Castillo Homers in Soddies' Victory
August 2, 2024 - Texas League (TL)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Sod Poodles utilized great pitching and timely hitting to win 5-1 over the Hooks and took a 3-1 lead in the series.
Dylan Ray gave up just two hits and one run while punching out six across 5.2 innings. Neyfy Castillo blasted a two-run home run to take the lead, in part of his three RBI effort, and the Soddies never looked back. Andy Weber reached base four times, going 2-2 with a pair of walks and a stolen base.
The Texas League leader in strikeouts, Miguel Ullola, opposed the Sod Poodles today and set them down in order to start the game. Dylan Ray started his excellent outing with a one-out walk, but a strike him out, throw him out between him and Caleb Roberts ended the inning.
Andy Weber became the first Sod Poodles to reach base but he was the only one to do so in the second. Tommy Sacco Jr. opened the scoring for the Hooks with a solo shot down the right field line. Ray walked the next batter but was able to get a 6-4-3 double play.
Kristian Robinson walked to start the inning and Jean Walters replaced him on the base paths on a fielders choice. Neyfy Castillo blasted a slider over the left field wall for his first home run since his return to Amarillo. The Soddies led 2-1 headed to the home half of the third where Ray allowed a hit but the runner was cut down trying to swipe second base by Caleb Roberts to end the inning. His second caught stealing of the game.
Weber and Kevin Graham drew walks in the fourth but nothing was going. Ray got his first 1-2-3 inning in the home half.
In the fifth, the Sod Poodles faced a new arm and had no success, going down in order. Ray returned the favor, while punching out two.
Amarillo's only runner in the sixth came off of a Weber single. Ray retired the first two in the inning before allowing a two out walk to end his streak of nine straight retired and end his game. He matched his season high in innings and posted his season high in pitches. Kyle Amendt came in for a three pitch appearance, getting the final out on a flyout.
In the seventh, Graham and Robinson reached on a single then a walk to start the inning. Walters laid down a sacrifice bunt but reached on a throwing error by the third baseman. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Castillo fell behind 0-2 in the count but was able to battle back to draw a walk and drive in his third run of the game. After a 3-1-4 double play almost allowed the Hooks to escape with just a run of damage, Walters faked a steal of home. This caused the pitcher to balk and for him to score. The Sod Poodles took a 4-1 lead into the bottom half. Conor Grammes came in to work a 1-2-3 inning.
In the eighth, Weber recorded his second hit to reach base for the fourth time. He stole his first base of the season and scored on an RBI double from Lyle Lin down the left field line to increase the lead to 5-1. Grammes worked another scoreless inning in the bottom half, using a double play to work around a pair of singles.
Walters and Castillo struck out to start the ninth and Roberts flew out to end the inning. Taylor Rashi closed the game out, allowing just one single in a scoreless frame.
The Sod Poodles won their third game of the series Friday night, 5-1. They will look to clinch a series victory Saturday night in Corpus Christi at 7:05 P.M.
Notes:
Amarillo's Castillo: Neyfy Castillo hit his second home run of the season and his first since coming back up to Amarillo. Castillo drove in the first three Amarillo runs of the game. Castillo is 7/22 with five walks, a double and a homer since being called back up.
Ray of Sunshine: Dylan Ray spun one of his best outings of the season. Giving up just one run and two hits across 5.2 innings pitched. Those 5.2 innings pitched matched the most the D-Backs #9 prospect had worked in a game and his 84 pitches was a season high. He struck out six batters in his stellar outing and retired nine in a row before walking a batter to end his night.
The Rocket has a Rocket: Caleb Roberts lived up to his nickname but gunning down two would be base stealers early in the game on Friday night. One of them was apart of a strike him out, throw him out, double play. He has thrown out 20 of the 69 attempted runners this season, good for 29%.
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