The Arkansas Travelers were three outs away from splitting their doubleheader against the San Antonio Missions on Tuesday.
Then came the seventh inning.
Luis Urias' grand slam off Travelers reliever Thyago Vieira capped a six-run inning for the Missions, who won 6-3 to sweep the twinbill in front of an announced crowd of 4,282 at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
The game was tied at 2-2 when Urias hit a two-out grand slam on an 0-2 pitch from Vieira to the berm in left-center field that gave the Missions their first lead, 6-2.
Urias' home run came as a surprise to Missions Manager Phillip Wellman, who admitted after River Stevens' game-tying hit earlier in the inning, he was prepared to play more than seven innings.
"He crushed it," Wellman said. "He may have been the only one not surprised. It was huge. Good for him. The kid is 19 years old.
"That's a big stage moment for him. Hopefully he takes it and runs with it."
Arkansas led 2-0 entering the seventh inning, but Vieira, making his second appearance, struggled.
Vieira hit Nick Schulz in the back on a 1-1 pitch to lead off the seventh. Franmil Reyes single put runners on first and second with no one out. Alberth Martinez cut the Travs' lead to 2-1 with a one-out RBI single.
The Missions tied the game at 2-2 as Stevens lined a 2-2 pitch from Vieira to right field, scoring Reyes.
The Travs pulled within 6-3 in the bottom of the seventh on Brock Hebert's first home run -- the team's first of 2017. But Trey Wingenter retired the next three batters to help the Missions earn the series victory.
Vieira (0-1), the Seattle Mariners' No. 11 prospect by MLB.com, gave up 6 runs on 4 hits in 1 inning.
"It's a learning experience," Arkansas Manager Daren Brown said. "We move on. We're not going to dwell too much on it."
The Travs lost the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader, 5-1. Thousands of schoolchildren were in attendance.
Monday night's postponement required a Tuesday doubleheader to complete the series.
Arkansas received a solid effort by Mariners pitching prospect Andrew Moore in the second game.
Moore, 22, allowed 2 hits and struck out 5 in 6 innings. He walked one in 90 pitches.
Moore, the Mariners' No. 4 prospect according to MLB.com, has not allowed a run in 12 innings and has struck out 12 while walking 3.
"I didn't think he was as sharp as he was the first time out," Brown said. "He did a nice job of making pitches and doing what he does. It was a nice start for him."
The Travs scored two in the bottom of the fifth to stake him to a 2-0 lead. Chance Mack led off the inning with a base hit off Missions starter Cesar Vargas, then advanced to second base on a passed ball by San Antonio catcher Stephen McGee. Joey Wong hit a one-out RBI single to right field to give the Travs a 1-0 lead. Justin Seager followed with a ground-rule double, then Ian Miller made it 2-0 with a run-scoring single.
The Missions were led in the first game by Perez, who went 2 for 3, including a home run.
San Antonio scored four runs in the third inning off Travs starter Lindsey Caughel (0-1), who allowed 5 runs on 7 hits in 5 1/3 innings
Kyle Waldrop's RBI double in the fourth accounted for Arkansas' only run.
GAME ONE
S. ANTONIO AB R H BI ARKANSAS AB R H BI
Urias, ss 4 1 1 0 Miller, cf 4 0 1 0
Perio, 2b 4 1 1 0 Baum, 3b 3 1 0 0
Torres, lf 3 1 1 1 Waldrop, rf 2 0 1 1
Reyes, rf 3 1 1 2 Casteel, 1b 3 0 1 0
Perez, 1b 3 1 2 1 Marlette, c 3 0 0 0
Schulz, dh 3 0 1 1 Mack, lf 3 0 0 0
Stevens, 3b 2 0 0 0 Hebert, 2b 3 0 0 0
Kennedy, c 3 0 0 0 Wong, ss 3 0 0 0
Martinez, cf 3 0 0 0 Seager, dh 3 0 1 0
TOTALS 28 5 7 5 totals 27 1 4 1
San Antonio 004 001 0 -- 5 7 2
Arkansas 001 000 0 -- 1 4 0
E -- Urias 2. LOB -- San Antonio 3, Arkansas 8. 2B -- Perez, Torres, Reyes, Waldrop, Miller. 3B -- Schulz. HR -- Perez (2). SB -- Baum.
San Antonio IP H R ER BB SO
Lloyd W, 2-0 5 3 1 0 3 5
McGrath 2 1 0 0 0 2
Arkansas IP H R ER BB SO
Caughel L, 0-1 51/3 7 5 5 1 3
Curtis 12/3 0 0 0 0 0
Umpires -- Home: Gorman; First: Conrad; Third: McCrady. Time -- 2:07. Attendance -- NA
GAME TWO
S. ANTONIO AB R H BI ARKANSAS AB R H BI
Urias, ss 3 1 1 4 Miller, cf 4 0 2 1
Perio, 2b 4 0 0 0 Baum, 3b 3 0 0 0
Schulz, lf 2 1 0 0 Waldrop, rf 2 0 0 0
Reyes, rf 3 1 1 0 Casteel, dh 3 0 0 0
Perez, 1b 3 0 1 0 Littlewood, c 3 0 0 0
Martinez, dh 3 1 2 1 Mack, lf 3 1 2 0
Stevens, 3b 3 1 1 1 Hebert, 2b 3 1 1 1
McGee, c 2 1 0 0 Wong, ss 3 1 1 1
Bousfield, cf 3 0 0 0 Seager, 1b 3 0 1 0
TOTALS 26 6 6 6 totals 27 3 7 3
San Antonio 000 000 6 -- 6 6 0
Arkansas 000 020 1 -- 3 7 0
DP -- San Antonio 1, Arkansas 1. LOB -- San Antonio 2, Arkansas 4. 2B -- Martinez, Perez, Seager. HR -- Urias (2), Hebert (1). SB -- Miller.
sAN anTONIO IP H R ER BB SO
Vargas 41/3 5 2 2 1 3
De Paula W, 1-0 12/3 1 0 0 0 2
Wingenter 1 1 1 1 0 0
ARKANSAS IP H R ER BB SO
Moore 6 2 0 0 1 5
Vieira L, 0-1 1 4 6 6 1 1
HBP -- Schulz (by Vieira). Umpires -- Home: Conrad; First: McCrady; Third: Gorman. Time -- 2:11. Attendance -- 4,282.
Up next
TRAVELERS AT HOOKS
WHEN 7:05 p.m. Thursday WHERE Whataburger Field, Corpus Christi, Texas RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in central Arkansas WEBSITE travs.com PITCHERS Travs: RHP Max Povse (1-0, 0.00 ERA); Hooks: TBD
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY Off THURSDAY at Corpus Christi, 7:05 p.m. FRIDAY at Corpus Christi, 7:05 p.m. SATURDAY at Corpus Christi, 7:05 p.m. SUNDAY at San Antonio, 2:05 p.m. MONDAY at San Antonio, 11:05 a.m. TUESDAY at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m.
Sports on 04/12/2017