Drillers Shut out in Home Stand Finale
June 8, 2025 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Tulsa Drillers pitcher Peter Heubeck
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Rich Crimi)
Tulsa, OK - In Sunday's series finale between the Tulsa Drillers and the Amarillo Sod Poodles, the game was decided on one swing of the bat. Unfortunately for the Drillers, that swing came from an Amarillo bat. Kevin Graham's solo home run in the eighth inning produced the only offense in the game and sent the Drillers to a 1-0 loss at ONEOK Field.
The result allowed the Sod Poodles to claim a series win as it was their third straight and their fourth victory of the six-game series.
The finale featured a combined 11 hits between the two teams with Tulsa registering just 4. It marked the fifth time this season that the Drillers have been shut out, and just the second time at ONEOK Field.
The game's first scoring chances did not come until the fifth inning. In the top half of the inning, a double and a walk put runners at first and second for the Sod Poodles, but Tulsa starting pitcher Peter Heubeck escaped by getting a 6-4-3 double play.
The Drillers got a leadoff double from Chris Newell in the bottom half of the fifth, but he advanced no further as a pop out, a strikeout and a ground out ended the inning.
Graham's eighth-inning home run was especially painful because he was hitting in the ninth spot of the Amarillo order and entered the game without a homer and a .100 batting average. The game-deciding hit came against reliever Jerming Rosario and with two outs and the bases empty. On a full count, Graham golfed a low offering from Rosario just into the right field bullpens.
The Drillers could not muster a response as Amarillo relievers retired the final 13 Tulsa batters of the game.
The loss came despite another strong start from Heubeck. He surrendered just four hits and one walk while striking out nine in six complete innings. The nine strikeouts were a season high for Heubeck and matched the 2025 high for a Drillers pitcher.
The outing capped a big series for the right-hander who is ranked as the 25th best prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system by MLB Pipeline. Heubeck also started Tuesday's series opener against the Sod Poodles and did not allow a run or a hit. In his two starts in the series, he worked a total of 11.2 innings and did not allow a run while giving up just 4 hits and striking out 16.
INSIDE THE GAME
*The game took just 2 hours and 21 minutes to complete.
*Tulsa starting pitchers enjoyed a good series against the Sod Poodles. In the six games, Drillers starters worked 28.2 total innings and allowed just 11 earned runs for a combined 3.45 ERA. In five of the six games, the starters worked into at least the sixth inning.
*Taylor Young singled in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to six straight games. He has had a pair of three-hit games during the streak and has raised his season batting average by 25 points during the stretch.
*Yeiner Fernandez accounted for half of Tulsa's four hits. It marked his 13th multi-hit game of the season, tied with Ezequiel Pagán for the second most on the team and just one game behind leader Damon Keith's 14 multi-hit games.
*Kendall Simmons was added to the Tulsa roster just prior to game time and started at second base. Simmons, who was signed as a free agent by the Dodgers over the winter, was originally a draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies. He finished 0-3 in his debut.
*Pitcher Christian Suarez was moved to the Temporarily Inactive List to make room on the roster for Simmons.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will have Monday off before traveling to Springfield for a series against the Cardinals. The six-game set will begin on Tuesday night at Hammons Field with first pitch for the opener scheduled for 7:05 p.m. It will be Tulsa's only trip to Springfield this season.
Images from this story
 Tulsa Drillers pitcher Peter Heubeck (Rich Crimi) |
Texas League Stories from June 8, 2025
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- Big 10th Inning Sends Cards Home a Winner in Frisco - Springfield Cardinals
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- Dickerson Hits Walk-Off Home Run in Naturals 6-5 Win Versus Wind Surge - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Wind Surge Walked off by Naturals - Wichita Wind Surge
- Drillers Shut out in Home Stand Finale - Tulsa Drillers
- Amarillo Wins Third Straight on Graham's Blast - Amarillo Sod Poodles
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