Held Without a Hit for 6 Innings, Drillers Rally for 4-2 Win
July 12, 2025 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Tulsa Drillers celebrate a late win
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Braeden Botts)
North Little Rock, AR - For the second straight game, the Tulsa Drillers and the Arkansas Travelers played a tightly-contested, well-pitched game on Saturday at Dickey-Stephens Park. Unlike the previous night when the Travelers picked up a 2-1 win, the Drillers came out on top on Saturday for one of their best wins of the season.
The Drillers were held without a hit for six innings before producing three runs over the final three innings and rallying for a 4-2 win over the Travelers.
Tulsa actually took an initial lead in the game without getting a hit. Kyle Nevin drew a leadoff walk in the second inning, and he worked his way around the bases by stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch. From there, he scored on a ground out from Chris Newell.
Tulsa starting pitcher Roque Gutierrez held the Travelers scoreless through the first three innings, striking out six straight batters by striking out the side in both the second and third innings.
Gutierrez ran into trouble in the bottom of the fourth, giving up four straight hits to open the inning as the Travelers took a 2-1 lead.
Arkansas starting pitcher Marcelo Perez, who was making just his fourth start at the Double-A level, held the Drillers hitless through the first six innings.
Tulsa finally got its first hit in the seventh, and it helped to tie the game. With one out, Yeiner Fernandez ended the no-hit bid with a lined singled into centerfield. Reliever Taylor Floyd came on for Perez, and Nevin greeted him with another hit to put runners at first and second. After a fly out, Newell delivered a clutch, two-out hit with a single into centerfield that brought Fernandez home with the tying run.
The Drillers continued their offensive resurgence in the top of the eighth. John Rhodes led off and reached safely on an error. He came home with the go-ahead run when Ezequiel Pagan followed and lined a double into the left field corner.
Taylor Young's bunt single put runners at first and third, but Pagan was thrown out at the plate attempting to score on Kole Myers' ground ball. A double steal by Young and Myers put runners at second and third for Fernandez, and he hit a ground ball to third baseman Ben Ramirez. Young raced home and slid in safely just ahead of Ramirez's throw to the plate, upping the Tulsa lead to 4-2.
Drillers' reliever Robinson Ortiz, who had gotten the final two outs in the seventh inning, struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth.
Antonio Knowles was handed responsibility for the bottom of the ninth, and he struck out two while delivering his seventh save of the year.
INSIDE THE GAME
*Young's bunt single in the seventh inning extended his hitting streak to 14 straight games. The hitting streak is the longest by a Tulsa hitter this season and the longest active hitting streak in the Texas League.
*Gutierrez made just his second start in his fourth appearance with the Drillers, and he pitched effectively. He worked four complete innings and was charged with two runs on five hits. More impressively, he issued just one walk while striking out seven batters.
*Reliever Kelvin Bautista followed Gutierrez to the mound and was credited with 1.1 scoreless innings. Kelvin Ramirez worked around two hits and two walks to record one scoreless inning.
*Ortiz was outstanding, retiring all five batters he faced, with four on strikeouts to pick up his first win at the Double-A level. In seven games since joining the Drillers, he has given up just one run in 11.0 innings pitched.
*In his last five appearances, Knowles has two wins and three saves. He has allowed just one run in his last 10 games, logging a 0.73 ERA in that stretch. Since giving up three earned runs in each of his first two outings this season, he has a 1.62 ERA in his last 25 games, dating to April 13.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will close out their series with the Travelers on Sunday afternoon, looking for a win that would give them a split of the six-game series. Starting time for the finale is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:
Tulsa - RHP Peter Heubeck (2-5, 4.45 ERA)
Arkansas - RHP Michael Morales (2-4, 4.11 ERA)
Images from this story
 Tulsa Drillers celebrate a late win (Braeden Botts) |
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