SPRINGDALE -- Changing opponents didn't slow down Northwest Arkansas.
The Naturals scored five runs in the third inning and went on to defeat Tulsa 10-3 Friday in Texas League action at Arvest Ballpark. A crowd of 5,052 watched Northwest Arkansas extend its winning streak to six consecutive after completing a four-game sweep over Springfield.
Catcher Micah Gibbs went 4-for-4 and drove in 4 runs in his first game since rejoining the Naturals on Thursday. Gibbs hit a double in the second inning then followed with a two-run single when Northwest Arkansas (12-9) batted around and scored five runs in the third to take a 6-0 lead.
Northwest Arkansas finished with 15 hits after collecting 16 in Thursday's 7-2 win over Springfield.
"Just proud of the guys with their approach," Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson said. "Gibbs was a big part of this and we got him healthy, finally."
Much of the third-inning action was directed at Tulsa third baseman Daniel Mayora, who failed to handle hard grounders by Balbino Fuenmayor and Gibbs and barely missed a line drive by Hunter Dozier that went for a two-run double. Dusty Coleman capped the rally with a two-run single that included aggressive baserunning from Ethan Chapman, who scored from first.
Fuenmayor went 4-for-5 for the Naturals while Yadir Drake hit a two-run home run and Brian Burgamy went 3-for-3 with a walk to lead the Drillers (12-9).
Miguel Almonte (1-1) earned the victory with his best performance in five starts for the Naturals. The right-hander went 5 innings and allowed 1 run on 5 hits with 7 strikeouts and no walks. Tulsa's only run against Almonte came in the fourth inning after Chapman failed to locate a high fly in left field that dropped for a double.
Almonte faced Tulsa last week when he allowed 3 runs and 5 hits in 4 innings.
"The biggest thing is he got his fastball in the (strike) zone," Wilson said. "The kid is a big talent and he's going to be a big part of this organization."
Short Hops
Fans attending Friday's game celebrated the birthday of Strike, the Naturals mascot. Six people have been in uniform as Strike since 2008, including this year's mascot, Jed Wilson, who is a high school football player at Rogers Heritage.
Tulsa manager Razor Shines was ejected from the game after arguing an out call at second base against the Drillers in the top of the sixth.
• Double A Tulsa and Triple A Oklahoma City are both in their first seasons as farm teams for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Tulsa had been affiliated with the Colorado Rockies since 2003.
Extra Bases: Northwest Arkansas has won six consecutive for the first time since 2011. ... Tulsa starter Chris Anderson was battered for 7 hits and 6 earned runs in 4 innings. He walked 4 and struck out 1. ... Northwest Arkansas starter Miguel Almonte struck out seven after totaling 11 in his three previous starts this season.
On Deck: The teams will move to Tulsa for today's game at 7:05 p.m. then return to Arvest Ballpark to finish the series on Sunday and Monday. Right-hander Matt Murray (1-0, 6.23 ERA) will take the mound for the Naturals today against right-hander Julio Urias for Tulsa (1-1, 2.18 ERA).
On The Air: AM-1030 KFAY
On The Web: www.naturals.com
TRAVELERS 7, CARDINALS 6
Kyle McGowin has been waiting almost a year for a night like Friday. The 23-year-old right-hander contained the Springfield Cardianls for six innings, striking out eight, both season highs as he led the Arkansas Travelers to a 7-6 victory in front of 6,692 at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
Not since May 10, 2014, has Mc-Gowin allowed less than three runs in an outing, and that came at Class A Inland Empire.
Since then, McGowin has struggled through a rocky debut for the Travs last season. Then came a sore elbow, thoughts of Tommy John surgery before being shut down for the rest of last season. Before Friday came three rough outings this year that had him entering with 1-1 with a 8.59 ERA. “Arm finally felt good,” McGowin said. “Everything was clicking, I got ahead of counts and just trusted everything.”
McGowin said he’s felt arm pain at times this season. He said his arm feels fine while he’s pitching and in between innings. IT’s while warming up to start an inning that he feels discomfort, and that throws off his confidence. So Friday he began a new between-inning routine, in which he covers his right arm with heat packs and stretches it with an elastic band. It seemed to work as he got through the first two innings without giving up a hit, then pitched his way out of james in the third, fourth, and fifth.
Sports on 05/02/2015