Pitching, defense carry Naturals

SPRINGDALE — Timely pitching and strong defense paved the way in the Northwest Arkansas Naturals’ 2-1 win against Tulsa on Thursday night in Arvest Ballpark.

“Anytime you win games like that and you play incredible defense, get great pitching and get one or two timely hits like we did, usually if that’s the type of night is, you’ll come out on top,” Naturals manager Vance Wilson said.

Starting pitcher Miguel Almonte set the tone for the Naturals pitching staff on the night, after he held the Drillers hitless until the fourth inning. The righthander only surrendered one run, but worked out of a couple of jams early after letting the lead-off man reach base in three consecutive innings.

With the game tied 1-1 going into the seventh inning, Naturals designated hitter Frank Schwindel came up big delivering a leadoff double and later scored off third baseman Mauricio Ramos’ RBI single.

“Pitching tonight dictated how much offense there was going to be,” Wilson said. “I was just proud of the guys for getting that last run.”

Reliever Reid Redman had a bounce-back performance after his last outing against Corpus Christi, pitching an almost-flawless two innings that saw him only give up one hit to get his first win of the season.

“He was really good,” Wilson said. “The one thing he falls into sometimes is that he’s so aggressive that he throws too many fastballs. He did a good job of mixing in some more sliders and when he got the feel of it, he was able to put some guys away with it. He had some really big-time, big-league sliders.”

SHORT HOPS

■ Reliever Jake Newberry posted his fifth-straight scoreless outing after picking up his second save of the season. The right-hander closed out the ninth leaving a runner stranded at third after giving up two hits and a walk.

■ With his three hits in the game, Naturals right fielder Alfredo Escalera recorded his fourth multi-hit game in his past seven contests. Escalera smacked a leadoff double in the fourth and scored off Schwindel’s sacrifice fly.

On Deck: The Naturals will play in the second of their four-game homestand

against the Tulsa Drillers at 7:05 p.m. today. The Naturals will send right-hander Christian Binford (1-0, 2.25 ERA) to the mound to face off against Drillers right-hander Ivan Vieitez (0-1, 4.32 ERA). Binford got his first win of the season in the series finale against the San Antonio Missions, after he went six innings deep and finished with four strikeouts while giving up only one earned run on three hits.

Today’s Promotion: The first 750 kids in attendance will be given a Shimmer and Shine Teenie Genies Surprise Bottle Toy. The first 20 kids to use the code Shimmer and Shine at guest services will be given a Naturals Prize Pack. Scout groups can get discounted group tickets and have an opportunity to campout in the outfield.

On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1

On The Web: www.nwanaturals.