Texas League

Former major-leaguer Stults stymies Travelers

DRILLERS 3, TRAVELERS 1

Eric Stults started this season in the rotation of the Atlanta Braves, as the veteran left-hander was hoping to stick with his fifth major league team.

But after a rough start, a move to the bullpen, and a May trade, Stults has found himself back in Class AA for the first time in a decade.

"Obviously, this isn't my first choice," said Stults, after he held the Arkansas Travelers to one run over seven innings in Tulsa's 3-1 victory Thursday night at Dickey-Stephens Park. "But that's their call, and this is the place they feel like they want me right now. All I can do is go out and do my job."

Stults, 35, gave up a lead-off double to Ruben Sosa and a single to Blake Gailen that gave Arkansas a 1-0 lead, but held the Travs in check after that.

A Sherman Johnson double and a Drew Maggi single in the fifth put runners on second and third with no outs, but Stults got a ground out and a strike out before Johnson got caught between third and home on a pitch in the dirt that didn't get away far enough for him to score. Stults didn't allow another runner past first base as he improved to 4-4 and lowered his ERA to 3.38 in 8 starts at Tulsa.

Stults' experience also provided a reference point for the young Travs, who had their season-high seven-game winning streak snapped.

"It's great for development," Arkansas Manager Bill Richardson said. "That's a big-league arm that really knows how to pitch. Whenever you get to face a guy like that, it only makes you better."

Stults takes seriously his current task of proving he still belongs in the big leagues, even if he's not wearing his preferred uniform.

He spent the last 2 1/2 seasons in the San Diego Padres rotation, going 27-33 with a 3.97 ERA in 79 starts. Before that, he spent four seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and parts of a season each with the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox. In February, he signed with the Braves and won a spot in the rotation out of spring training.

Stults struggled in Atlanta, winning once in eight starts with a 5.85 ERA. On May 27, he was sent back to the Dodgers, the team that drafted him in 2002, in a trade involving veteran infielder Juan Uribe. He started at Tulsa, pitched in four games at Class AAA Oklahoma City in July before being sent back to Tulsa.

Stults' journey back includes pitching at a level he hadn't seen since 2005, before his major league debut.

"Hopefully, I put up good enough numbers where they think you can contribute on a big-league club," he said. "I'm the same pitcher I was at the beginning of the year when I was in the rotation with Atlanta as I am now. It's just going out and pitching."

Sports on 08/28/2015

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