Gardner allowed five hits and one run over six innings in the Drillers' 5-1 victory over the Springfield Cardinals in the opener of a four-game series Friday night at ONEOK Field.
"I thought for the first time this year he got over the hump a little bit," Drillers manager Duane Espy said. "He got his rhythm and was able to use both his sinker and changeup effectively. It has been a struggle for him to get to those other pitches because of his struggles with his fastball command. I thought tonight he made some big strides with that."
The Drillers' second home sellout of the season, 8,671 fans, watched pinch-hitter Kiel Roling contribute a key two-run double that was the highlight of a four-run tiebreaking outburst in the sixth inning that propelled Gardner to his first win of 2012.
Gardner walked one and struck out five as he needed only 79 pitches to turn in his longest outing this season. He did not make it past four innings before reaching his pitch limit in his previous two starts.
"He stayed down the middle and didn't try to pick," Drillers pitcher Dave Schuler said. "It was a rebound effort for him. I told him when you throw your changeup you've got to let it go because the arm action is what makes it very deceptive. If you're just trying to place it in there, it's like hitting off a batting machine. You've got to give it your all and stay with your pitches rather than just steer it over. That's what happens when you lose a little confidence.
"He pitched with a lot more conviction tonight. He can come in and look in the mirror knowing he did what he's capable of doing and did it aggressively."
That was especially so after the second inning when he gave up a two-out walk that led to a run as pitcher Scott Gorgen produced an RBI single that gave the Cardinals (8-13) a 1-0 lead.
"I told him after that inning that there is no expectancy level, that the future doesn't even exist and you've got to get it done right now," Schuler said.
Gardner (1-0) then retired 12 of 14 batters over the next four innings as he lowered his ERA from 4.15 to 3.32. He was helped by good defensive plays from third baseman Nolan Arenado and right fielder Kent Matthes.
"Like Schu has been telling me, what I did last year was throw to contact and that's what I got back to," Gardner said. "The defense is going to work for me at all times and they are doing an amazing job."
The North Division-leading Drillers (15-6), who are five games ahead of second-place Northwest Arkansas, are the Texas League's top fielding team with only seven errors in 21 games.
Gardner, who had a 2.48 ERA in six starts for Tulsa last year, was a reliever in the Rockies' major league camp this spring and had a 3.00 ERA with one save in three appearances.
"It doesn't matter where they put me, starting or relieving, I'm just going to go out there and pitch and do what I do best, get ground balls," Gardner said.
Ben Paulsen's third-inning homer was the only run that Gorgen allowed until the sixth. Paulsen led off with a double and advanced to third on Matthes' deep fly out. After Mike Zuanich was hit by a pitch, Paulsen scored on Angelys Nina's sacrifice fly. Lars Davis then walked and the runners moved up to second and third on a passed ball. Roling followed with a ground-rule double over the center-field wall. Roling scored when left fielder Jake Shaffer misplayed Josh Rutledge's single.
A four-run lead was enough for the Drillers' bullpen as Cory Riordan, Royce Ring and Coty Woods combined to retire nine of the final 11 hitters to close out the win for Gardner.
Texas League
Up next
Vs. Springfield7:05 p.m. Saturday
Radio: KTBZ am1430
Original Print Headline: Drillers win opener against Springfield
Barry Lewis 918-581-8393
barry.lewis@tulsaworld.com
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