The two highly regarded pitching prospects didn't disappoint a sparse crowd Tuesday night at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
It wasn't until Arkansas' Sean Newcomb and Tulsa's Julio Urias exited the game that a run finally scored. Erick Salcedo's eighth-inning single drove in Sherman Johnson from second base to give the Travelers a 1-0 victory in front of an announced crowd of 3,607.
But the attraction Tuesday night was Urias and Newcomb, ranked by MLB.com as the best and third-best left-handed pitching prospects in baseball, respectively. The matchup certainly had both managers taking notice.
"The first three innings we were talking about it on the way out: 'Boy, it's good to have a good seat for this one,' " Arkansas Manager Bill Richardson said.
The fans who were there had to agree.
Newcomb, the Angels' No. 1 overall prospect, needed only 64 pitches to get through 7 no-hit innings while striking out 6 and walking 1. He has 158 strikeouts between Class A and AA this season, the most in the minor leagues. Urias, the Los Angeles Dodgers' No. 2 prospect, struck out 3 while giving up 4 hits and picking off 2 runners at first base through 6 innings.
By the end, Erisbel Arruebarrena had ended the no-hitter with an eighth-inning triple off reliever Greg Mahle, and Richardson was left feeling almost apologetic about choosing to end Newcomb's night.
"I understood why they took me out, but I was cruising," said Newcomb, 22, who lowered his ERA in five Class AA starts to 1.29. "I felt good. Could have went back out."
Richardson described the exchange a bit differently. While it never became heated, he said Newcomb was disappointed.
Richardson considered bringing Newcomb back out for the eighth inning, but the concern was more about the number of innings he'd pitched rather than the number of pitches he'd thrown. Newcomb, a first-round draft pick by the Angels last season, has not pitched into the eighth inning since being drafted by the Angels.
"It's a tough call," Richardson said. "If he goes back out and he doesn't do well, it's, 'What did you leave him in for?' Believe me, my heart bleeds to do it because here we are trying to tell a guy to be efficient and he has that low of a pitch count.
"Let's just say that's a big-time prospect and you have to put the prospect ahead of the Travs at that time. It's painful."
Tulsa Manager Razor Shines didn't wrestle with the decision to pull his prospect, saying Urias was scheduled to pitch six innings regardless of Tuesday's result.
"That's just the way it is," Shines said. "He's a prospect, and he's 19 years old. You've got to protect him."
Urias returned to Dickey-Stephens Park on Tuesday three weeks after pitching five no-hit innings Aug. 1. Shines said that start was made with a predetermined innings limit, too, as Urias works his way back from eye surgery in May that removed a benign mass that caused his left eyelid to droop.
Urias is 3-4 with a 2.77 ERA in 13 starts with Tulsa.
"He's as good as advertised," Shines said. "I can see a scenario where he's going to pitch in the big leagues in September. He's that good."
TULSA AB R H BI ARKANSAS AB R H BI
Torreyes, ss 4 0 0 0 Sosa, lf 3 0 2 0
Drake, rf 2 0 0 0 Gailen, rf 3 0 0 0
Farmer, c 3 0 0 0 Hinshaw, cf 4 0 2 0
Anderson, 1b 3 0 0 0 Gomez, dh 3 0 0 0
Dixon, lf 3 0 0 0 Hernandz, 1b 3 0 0 0
Arrbrrena, 3b 3 0 1 0 Johnson, 2b 3 1 2 0
Lavin, cf 3 0 0 0 Maggi, 3b 2 0 0 0
Rathjen, dh 3 0 0 0 Bemboom, c 3 0 0 0
Trinkwon, 2b 3 0 0 0 Salcedo, ss 3 0 1 1
TOTALS 27 0 1 0 TOTALS 27 1 7 1
Tulsa 000 000 000 -- 0 1 0
Arkansas 000 000 01x -- 1 7 0
DP -- Tulsa 1, Arkansas 1. LOB -- Tulsa 1, Arkansas 5. 3B -- Arruebarrena, Sosa. S -- Maggi. CS -- Hinshaw, Sosa.
TULSA IP H R ER BB SO
Urias 6 4 0 0 0 3
Dayton L, 0-1 12/3 2 1 0 2 1
West 1/3 0 0 0 0 0
ARKANSAS IP H R ER BB SO
Newcomb 7 0 0 0 1 6
Mahle W, 3-3 2 1 0 0 0 0
Umpires -- Home: Czajak. First: Meyers. Third: Ceja. Time -- 1:59. Attendance -- 3,607.
Sports on 08/26/2015