The Arkansas Travelers arrived at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock on July 5 having lost three consecutive games.

On top of that, a key piece of their lineup had been traded in a move that helped the Los Angeles Angels bolster their bullpen. But the Angels' acquisition of reliever Joe Thatcher from the Arizona Diamondbacks set forth a chain reaction of moves that ultimately helped boost the Travs' lineup for the stretch run.

Left fielder Zach Borenstein was sent to the Diamondbacks' Class AA team in Mobile, Ala., and the Travs eventually were assigned veteran outfielder Matt Long, who turned out to be the final piece of a lineup that stabilized over the final seven weeks of the season.

The Travs went 32-22 after July 5, wrapping up the Texas League North Division second-half title and a berth in the playoffs. The Travs will begin a best-of-5 series against the Tulsa Drillers at 7:05 tonight at ONEOK Field in Tulsa. The winner of the series will face the winner of South Division playoff -- Midland and Frisco also begin play tonight -- in the Texas League championship series.

Travs Manager Phillip Wellman has been able to make out a lineup card most nights that includes Maikol Gonzalez leading off in left field, Mike Bianucci hitting fourth as the designated hitter and Long hitting fifth in center field. All three arrived more than six weeks into the season to join mainstays Alex Yarbrough, the Texas League's player of the year, Brian Hernandez and Jett Bandy.

Wellman said the stability that brought made all the difference down the stretch.

"I don't think that's an understatement at all," Wellman said. "I think they got over the mental thing."

A couple of unexpected additions helped more than anything else.

First came Maikol Gonzalez, who was signed in May from the independent American Association with intentions of being an extra infielder. He has turned into the Travs' everyday left-fielder and leadoff hitter with a .270 average and a team-high 30 stolen bases in 89 games.

"We had no idea what he was," Wellman said. "That's a shortstop that's playing left field that's turned himself into a pretty good outfielder. That, to me, is when we really started turning it around, because we've been searching for a leadoff guy all year."

Another piece arrived three weeks later when Bianucci, who had hit 109 home runs in six seasons in the minors, was signed from a Mexican League team June 20. In 62 games, he's hit .274 with 12 home runs, second-most on the team, and 49 RBI, providing the Travs the power they were missing.

"That added some thump," Wellman said.

Two weeks later, Long arrived and became a veteran presence the team also lacked. Long had spent most of the past two seasons at Class AAA Salt Lake but was sent down when a minor-league outfielder came over in the Hatcher trade that sent Borenstein to the Diamondbacks.

Long is hitting only .223, but his four home runs are third-most on the team since he joined in early July.

The reworked lineup helped the Travs overcome their hitting struggles at Dickey-Stephens Park. The Travs were just 14-22 at home in the first half but were 21-13 there in the second half, including a 10-4 home mark in August.

"They learned to hit," Wellman said. "I think that was the biggest thing. You can't play in the air here. They learned to overcome that here."

Sports on 09/03/2014