Mike Sirota gave Tulsa a little life in a rough night, but the Drillers still walked off the field with a 9-7 loss to the Cardinals in Game 1 of their Division Series. Sirota was the lone hitter in the starting lineup to do more than collect a single hit, and after opening with a first-inning single, he added his 10th home run in 71 games with Tulsa and 17th overall in 2026.
The Drillers actually jumped out in front twice early, with Taylor Young and Griffin Lockwood-Powell each going deep in the first two innings. Both blasts were solo shots, and that ended up being part of the problem all night. Tulsa finished with four homers overall - Sirota and Charles Davalan also joined the party late - but the lineup still struck out 17 times and managed only one at-bat with a runner in scoring position.
Adam Serwinowski held the Cardinals scoreless through three innings before the lead slipped away in the fourth. Jake Guravitch’s three-run homer turned a 3-0 start into a 3-3 game, and Tulsa never fully settled in after that.
The Drillers got a scoreless 2.1 innings from Payton Martin out of the bullpen, but the rest of the relief work unraveled. In the ninth, with the game tied 7-7, Jesús Báez ended it with a two-run homer off Carson Hobbs.
At Triple-A, Oklahoma City took a much heavier hit in an 11-5 loss to El Paso, though the final line barely tells the story. Four of the Comets’ five runs came in the top of the ninth just to keep the defeat from becoming a double-digit blowout against a 58-86 team.
Gavin Stone had a tough outing, allowing four runs in three innings after tossing a scoreless game against El Paso at the end of August. Jake Cousins also got knocked around, giving up four runs after allowing just one over his previous four innings of work.
Ryan Fitzgerald went quiet while Oklahoma City still had a chance to stay in it, but he later cracked a two-run homer in the ninth to move within one RBI of 100 on the season. Chris Newell also homered, launching his 24th of 2026.
Catcher Nelson Quiroz was assigned to the Tulsa Drillers. The next game of the Division Series is Thursday in Tulsa, with Christian Zazueta set to start against left-hander Liam Doyle.
In Other News...
Dodgers Just Made A Bullpen Move That Could Sting Fans Too
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To clear space, right-hander Paul Gervase was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City and outfielder Ryan Ward was designated for assignment. The roster shuffle fits the kind of August management the Dodgers have leaned on all year, but the move also comes with the usual cost of squeezing out a depth piece to make room for a pitcher the club clearly wants available now. [Read more 🡒]
Shohei Ohtani Return Buzz Just Got Very Real For Dodgers Fans
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Amid the current momentum, the bigger buzz for Dodgers fans is Shohei Ohtani, who is still working back from injuries but has recently taken batting practice. The team remains optimistic he could return before the end of the regular season, which would add another layer to a lineup already getting key production at the right time, even as everyone waits to see just how soon that final piece can fall into place. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Suddenly Have A Real Josue De Paula Dilemma
Josue De Paula keeps giving the Dodgers another reason to think hard about the future. The top prospect homered against the Miami Marlins, a reminder that the 19-year-old has the kind of power and plate discipline that has drawn comparisons inside the organization to past Dodgers rookie-of-the-year types, including Mike Piazza. For a club that always seems to be balancing present contention with the next wave, De Paulas rise is becoming harder to ignore.
The timing, though, is what makes this interesting. Los Angeles also has to figure out where he fits once Shohei Ohtani comes off the injured list, and that sort of roster puzzle tends to say as much about a prospect as any scouting report does. De Paula is forcing the issue now, and the Dodgers may soon have to decide whether his bat is ready for a bigger stage or whether his path has to wait behind an even larger return. [Read more 🡒]