SPRINGDALE – Arkansas Travelers starter Tyler Carpenter hasn’t beaten anybody else in the Texas League, but he’s mastered Northwest Arkansas.
Carpenter earned his third win of the season — all against Northwest Arkansas — in Sunday’s 8-4 win before a crowd of 3,983 in Arvest Ballpark in the opener of a four-game series.
Arkansas (31-38) won its second game in 17 hours after beating Tulsa, 4-3, on Saturday night in 14 innings. The game lasted 4 hours, 37 minutes and ended just 12 minutes shy of midnight.
On Sunday, Carpenter opened with four shutout innings, giving up just a double to Alex Gordon in the first inning and a single to Ryan O’Hearn in the fourth inning, before the Naturals finally touched him for a run in the fifth inning.
“He threw really great,” Travs manager Mark Parent said. “He used his fastball really well and changed his speeds, in and out. He’s limited to five or six innings each time out, but he gave us a good chance to win.”
Carlos Diaz doubled with an out and scored on a soft single by Jack Lopez for the Naturals’ first run, breaking a scoreless streak of 25 2/3 innings. Northwest Arkansas (29-40) hadn’t scored since the sixth inning of Thursday’s game against Springfield.
“We scuffled pitch - ing-wise,” Naturals manager Vance Wilson said. “Our pitching’s changed, so when you look at our stats, we’ve lost some guys. When you’re offense is struggling and then the pitching staff goes out and has that kind of inning, it handcuffs your offense. We finally got a little offense, but the pitching wasn’t there.”
Gordon began a rehabilitation assignment (wrist injury) on Sunday. It was his first action since the Royals’ 3-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox on May 22 when he and Mike Moustakas collided while chasing a foul ball. Moustakas suffered a season-ending knee injury on the play.
SHORT HOPS
• Naturals’ pitchers issued eight walks on Sunday, giving them 164 for the season, which is still best in the Texas League.
• Travelers’ batters struck out 12 times on Sunday, giving them 609 for the season, which is the most in the Texas League.
• Through 69 games this season, Travelers’ Manager Mark Parent has used a different starting lineup configuration in all 69 games.
On Deck: Kris Medlen will be the starting pitcher for Northwest Arkansas today as part of a rehab assignment and will oppose Alex Blackford (2-3, 3.41). Medlen is slated to make a start for the Triple-A Omaha later in the week.
Today’s Promotion: Ozarks Electric Cooperative Corporation will sponsor Monday Night Lights. Ozarks Electric customers who bring their electric bill or a Co-op Connections Card to the Arvest Ballpark Box Office will receive $5 premium tickets. Tyson Foods will sponsor Dollar Hot Dogs while Indigo Sky Casino will sponsor bingo for prizes.
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Sports on 06/20/2016