Salas Homers, Haynes Dazzles but Missions Fall 7-2

TULSA, Okla. (May 1, 2026) — Ethan Salas led the game off with his fourth home run of the week, and Jagger Haynes struck out a season-best eight across a season-high six innings, but a four-run seventh inning highlighted by Josue De Paula’s bases-clearing double carried the Tulsa Drillers (17-8) to a 7-2 win over the San Antonio Missions (6-19).

Salas crushed the third pitch he saw off Driller starter Payton Martin onto the right field berm at ONEOK Field. The ball traveled 420ft and was hit 110mph by Salas. The 19-year-old hit his first Double-A home run a week ago in San Antonio, and he has since hit four.

The blast from Salas put the Missions up and helped Haynes kick off the best start of his season. He set down the first nine Drillers he faced, at one point striking out four in a row.

Haynes did run into some trouble in the fourth. Kendall George singled to become Tulsa’s first base runner, and De Paula followed with a single to cover the corners. A walk then loaded the bases for Zyhir Hope, who tied the game with a single. Haynes limited the damage as Griffin Lockwood-Powell bounced into a double play, but a run did score to give Tulsa a 2-1 lead.

Martin danced around trouble throughout his start, but the Missions caught up to him in the sixth. Leandro Cedeño reached on a walk, making it 14 straight games on base for him, and Albert Fabian singled on a ball De Paula lost in the lights to put runners at the corners with no one out. Ryan Jackson promptly grounded the next pitch into right field, tying the game at two and forcing Martin out of the game. Two runners still stood on base, but Roque Gutierrez entered and earned three outs to keep the game even.

Haynes ended his evening by freezing De Paula and Hope, getting to his season-high eight strikeouts as he finished the sixth for the first time this season. As Haynes left, however, the Drillers took advantage.

Andrew Dalquist walked three and hit George with the bases loaded to place Tulsa ahead. Dalquist snuck in a couple of outs, but the Missions turned to Andrew Thurman with two away and the bases still juiced. De Paula roped a liner to right, and Braedon Karpathios gave it a valiant effort, but his dive saw the ball tip off his glove. This allowed all three Drillers on base to score, making it 6-2 Tulsa.

The Drillers added one in the eighth and ended up comfortably defeating the Missions 7-2. San Antonio stranded nine runners and went 1-10 with runners in scoring position.

Up Next:

The Missions and Drillers continue their six-game series on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in Tulsa. Righty Ian Koenig (0-2, 5.40) faces lefty Wyatt Crowell. 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.