2-2 fastball over the fence in left field to give the Drillers a 3-0 lead.
After that, Arkansas Manager Phillip Wellman walked to the mound to deliver a rare early game message to his starter.
"I said 'Throw your sinker right down the middle, just be aggressive,' " Wellman said. "I said 'Pick up the pace a little bit. You're putting me to sleep.' ... I think he just got tired of getting his butt kicked."
Brian Humphries then walked and later stole home to give the Drillers a 4-0 lead, 12 minutes after Arenas delivered the game's first pitch. He was sharp the rest of the way, though, holding Tulsa to three hits over the final six innings.
"It's hard to recover when you give up four in the first," Wellman said.
Casteel struck again with his second home run in the eighth inning, this one off reliever Kevin Johnson, for his 14th of the season as he continued his assault on Travs pitching.
The 23-year-old first baseman isn't a touted prospect -- he's not included in the Colorado Rockies top 30 prospects according to Baseball America -- but he's hitting .329 in 19 games against the Travs, with 3 home runs and 17 RBI.
"We face them a lot," Casteel said. "It's just trying to figure out what the pitcher likes to do and just try to work off of that. You just try to come in each day and give it your best shot."
The Travs tried to rally in the ninth when Brian Hernandez and Matt Long each singled, before Kaleb Cowart's single drove in Hernandez to make it 5-2. But Drew Heid grounded out to end the game.
Friday's game marked the halfway point of the second-half of the season and the Travs are clinging to a one-game lead over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals for first place in the Texas League North Division. With five weeks remaining the Travs and the Naturals play nine more games, including a three-game series that begins in North Little Rock on Monday.
"It sucks when you've got a month to go and you're not playing good," Wellman said. "I think they realize any given night we go out there and play well we have a chance to win."
Sports on 07/26/2014