SPRINGDALE -- Jorge Bonifacio belted a three-run home run and Luke Farrell and Matt Murray combined for a six-hit shutout as red-hot Northwest Arkansas beat Tulsa 3-0 for its seventh straight win Friday night.
Farrell struck out seven in four impressive innings in his first start for the Naturals after being called up from High-A Wilmington. He gave up just one hit and three walks and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the third. Reliever Matt Murray threw the final five scoreless innings, striking out three, to secure the win.
NW Arkansas 3, Tulsa 0
Tulsa^000^000^000^—^0^6^1
NW Arkansas^003^000^00X^—^3^5^0
Tulsa^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Mateo, L, SS^4^0^2^0^0^0^0^.271
Witherspoon, CF^3^0^1^0^1^1^0^.216
Dixon, 2B^4^0^1^0^0^3^3^.283
Anderson, La, 1B^4^0^0^0^0^0^1^.208
Mayora, 3B^4^0^1^0^0^1^0^.250
Drake, RF^3^0^0^0^1^0^1^.254
Cunningham, DH^3^0^0^0^0^2^1^.207
Zarraga, PH-DH^1^0^1^0^0^0^0^.222
Rathjen, LF^3^0^0^0^0^2^0^.103
Solis, C^3^0^0^0^1^1^2^.124
Totals^32^0^6^0^3^10^8^
TB: Witherspoon; Dixon; Mateo, L 2; Zarraga; Mayora. Team RISP: 0-for-3. Team LOB: 9. SB: Dixon (10). FIELDING — E: Drake (2).
NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Franco, 2B^4^0^0^0^0^2^1^.333
Mondesi, SS^3^1^0^0^1^2^0^.267
Bonifacio, J, LF^4^1^2^3^0^0^0^.247
Fuenmayor, 1B^4^0^1^0^0^1^1^.361
Dozier, 3B^3^0^1^0^0^1^1^.240
Evans, C^3^0^0^0^0^0^1^.368
Bianucci, DH^3^0^0^0^0^2^1^.304
Liddi, RF^3^0^1^0^0^1^0^.286
Gore, CF^2^1^0^0^1^0^1^.283
Totals^29^3^5^3^2^9^6^
2B: Dozier (9), Fuenmayor (12). 3B: Bonifacio, J (1). HR: Bonifacio, J (7). TB: Dozier 2; Bonifacio, J 7; Liddi; Fuenmayor 2. RBI: Bonifacio, J 3 (25). Team RISP: 1-for-5. Team LOB: 4.
SB: Gore (17).
PITCHING
Tulsa^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
De Leon, Jos (L, 0-1)^6.0^3^3^3^2^8^1^4.50
De Leon, Jor^2.0^2^0^0^0^1^0^3.72
NW Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Farrell^4.0^1^0^0^3^7^0^4.15
Murray (W, 4-0)^5.0^5^0^0^0^3^0^4.55
WP: Farrell. HBP: Rathjen. Umpires: HP: Clay Park. 1B: Clayton Hamm. 3B: Ron Teague. T: 2:34. Att: 4,904.
"He did good," Naturals manager Vance Wilson said of Farrell. "I thought he wasted a lot of pitches early, going for strikeouts and he let guys back in at-bats. But the kid was awesome, first start. Still had some pitches, but we wanted to just get him through four. But again, when you're facing a quality prospect like (Jose) De Leon, like they have, for Farrell to match him was huge. ... Murray's been starting for us and giving us some quality innings. So really, throwing two quality starters out there is big."
The Naturals (29-12) have won 12 of their last 13 games and 23 of 26, which includes a franchise-record 11-game streak spanning late April and early May. Tulsa (18-22) has lost four of six.
The Naturals only mustered five hits of their own, but Bonifacio's home run provided all the scoring they needed. He homered with two out and two on in the bottom of the third, driving a 1-1 pitch well over the left-field wall to bring home Terrance Gore and Raul Mondesi.
Bonifacio also tripled in the bottom of the eighth. He is 15-for-32 with two home runs and 11 RBIs his last nine games.
Farrell and Murray excelled against a Drillers lineup that entered the night ranked last in the Texas League with a .236 team average. Tulsa leadoff hitter Luis Mateo went 2-for-4, but the bottom six spots in the lineup were a combined 2-for-21.
Short Hops
• Bonifacio's seven home runs this year rank third on the team behind right fielder Mike Bianucci (10) and first baseman Balbino Fuenmayor (9).
• Fuenmayor went 1-for-4 to extend his new hitting streak to four games after having a 14-game streak snapped Monday. He is hitting a team-best .361 among players who have played more than five games.
• Farrell shone in his first Naturals start after struggling in his Tuesday debut with the team, when he allowed three hits and two runs while retiring just one batter out of the bullpen.
Extra Bases: Milwaukee Brewers left-handed reliever Will Smith, a former Naturals pitcher, was suspended eight games by the MLB on Friday for having a foreign substance on his non-throwing arm Thursday against Atlanta. Smith's 13 wins in 2011 rank second in Naturals single-season history. ... Fuenmayor and right-hander Miguel Almonte were presented Texas League weekly awards prior to the game. Fuenmayor hit .444 with five home runs and eight RBIs to earn his second Player of the Week award this season. Almonte went 2-0 with 10 shutout innings to earn Pitch of the Week honors.
On Deck: The Naturals will throw right-hander Christian Binford (0-0, 2.57 ERA) against Tulsa right-hander Chris Anderson (3-4, 4.15) tonight at 6:05 in game-two of the three-game series. The series wraps up Sunday, then the teams head to Tulsa for a one-game matchup Monday.
Promotions: The Great American Blast Night No. 1 -- Post-Game Fireworks Spectacular, Happy Hour
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On The Web: www.naturals.com
Sports on 05/23/2015