Williams Perez has been one of the most effective pitchers during the last month of the Texas League schedule. The Arkansas Travelers are hoping that trend continues into the postseason.
Perez (6-1, 2.28 ERA) will be on the mound today at Dickey-Stephens Park as the Travelers (71-68) face the Tulsa Drillers (74-65) in the North Division Championship Series. The Travs will host the first two games of the best-of-five series. The two teams will play at Tulsa for the duration.
Today’s game
ARKANSAS TRAVELERS VS. TULSA DRILLERS
WHAT North Division Championship Series
WHEN 6:10 p.m.
WHERE Dickey-Stephens Park, North Little Rock
RADIO KARN-AM 920 in central Arkansas
WEBSITE travs.com
PITCHERS Travs: RHP Williams Perez (6-1, 2.28 ERA); Drillers: Tony Gonsolin (6-0, 2.44)
TICKETS $12 box, $8 reserved ($5 kids), $6 general admission ($4 kids). Gates open one hour before first pitch.
PROMOTIONS $1 Hot Dog night. Bring your dog to the park and get your general admission ticket for $1.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Today vs. Tulsa, 6:10 p.m.
Thursday vs. Tulsa, 6:10 p.m.
Friday at Tulsa, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday at Tulsa, 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
Sunday at Tulsa, 1:05 p.m. (if necessary)
"I'm going to be biased because I watch every start he goes out and takes, but he's been very good for us," Travs Manager Daren Brown said. "He does what he does. He gives us a chance to win whenever he takes the mound. He does what you expect with his background and his experience."
Perez, 27, has made 31 starts in the major leagues, all with Atlanta in 2015 and 2016. He was released by the Braves at the end of the 2016 season. He spent one year in the Chicago Cubs' minor league system before the Mariners signed him to a minor league deal on June 5.
Perez has made 13 starts and pitched 79 innings for the Travelers since joining the team in July. He has struck out 68 batters and walked 13.
"Running him out there for Game One puts us in a good spot if he just goes out and does what he's done since he got here," Brown said.
While Perez has been solid for the Travelers, he has been tough on Tulsa. In his last three starts against the Drillers, Perez is 2-0 and has given up 1 earned run in each of those 3 outings. In his last start against the Drillers on Aug. 21 -- a 3-1 victory for the Travs -- Perez allowed 4 hits, struck out 7 and did not walk a batter over 7 innings.
Tulsa's Tony Gonsolin (6-0, 2.44) will oppose Perez tonight. Gonsolin, a second-half addition to the Drillers roster, has made 9 starts and pitched 44.1 innings, striking out 49 and walking 16.
Gonsolin picked up a no-decision against the Travelers on Aug. 5. He gave up 5 hits and 1 earned run in 4 innings.
The Travelers, who won the first half of the North Division, are making their first playoff appearance while being an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
"Guys grind away all year," Brown said. "The playoffs should give everybody a boost. We play to win every night but it becomes a little bit different when the stakes are a little bit higher. I'm just excited to see how some of our guys react."
Tulsa hit a league-high 184 home runs this season and the Drillers had the two most prolific home run hitters in the Texas League -- D.J. Peters (29) and Jacob Scavuzzo (24). The Drillers, however, were last in batting average among the four North Division teams and suffered a league-high 1,266 strikeouts.
Travelers' first baseman Joey Curletta -- the Texas League Player of the Year -- belted 23 home runs, batted .282 and drove in a league-high 94 runs. Arkansas' Matt Festa (5-2, 2.76) led the Texas League with 20 saves.
Corpus Christi and San Antonio are playing in the South Division Championship Series.
Sports on 09/05/2018