Big First Inning Drops Drillers
TL Tulsa Drillers

Big First Inning Drops Drillers

August 2, 2025 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


Tulsa Drillers' Chris Newell in action
Tulsa Drillers' Chris Newell in action
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Conor Lacefield)

Midland, TX - The Tulsa Drillers three-game winning streak was snapped on Saturday night when they were unable to overcome the Midland RockHounds big first inning. Midland opened the game by scoring seven runs in the bottom of the first inning, but the Drillers attempted a comeback. They eventually trimmed their deficit to just three runs, but Midland responded with three more runs of its own in the bottom half of the eighth inning and defeated the Drillers 11-6 at Momentum Bank Ballpark.

Tulsa's loss dropped its the record in the six-game series to 3-2 and the season record between the two teams to 6-5 in favor of the RockHounds with one game remaining between the squads this season.

Patrick Copen made his tenth start on the mound for the Drillers on Saturday, and the outing did not go his way. The RockHounds earned three hits and drew three walks in the first inning against Copen, with runs scoring on a double, a single, and a bases-loaded walk.

Livan Reinoso replaced Copen after 34 pitches, and Midland generated four more runs on a single, a hit batter with the bases loaded, and two bases-loaded walks. Five of the seven runs scored in the inning came with two outs.

Midland had starting pitcher Henry Baez making his first start with the club after he was traded from the San Diego Padres to the Athletics at the trade deadline. Baez had a dominant start to the game as he retired the first 11 Drillers batters he faced.

With two outs in the fourth, Tulsa finally broke through against Baez to earn its first hits and runs. Kyle Nevin doubled for the first hit, and Chris Newell followed with a single that scored Nevin. Newcomer Zach Ehrhard delivered another single, and during the next at-bat, Newell scored on a wild pitch. Griffin Lockwood-Powell drove in the final run of the inning with his single that made the score 7-3.

Midland scored an eighth run in the bottom half of the fourth.

The Drillers produced two more runs in the eighth inning on a double by Ehrhard and a single from another newcomer, James Tibbs III, making the score 8-5.

They would get no closer as two RBI singles and a sacrifice fly from the Hounds in the eighth inning increased the lead to 11-5.

The Drillers did not go down easy in the ninth. Tulsa had the bases loaded with one out but only scored one run on Nevin's RBI force out before a groundout ended the game.

INSIDE THE GAME

*The Drillers announced a series of roster moves earlier in the day. Outfielders Tibbs III and Ehrhard were added to Tulsa's roster following the Los Angeles Dodgers trade that sent former Driller Dustin May to the Boston Red Sox. To make room on the roster, Kendall Simmons was released by the Dodgers, and Ezequiel Pagán was placed on the Development List. Tibbs III is listed as the #7 prospect and Ehrhard as the #25 prospect in the Dodgers organization, according to MLB Pipeline. Ehrhard attended Oklahoma State University.

*Newell's on-base streak increased to 18 straight games as he finished with two hits.

*Tulsa pitchers issued ten walks in the loss, marking the second time this week that the Drillers have issued ten or more walks in a game.

*Copen entered the game having given up only nine earned runs in his first nine starts with Tulsa. He was tagged with six earned runs on Saturday, raising his ERA to 3.48 and dropping his record to 0-3.

*Ehrhard finished with two hits in his first game with the Drillers.

*Kelvin Ramirez and Brandon Neeck were the only Tulsa pitchers not charged with a run.

*Tibbs III finished with one hit in his Drillers debut. He was a first-round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants in 2024 out of Florida State. Tibbs III was also included in the trade earlier this season that sent Rafael Devers to the Giants

*Taylor Young had his 11-game on-base streak broken, finishing 0-4.

UP NEXT

The Drillers will conclude their series in Midland against the RockHounds on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m. at Momentum Bank Ballpark. The starting pitchers are scheduled to be:

Tulsa - RHP Roque Gutierrez (1-1, 7.43 ERA)

Midland - LHP Gage Jump (5-2, 1.87 ERA)

Check out the Tulsa Drillers Statistics




Images from this story

Tulsa Drillers' Chris Newell in action
Tulsa Drillers' Chris Newell in action
(Conor Lacefield)		   



Texas League Stories from August 2, 2025


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