Midland, TX – One night after hitting four home runs and scoring eight runs, the Tulsa Drillers were unable to keep their offensive momentum going on Thursday night at Momentum Bank Ballpark. Three Midland RockHounds pitchers held Tulsa scoreless for the first eight innings, before the Drillers rallied for two runs in the ninth to avoid the shutout in a 4-2 loss.
The defeat dropped Tulsa’s record to 1-2 against the RockHounds this season and to 4-6 in its last 10 games.
The loss also dropped the Drillers season record to 76-47, and they remain two wins away from matching the most wins in franchise history.
Prior to Thursday’s game, left-hander Wyatt Crowell was activated from the Injured List to pitch in his first game since July 19 in what was his 10th start of 2026. His return ended in the first inning, as a single and three walks resulted in the RockHounds scoring the night’s first run. Crowell exited the game after recording two outs and throwing 34 pitches.
Myles Caba took over for Crowell and recorded the final out in the first inning and retired Midland in the second. In the third, Devin Taylor drew a walk to begin the inning and scored when Brennan Milone doubled to left to increase the RockHounds lead to 2-0.
A walk and a single began Midland’s half of the fifth. A sacrifice bunt and a double followed to produce two more runs to increase the Midland lead to 4-0.
The Drillers were held to only one hit over the next three innings by Midland reliever Kenya Huggins, and five hits total, before they made things interesting in the final inning.
Taylor Young and Josue De Paula began the top of the ninth by reaching base on a single and an error. A wild pitch advanced both runners to second and third before Griffin Lockwood-Powell delivered a two-out single to score both and cut the deficit to 4-2 and end the shutout. But, Tulsa’s rally ended one batter later as a strikeout ended the game.
GAME NOTES
*Chris Newell earned his third straight 20-20 season by stealing his 20th base on Thursday. It marked his third consecutive season of tallying at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in four full seasons of professional baseball.
*With his run in the ninth, De Paula now has scored 98 runs this season. He is just two runs and two RBI away from being just the second Drillers player to ever score and drive in 100 in a single season, joining Carlos Pena. De Paula is also seven runs away from matching the Drillers single season franchise record of 105, set by Tim Wheeler in 2011.
*Crowell was charged with the loss, dropping his record to 7-6.
*Reliever Evan Shaw held Midland scoreless for the final three innings and did not give up a hit while striking out three.
*Newell and Jake Gelof each earned a hit to increase their hitting streaks to five straight games.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will play the fourth game of their six-game series with the RockHounds on Friday night. Starting time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and the pitching matchup is slated to be:
Tulsa – RHP Christian Zazueta (1-2, 3.69 ERA)
Midland – RHP Jackson Finley (2-1, 3.00 ERA)