SPRINGDALE -- Now is not the wrong time for baseball teams in the postseason hunt to have something go wrong.
Northwest Arkansas suffered an offensive letdown Thursday night as the Naturals were held to just five hits by four Tulsa pitchers and dropped a 5-1 decision at Arvest Ballpark.
The loss drops Northwest Arkansas (62-74 overall, 33-33 second half) a game behind Arkansas, a 9-5 winner at home over Springfield, with just four games left in the regular season.
"It's disappointing," Naturals manager Vance Wilson said. "You win the first two games of this series, especially win a game like we did (Wednesday) night, and the offense didn't show up.
"I didn't think their starter was anything special. He threw some good pitches, but we were over-aggressive and went off our approach."
Ryan O'Hearn provided Northwest Arkansas (62-74, 33-33) with its lone run when he hit his 15th home run of the season. His towering blast over the right-field fence in the sixth inning cut the Tulsa lead to 4-1, but the Naturals couldn't come up with any more runs.
They had a chance in the seventh when Samir Duenez hit a leadoff single and Jack Lopez drew a two-out walk, bringing the tying run to the plate. Wilson then had Logan Moon pinch-hit for Carlos Garcia, but the result was a grounder to short.
"We should be able to come back from four runs down with what we were seeing," Wilson said. "We're at the time of the year when you know what you're playing for. You should put the pressure on yourself and execute."
Cody Bellinger drove in Tulsa's first run with a first-inning sacrifice fly, then capped the scoring when he belted his 23rd home run of the season into the Naturals' bullpen in right field. The Drillers (68-67, 31-35) added three runs in the fourth with four straight two-out singles against Ashton Goudeau (5-13).
Short hops
• Infielder Jack Lopez was activated off the seven-day disabled list and drew the start at second base. Lopez went on the disabled list with a left quad injury on Aug. 23.
• Goudeau has had a decision in 18 consecutive outings, which extends his franchise record.
• Tulsa starter Andrew Sopko (2-2) allowed just four hits over six innings and struck out seven batters, with his only blemish being the home run O'Hearn hit.
On Deck: Northwest Arkansas and Tulsa conclude their series with a 7:05 p.m. game today. Left-hander Eric Skoglund (6-10, 3.55), the Texas League leader in strikeouts, while take the mound for Northwest Arkansas, while Tulsa will counter with right-hander Scott Barlow (4-7, 3.71)
Today's Promotion: Fan Appreciation Weekend begins with the traditional Friday night fireworks, and fans will be able to vote on the music theme for the fireworks. Scout groups from throughout the area will have the opportunity to camp out on the outfield grass after the game, and the team store will have 40 percent off items storewide.
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com.
Sports on 09/02/2016