Frisco, TX – The Tulsa Drillers returned to action Friday night following the MLB All-Star break and earned a dramatic victory over the Frisco RoughRiders at Riders Field. The two teams entered the ninth inning tied at 4-4, but Jose De Paula delivered the biggest swing of the night with a two-run homer that was the difference in Tulsa’s 6-4 win.
The win snapped a two-game skid and gave the Drillers a 4-3 lead in the season series against the RoughRiders with two games remaining between the teams this season.
It also moved Tulsa back into a first-place tie with Springfield. The Cardinals were beaten by Amarillo.
The Drillers never trailed on Friday as they opened the game by scoring three runs in the first inning. The game began with Kendall George and De Paula both reaching base with singles. Mike Sirota followed by grounding into a force out at second base, which allowed George to score from third base. Zyhir Hope was next and he doubled, and Jake Gelof drew a walk before Kyle Nevin singled home Sirota. Frank Rodriguez drew a bases-loaded walk to force in the Drillers third run.
Frisco gained a run back in the bottom of the first when Arturo Disla drove in a run with a single to make the score 3-1.
Neither team scored again until the fifth inning when Sirota produced Tulsa’s fourth run with a sacrifice fly.
The RoughRiders made it a one-run game in the bottom of the fifth when two walks and a single loaded the bases for Disla, who drove in two more runs with his second hit of the game.
Frisco’s two runs in the fifth ended Payton Martin’s night on the mound as he completed 4.1 innings and was officially charged with three runs on six hits and four walks with six strikeouts. The six punch outs matched his season high, and it was the third time he had reached that mark this season.
The Drillers held the 4-3 lead until the bottom of the eighth when Max Wagner tied the score with a solo home run on the first pitch of the inning.
The game was not tied for long as Jose Izarra was hit by the first pitch to begin the top of the ninth and De Paula followed with his opposite-field, two-run homer that put the Drillers back in front, 6-4.
In the bottom half of the ninth, Tulsa reliever Christian Suarez earned the first two outs before manager Eric Wedge turned to Antonio Knowles to record the final out of the game.
GAME NOTES
*The Drillers are now 32-10 this season when scoring first.
*Hope earned another hit to continue his hot July. In 12 games this month, the outfielder is hitting .404 and leads the Texas League with 6 home runs and 21 RBI for the month.
*Sirota’s 72-game, on-base streak ended with what was a 0-4 night, but he did score a run and drove in two more. He had reached base in the first inning on a fielder’s choice, but that does not count towards the streak. His streak included the first 42 games that he had played in with the Drillers, and before his promotion to Tulsa, he had reached base in his final 30 games with High-A Great Lakes. The streak was just two games from matching the longest on-base streak in Minor League Baseball since Andrew Velasquez reached base in 74 straight games for Class-A South Bend in the 2014 season.
*Suarez was credited with the win to improve his record to 5-3.
*De Paula’s homer was his 16th this season and his 69th RBI in 81 games played
*Nevin finished with three hits to record his seventh three-hit game this season.
*Kelvin Ramirez pitched a scoreless one and two-thirds innings and has not allowed a run in his last six outings.
*Knowles earned his third save with the Drillers in 2026 and has not allowed a run in 14 of his 15 games pitched this season.
UP NEXT
The Drillers and RoughRiders will play the second game of their short, three-game set on Saturday night at Riders Field. Game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:
Tulsa– LHP Adam Serwinowski (7-2, 5.10 ERA)
Frisco– LHP Dalton Pence (2-2, 2.51 ERA)