TEXAS LEAGUE

Travs can't figure out De Jong

Chase De Jong knows it sounds simple, but the Tulsa Drillers right-hander wasn't sure how else to explain his best start of the season.

"Quality fastballs," he said. "That was the goal tonight. I don't know what the exact number was, but I threw a lot of fastballs."

Today’s game

ARKANSAS VS. TULSA

WHEN 7:10 p.m.

WHERE Dickey-Stephens Park, North Little Rock

RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in central Arkansas

WEBSITE travs.com

PITCHERS Travelers: Jordan Kipper (RHP, 2-1, 3.86 ERA); Brock Stewart (RHP, 2-1, 1.61)

TICKETS Gates open 1 hour before first pitch. Box $13, reserved $9 ($6 children), general admission $7 ($5 children).

SHORT HOPS RHP Kyle McGowin was promoted to Class AAA Salt Lake and RHP Alex Blackford was placed on the 7-day disabled list on Thursday. RHP Troy Scribner was brought back to Arkansas from extended spring training and RHP Tyler Carpenter was promoted from Class A Inland Empire.

THE WEEK AHEAD

TODAY Tulsa, 7:10 p.m.

SATURDAY NW Arkansas, 7:10 p.m.

SUNDAY NW Arkansas, 2:10 p.m.

MONDAY NW Arkansas, 7:10 p.m.

TUESDAY NW Arkansas, 7:10 p.m.

WEDNESDAY at Tulsa, 4:05 p.m.

THURSDAY at Tulsa, 7:05 p.m.

That's all he needed against the Arkansas Travelers, when he held them to just 1 single and struck out 8 over 7 innings in their 7-1 victory at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.

De Jong, a second-round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012 acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers last July, effortlessly worked through a Travs lineup that totaled 16 hits and six runs the day before. Using mostly a fastball and a change-up, De Jong retired the first 13 batters he faced and, after a Cal Towey single up the middle in the fifth, retired the next eight in his longest outing of the season while throwing 61 of his 94 pitches for strikes.

It came after he gave up three home runs in his last start and four earned runs in the start before that. De Jong called Thursday night the cleanest outing of the season.

"That's the best my fastball command has been since spring training," he said.

Arkansas Manager Mark Parent was impressed, too, while saying Thursday was an all-around forgettable game. Towey's single was the Travs' only hit until Angel Rosa's single in the eighth, but Anthony Phillips grounded into a double play to end the inning. Bo Way walked and scored on Chad Hinshaw's double in the ninth, but Dustin Richardson retired Eric Aguilera, Andrew Daniel and Towey to end the game.

The Travs weren't any more effective on the mound against the Texas League's lowest-scoring team.

Troy Scribner, who pitched five no-hit innings in a victory Sunday at Springfield, gave up 4 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings.

"It's one you throw away," Parent said. "I can't expect these guys to come out every night and do everything right and nothing wrong. It was one of those days where nothing was clicking, nobody seemed to jell in any aspect."

The Travs trailed for all but the first five pitches of the game. After Scribner struck out Brandon Trinkwon on five pitches, Andrew Toles homered on the first pitch he saw to right field.

A third-round pick by the Rays in 2012, Toles was released by the team in 2014 and spent last year out of baseball working in a grocery store. He hit .370 in 22 games at Class A Rancho Cucamonga before being promoted Wednesday.

"It's a good story," Tulsa Manager Ryan Garko said. "It's fun to see a guy make the most of a second chance."

The Travs stayed within 1-0 until the fifth, when Lars Anderson singled, Tyler Ogle tripled and Paul Hoenecke homered, all off Scribner.

"You can't nibble with all of your pitches," Parent said. "You've got to pick one of them."

De Jong made sure Scribner didn't have any help offensively, as the Travs were held to two runs or less in three of the last four games. Parent said a lighter pregame routine might help them break out of the funk.

"We've been working pretty good," he said. "So we'll cut back on some stuff, hopefully we'll relax and let them play and the outcome will be better tomorrow."

Sports on 05/06/2016

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