Springfield, MO – The 1st-Half North Division Champion Springfield Cardinals rallied with three runs in the ninth, but the Tulsa Drillers took the 7-3 win before 6,257 fans at Hammons Field on Monday night. The Cardinals closed the home portion of the Regular Season with four sell-outs in their last five games and five straight crowds larger than 6,000 fans.
Cardinals RHP Johnny Walter (L, 0-6) and Tulsa RHP Chase De Jong (W, 14-5) battled back and forth through two scoreless innings to start, before the Drillers (30-33, 67-65) broke through in the top of the fourth. CF Alex Verdugo reached on a fielding error on 1B Jonathan Rodriguez to start the inning, before LF Kyle Garlick was hit by a pitch. 1B Cody Bellinger then swatted a three-run shot to left field, opening a 3-0 lead for Tulsa.
Walter came back with a scoreless fifth inning, but Bellinger and the Drillers struck again in the sixth. After a Walter strikeout started the stanza, Bellinger blasted a solo home run to right field, opening the Tulsa lead to 4-0.
Tulsa kept swinging away in the top of the seventh inning. 2B Willie Calhoun started the stanza with a single, followed by a base hit from Verdugo one out later. Walter struck out Garlick, but Bellinger bounced a two-run single up the middle, bringing in both runners for his fifth and sixth RBIs of the night to make it 6-0.
After a solo home run from SS Tim Locastro in the top of the ninth stretched the Tulsa lead to 7-0, the Cardinals (29-33, 70-62) attempted a comeback in the bottom of the ninth. Facing RHP Yaisel Sierra, Rodriguez worked a one-out walk to reach base. He then came racing home from first on an RBI double by pinch-hitting INF Cole Lankford, who was in his first Double-A at-bat. One out later, C Jesse Jenner and RF Blake Drake connected on consecutive RBI singles, bringing Springfield within four runs. Sierra, however, won the battle against CF Harrison Bader with a game-ending strikeout, and Tulsa hung on for the 7-3 win.
Click here for the complete box score from Monday's game.
