13 August 2022 – Texas League (TL) – Amarillo Sod Poodle News Release
Amarillo, Texas – Trailed by four after three innings, the Sod Poodles began their comeback in the second half of Friday night’s game. A 10-7 win evened Springfield, a Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in downtown Amarillo, against his Cardinals.
It was the beginning of a strange game for Soddies starter Ross Carver. The right-handed hitter gave up a single to the first batter of the night. However, Carver and the Soddies got out of the inning after facing a minimum with the help of a leaping lineout double play with Drew Stankiewicz playing second base.
The bottom of the first stayed alive thanks to an error by the Cardinals’ third baseman. Eduardo Diaz doubled Leandro Cedeño to third base and both were in scoring position for Blaise Alexander. was easily obtained.
Springfield’s Jordan Walker led off the second inning with a single and was forced off a base pass on a ground ball. The second hit of the inning, a double from the left field wall, evened the score after Amarillo’s first error of the night allowed the first runner to come all the way on an errant throw to the infield by Diaz. I made it. Amarillo went down in order in the bottom half, bringing baby Redbird back to the plate in third.
A leadoff home run gave Springfield their first lead of the night. He extended the Cardinals’ lead to 4-1 with three consecutive two-out hits, including a three-run homer. Drew Stankiewicz’s leadoff single in the third was in vain as the next three batters hit outs. The game remained a three-run deficit through the fifth inning, even after the Sod Poodles’ pitching change. Kenny Hernandez took over the bump and took two in the fifth as part of a 1-2-3 inning.
The fifth home half started with a double by Ti’Quan Forbes who later took third at Balk. In the Forbes Jorge Barossa doubled his, putting Andy Yerzy from his first place to his third. A sod poodle hit in the third of the inning saw Robbie Enriquez hit the ball on a single to the opposite field to score his third Amarillo run of the night. A Cedeño sack fly made him 5-4 the game.
Three sod poodle errors in the sixth extended the Cardinals’ lead and gave them a three-run game in the seventh. Jake Rice pitched a 1-hit top of the 7th inning to keep the Cardinals at bay as Amarillo headed into the stretch.
Following a pitching change and two quick outs, Barrosa’s 11-pitch at-bat was walked to keep Soddy at the plate. Back-to-back singles from Enriquez and Cedeno helped Barrosa score and energized the crowd of over 6,000. Diaz was in the fourth straight to reach base when he also drew a two-out walk. Alexander’s two-RBI single tied the game for the first time since Springfield hit one in the second inning. Nick Dallesandro kept the train moving and hit a single in the middle to score Diaz and give the Soddies their second lead of the game.
Lefty Andrew Searlefrank took over for Rice in the eighth inning and spun a perfect inning with two strikeouts. A pair of long balls from the bats of Yerzy and Barrosa added some cushion to Amarillo and warmed up Blake Rogers out of his Amarillo bullpen.
Closer recorded his tenth save of the season, allowing one hit in nine scoreless innings of work on just 12 pitches.
The Sod Poodles evened the series with the Cardinals at two games after a streak of wins. The series takes place at the ballpark on Saturday night at World of Wizards. RHP Deyni Olivero (1-8, 6.29) will face fellow right-hander Gordon Graceffo (5-3, 4.26). The first pitch from HODGEwartz is set for 7:05pm and the gates open at 6pm.
Note:
Buck, Blonde, and Blaze: SS Blaze Alexander caught Amarillo’s big moment at the plate. The D-backs’ 21st rated prospect, who finished the game 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs, was the game’s sod poodle player. His RBI single in the top of the first put the first run of the night on the board. His two-out, two-RBI single in the seventh inning tied the game to Amarillo, who erased a four-run deficit from the third inning. In his 17th multi-hit game, the Blaze raised his AVG to .299 with 10 homers, 10 doubles, 1 triple and now 29 RBIs for the season. In his three games since returning from IL, Alexander is his 4-for-12 (.333). Friday was his fourth three-hit game in 2022 so far.
Rogers That: Right-hander Blake Rogers made his 10th save of the year after nine scoreless innings. The Louisville, Texas, University of Oklahoma graduate has had 10-of-11 save chances this season and has a 3.61 ERA in 36 appearances for Double-A Amarillo. . Since signing with the Diamondbacks last season, Rodgers has made more saves than anyone in the Diamondbacks organization.
Must be Rice: Jake Rice scored the first double-A win of his career after seven scoreless innings trailing by three runs at a time by the Sodd Poodles. Last year’s ninth-round pick by the Diamondbacks became the first 2021 D-back draft pick to make Double-A after being promoted from Hillsboro at the end of May. Since joining Amarillo, Rice has gone 1-0 with a 12.12 ERA in 15 relief appearances.
The turning point: In the bottom of the seventh, by three runs, Jorge Barossa had the best at-bat of the night. The Soddies center fielder faced a 3-2 count, fouled four straight pitches, and finally drew the bases after the 11th pitch of the at-bat. . Barosa was the first reacher for six consecutive baserunners as Amarillo used a four-run inning to take an outright lead. Barosa then succumbed to the Sod Poodles win and hit his 11th home run of the year in the eighth inning. His solo home run ended the scoring that night.
You completely redeem YERZelf: After a tough top six that included two errors and two Springfield runs, Andy Yerzy made it up in the eighth. Canadian Crusher hits season 10 home run , giving Amarillo a breather and a two-goal lead. After hitting a homer in last night’s game, an early Friday fireworks blast marked Yersey’s third time to homer in back-to-back games this season. Yersey tied for third in the organization last year with 21 home runs. He has hit 59 home runs in the minor leagues since 2016.
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