TULSA, Okla. (May 2, 2026) — Down by four at two separate times, the San Antonio Missions (6-20) scored a run in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to make it a one-run game, but the Tulsa Drillers (18-8) hung onto a 5-4 win. Ethan Salas hit his fifth homer in his last seven games, but Cam Day got Salas to ground out in the ninth on the way to sealing Tulsa’s win.
Both teams threatened in the first, but the game headed into the second inning scoreless. Missions starter Ian Koenig allowed a single and hit a batter before some frustrating defense led to Tulsa’s big inning. Frank Rodriguez hit a fly ball to right field, where Braedon Karpathios got to it but whiffed at the catch attempt, allowing a run to score. Two batters later, Josue De Paula lifted a ball way up in the air that carried into the Drillers’ bullpen and gave Tulsa a 4-0 lead.
Driller starter Wyatt Crowell didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning, but the Missions’ first hit also led to their first run. Luis Verdugo doubled home Leandro Cedeño, who had walked, making it 4-1 in the third.
The Drillers added a run on Kendall George’s single in the fourth. All five runs allowed by Koenig went down as unearned since a catcher interference call allowed Kole Myers, who scored on that George single, to reach in the first place. Koenig left the game with two outs in the fourth.
Down 5-1, San Antonio’s comeback effort began in the sixth once Crowell left the game. Verdugo hit a sacrifice fly to drive in another run and make it 5-2. In the seventh, Carson Hobbs entered, and after giving up two home runs on Wednesday, Salas greeted him with another. Salas smoked the ball 100mph off the bat 389ft onto the right field berm, cutting Tulsa’s advantage to 5-3. The long ball marked Salas’s fifth in his last seven games and his third this week in Tulsa.
The Missions covered the corners with nobody out in the eighth, forcing Hobbs to leave the game in favor of Cam Day. Carson Tucker drove in one run with a sacrifice fly, but Day wiggled out of more trouble to maintain a 5-4 edge.
Sadrac Franco held Tulsa down in the eighth, so the ninth inning rolled around with the Missions down just one. Chris Sargent Jr., Salas and Kai Roberts each came to bat as the tying-run, but Day retired all of them to earn his second save of the week and give the Drillers the win.
Up Next:
The Missions and Drillers conclude their six-game series on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in Tulsa. Righty Eric Yost (0-1, 3.50) faces lefty Adam Serwinowski (1-2, 11.00). Catch all the action on Country Legends KKYX, 680 AM, 104.9 FM and kkyx.com. Tickets are available at samissions.com or by calling 210-675-7275.
The San Antonio Missions are the Double-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The Missions were established in 1888 and have brought affordable family fun to the Alamo City for more than 120 seasons. The 13-time Texas League champions play their home games at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium. For more information and tickets, call 210-675-7275 or visit samissions.com.