Bullpen Leads Tulsa to Sunday Win
July 13, 2025 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Kyle Nevin at bat for the Tulsa Drillers
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Braeden Botts)
North Little Rock, AR - The bullpen was the star for the Tulsa Drillers in their extra-innings win over the Arkansas Travelers on Sunday afternoon. After Peter Heubeck was scratched from his scheduled start, Tulsa used a total of six pitchers who combined to allow only three runs. The two teams entered the tenth inning tied at 3-3 before Chris Newell produced the winning runs with his two-out, two-run single in what became a 5-3 win for the Drillers at Dickey-Stephens Park.
The Drillers win gave them a split of the six-game series and evened the season series between the two teams at nine wins each. Tulsa and Arkansas will play one final six-game series in September at ONEOK Field to close out the 2025 regular season.
For the fifth time on their nine-game road trip, the Drillers brought a run across in the first inning on Sunday afternoon. The run scored when Kole Myers and Kyle Nevin both doubled, with Nevin driving in Myers to put Tulsa in front 1-0.
Lefty Brandon Neeck made an unexpected start on the mound in the place of Heubeck and he opened the game with a scoreless first inning, but an error helped Arkansas score a run in the second. Jared Sundstrom began the second with a walk and advanced to third base on a throwing error by Neeck on a pickoff attempt. Sundstrom scored when Caleb Cali singled to.
Michael Arroyo put the Travs in front with his two-run homer in the third inning.
In the fourth, Tulsa scored two runs to bring the game to a 3-3 tie. The inning began with Newell drawing a walk, and after a flyout and a groundout, Ezequiel Pagan hit an RBI triple. Sean McLain followed the triple with a single that bounced off the first base bag to allow Pagan to score and tie the game.
The Drillers bullpen shut down the Travelers over the next five innings. Christian Suarez entered in the fourth inning and allowed just one hit and struck out three hitters in two innings pitched. Jerming Rosario followed, and he threw two perfect innings with two strikeouts.
Jeisson Cabrera was even more impressive as he also completed two perfect innings and tallied four punchouts.
Tulsa's offense was also stymied after tying the game in the fourth inning. After the fourth, the Drillers were held to just two hits over the next five innings by four different Arkansas hurlers.
The game entered extra innings, and with the placed runner at second base, Tulsa quickly loaded the bases with a hit batter and a walk. A 4-2-3 double play followed and kept the Drillers from scoring for the moment. Newell came through in the clutch with his two-out single to right that drove in two runs and put Tulsa up 5-3.
Pitching in his second straight game, Antonio Knowles entered in the bottom of the tenth inning in another save situation. Knowles made quick work of the Travs by retiring the side with a strikeout, a groundout, and a fly out to end the game and record his eighth save.
INSIDE THE GAME
*The win was just Tulsa's third victory on a Sunday this season. The Drillers entered the game with a 2-11 record in Sunday games.
*Cabrera was credited with the win to earn his first of the season.
*Taylor Young finished 0-5 with one strikeout to snap his 14-game hitting streak. The streak ends as the longest by a Tulsa hitter this season. Young also stole his 25th base, which put him fourth in the Texas League for stolen bases this season.
*Neeck allowed one unearned run over two innings in his fourth start on Sunday.
*The save for Knowles puts him tied for the second most saves in the Texas League.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will have four days off for the Major League Baseball All-Star break before returning to play on Friday, July 18 when Tulsa begins a nine-game home stand at ONEOK Field. The home stand will begin with a three-game series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, followed by a six-game series with the Springfield Cardinals.
Images from this story
 Kyle Nevin at bat for the Tulsa Drillers (Braeden Botts) |
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