Bolanos Fans Franchise-High Ten in Sod Poodles 5-0 Shutout Victory over Frisco
July 6, 2019 - Texas League (TL1)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release
AMARILLO, Texas - Sod Poodles righty starter Ronald Bolaños showed pure dominance Saturday night, leading Amarillo to a 5-0 victory in front of over 6,400 fans at HODGETOWN with his six and two-thirds one-hit, shutout innings in his sixth Double-A start with a career-high 10 strikeouts. He became the first Sod Poodles pitcher in franchise history to record 10 strikeouts in a start.
Buddy Reed highlighted Amarillo's offense, who only totaled three hits, with his fifth-inning home run to mark the Sod Poodles' first hit of the night and give the team a 2-0 lead. He finished going 1-for-2 with three RBI. Ivan Castillo batted in the additional two runs on his two-out, seventh-inning double.
Reliever David Bednar tossed two and one-third innings behind Bolaños with two strikeouts to complete his team-leading sixth save of the season and holding Frisco to just three hits as a team as well.
It was a pitcher's duel in the third installment of the series. The first two innings saw six straight batters on each side with four strikeouts overall.
In the top of the third, Frisco catcher Alex Kowalczyk broke the no-hit contest with a single to the right side but no further action would occur.
In the bottom half of the third, Amarillo loaded the bases courtesy of three walks by RoughRiders starter Brock Burke to Kyle Overstreet, Peter Van Gansen and Rodrigo Orozco. However, the Sod Poodles would remain scoreless and hitless when Castillo grounded into a double play to end the threat.
After an actionless fourth frame and top of the fifth, the Sod Poodles broke through. Overstreet walked for a second consecutive time to start the half. Following a strikeout by Van Gansen for the second out, Reed connected with and pulled an 0-1 pitch on a line over the left-field wall to mark Amarillo's first hit of the night and give the home team the 2-0 advantage.
Bolaños lasted through two outs in the top of the seventh at 99 pitches before making way for reliever Bednar.
In the bottom of the seventh, Amarillo added insurance and took a 5-0 lead. Three consecutive walks once again loaded the bases and, this time, the squad took advantage. With one out, Reed knocked a sacrifice fly ball to right field to plate one. Then, with two outs, Castillo lined a double down the left-field line to plate two more.
Frisco would gain two more hits but fell short through the remainder of the contest.
The Sod Poodles and RoughRiders continue into the final game of the four-game set at HODGETOWN tomorrow, Sunday, July 7. First pitch is at 6:05 p.m. Gates for the event open at 5:00 p.m.
NOTES
Tomorrow's Preview: The Sod Poodles will play in the series finale against the Frisco RoughRiders at HODGETOWN. Right-hander Emmanuel Ramirez will get the start for the Sod Poodles, seeking a team-leading seventh win of 2019.
Brilliant Bolaños: Sod Poodles starter Ronald Bolaños tossed six and two-thirds innings Saturday night in downtown Amarillo against the RoughRiders. Bolaños set a career and franchise-high with 10 strikeouts. Bolaños didn't surrender a run and only allowed one hit en route to his third victory of the season.
Shutout: Amarillo shutout Frisco Saturday night by a final score of 5-0. The Sod Poodles have shutout three teams this season with the last shutout coming at Frisco on May 30. The Sod Poodles have shutout two teams at HODGETOWN in 2019.
Racking Them Up: Amarillo reliever David Bednar recorded his sixth save of the season Saturday night as he went two and one-third innings where he allowed only two hits, struck out two RoughRiders batters, and didn't allow a run. Bednar is 6-for-7 in save opportunities this season.
Futures Call: Amarillo Sod Poodles southpaw and Padres' number six-rated prospect (MLB.com) Adrian Morejon will appear in the 2019 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, which will be taking place tomorrow at Progressive Field in Cleveland at 7:00 p.m. ET. Rosters were announced by Major League Baseball earlier today on MLB Network's "MLB Central." The SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, which is now in its 21st year, features the top Minor League prospects competing as part of All-Star Sunday. Morejon (Amarillo) is one of three San Diego Padres' Minor League pitching prospects selected to the roster. The other two include number two-rated prospect (MLB.com) and North Carolina native Mackenzie Gore (Lake Elsinore) and number 9-rated prospect (MLB.com) and Colombia native Luis Patiño (Lake Elsinore).
The Chicken Is Coming: The Famous Chicken, also historically known as the "San Diego Chicken", is coming to Amarillo for the first time in nearly a decade to perform at HODGETOWN during the Sod Poodles Wednesday, July 17 game when they face off against the Springfield Cardinals. Presented by the Downtown Athletic Club, the Famous Chicken will be seen during multiple inning breaks throughout the night and will also be signing autographs for fans following the game. Gates for the 7:05 p.m. game are scheduled to open at 6:00 p.m.
Lights Are On And Don't Need Them: Saturday night's game between the Sod Poodles and RoughRiders was delayed one hour because of unsafe field conditions due to early-morning rain. The longest delay to take place at HODGETOWN was 2:02 on May 4 against Arkansas.
Reed All About It: Buddy Reed bashed his ninth home run of the season Saturday against the RoughRiders to breakup Brock Burke's no-hit bid. Reed's last home run came on June 18 at Northwest Arkansas.
Climbing the Ladder: The Sod Poodles pitching staff has struck out a Texas League second-best 818 this season. Amarillo is also second-best in all of Double-A with their 818 strikeouts, eight behind first-place Corpus Christi Hooks.
Behind The Dish: Sod Poodles catcher Luis Torrens threw out his 31st base stealer of the season Saturday night. Torrens's caught stealing percentage sits at .500 (31-for-62) after Saturday night's contest which leads the entire Texas League.
The Pride of Venezuela: Edward Olivares extended his current hit streak to nine games in the sixth inning of Saturday night's game against the Frisco RoughRiders. During his hit streak, Olivares is 16-for-33 (.484) with two doubles, three home runs, nine RBI, and two runs.
Go Two: Ivan Castillo collected his 19th double of the season Saturday as he roped a two-RBI double to the left-field corner. Castillo ranks tied for 3rd in the Texas League in the category. Castillo finished the 2018 season with 25 doubles with High-A Dunedin.
Sellout Streak: Following Saturday night's game where 6,438 fans entered into HODGETOWN, the Sod Poodles have hosted 11 straight sellouts and 21 overall so far during the 2019 season.
Season Recap: After shutting out the RoughRiders Saturday night the Sod Poodles improve to a 7-6 record in the season series. The Sod Poodles have outscored the RoughRiders 64-51 in the season series.
One More: Rodrigo Orozco is sitting at 99 career doubles heading into Wednesday night's contest against the Midland RockHounds. Orozco has collected 11 doubles so far this season.
From Right Field: Edward Olivares collected his fourth outfield assist Friday night against the Frisco RoughRiders as he threw out Yonny Hernandez at home plate. Olivaresranks tied for fifth in the Texas League with his four outfield assists.
Last Time We Met: In the last series against Frisco at HODGETOWN, the RoughRiders swept the Sod Poodles in three games, outscoring Amarillo 21-9. Prior to the last home series, the Sod Poodles held a 5-2 record against the Frisco squad.
New High: HODGETOWN welcomed 7,451 fans through its gates on Independence Day which marks a new franchise high.
Big Fly Torrens: Luis Torrens belted his sixth home run of the season Friday night. Torrens ranks third on the Sod Poodles roster in the home runs category trailing Edward Olivares and Brad Zunica (12) and Owen Miller and Buddy Reed (8).
6th Great Lake: Lake Bachar earned his fourth straight victory on Independence Day against the Frisco RoughRiders. Bachar tossed a career-high 7.2 innings where he struck out a career-high nine batters and didn't allow a run on four hits. The victory improves Bachar's record to 5-2.
June Recap: Amarillo completed the month of June with a 12-14 (.461) record. Offensively, the team finished fourth in the Texas League in average (.266) over 26 games with 119 runs (3rd), 232 hits (3rd), 349 total bases (3rd), 46 doubles (1st), seven triples (T-2nd), 19 home runs (T-6th), 104 RBI (5th), and 21 stolen bases (T-3rd). Sod Poodles arms finished with the fourth-best ERA (3.73) and were second in innings pitched (229.1), fifth in earned runs allowed (95), and fourth in strikeouts (232).
Post-season in the Panhandle: Amarillo clinched a spot in the 2019 postseason on June 17 as they beat the Naturals 8-2, while division rival Midland fell to Springfield, 3-0. Amarillo will host the first two games of the Texas League Division Series on September 4th and 5th. The Sod Poodles made quite the run to the Texas League South First Half title in 2019. On May 16, the Soddies were in last place in the division and trailed the division leader by 6 games.
What's Coming Up: Amarillo is home for the holiday weekend with a four-game set against the Texas Rangers Double-A affiliate, the Frisco RoughRiders. Next week, Amarillo is on the road through the week to face their Oil-Pan Cup rival, the Midland RockHounds, for a three-game set in Midland, before heading to Frisco for four.
Texas League Stories from July 6, 2019
- Walker and Santana Provide Late Win for the Drillers - Tulsa Drillers
- Lewis Sends Travs to 2-1 Win in 11 Innings - Springfield Cardinals
- Lewis Wins It for Travs in the 11th - Arkansas Travelers
- Bolanos Fans Franchise-High Ten in Sod Poodles 5-0 Shutout Victory over Frisco - Amarillo Sod Poodles
- Drillers Win It in Last At-Bat, 3-2 - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Donato Dominates in Debut as Hooks Win Big - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Burke's Quality Start Not Enough in 5-0 Loss - Frisco RoughRiders
- Pedro Payano Makes Major League Debut with Texas - Frisco RoughRiders
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
