Hot Start Not Enough as Amarillo Falls 7-5 on Saturday Night
August 19, 2023 - Texas League (TL)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release
Amarillo, Texas - With four runs in the bottom of the first, Amarillo's offense looked poised for another outburst against Arkansas. However, the bats were cooled off with the Travs plating the final five runs of the game as Amarillo dropped the second game of the series by a final of 7-5. Amarillo still outhit Arkansas - paced by three multi-hit efforts including the top two in the order on Saturday.
Jamison Hill worked a clean inning in the top of the first and the Sod Poodles offense wasted little time to gain the lead. Tim Tawa singled to begin the night and then scored as Caleb Roberts tripled off the wall in right-center field. The third straight hit was a single off the bat of A.J. Vukovich. The D-backs' no. 10-rated prospect drove in his 84th RBI of the year but was caught trying to stretch for a double. After a strikeout, Amarillo added another two singles before the second triple of the inning scored both that were on base to build a 4-0 lead off six hits. Neyfy Castillo was left standing on third as a flyout brought a close to the bottom of the first.
Arkansas got a pair of runs back on just one hit as Hill's pitch count began to add up after three walks in the inning. Left-hander Dillon Larsen was brought in mid-count against the switch-hitting Leo Rivas who switched to the right side to earn a sac fly. Larsen got another flyout to end the inning and leave two runners on base. A leadoff walk in Amarillo's second trip to the dish was nabbed on the tail end of a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play. An infield pop-up sent Larsen right back to the mound for the top of the third. The lefty worked another clean inning, ending it with his first strikeout of the night.
Back-to-back one-out singles placed runners on the corners before a strikeout and groundout failed to push across the fifth run of the night for Amarillo.
A walk was followed by a double play in the top of the fourth to help Larsen work his second straight scoreless frame. Nick Dalesandro was the first of two Amarillo singles in the bottom of the fourth. After swiping second base an errant throw allowed him to advance to third. Tawa brought him home with a RBI single to make it 5-2 Amarillo. Roberts notched his second hit of the night but was left stranded along with Tawa when the inning came to an end.
The Travelers got a triple of their own and got a second man aboard via a walk. Both came around as the game was tied with a three-run home run to right field. Larsen got the first out of the inning before a call to the bullpen brought on Mitchell Stumpo. The righty retired each of the first two he faced to move the game to the bottom of the fifth. Three straight groundouts made quick work of the half inning with Stumpo headed back to the bump.
After picking up a strikeout, consecutive singles pushed runners to the corners. A free pass loaded the bases with one out in the inning. The seventh walk of the night gave Arkansas their first lead of the ballgame. A double play limited the damage to just one run and left a pair stranded.
The Sod Poodles were held runner-less for the second straight inning with Will Mabrey taking over pitching duties in the seventh. A leadoff home run extended Spencer Packard's current hitting streak to 20 games for the Travs and provided them with a two-run lead. Two straight hard-hit balls at Kevin Vicuña resulted in a single and a lineout. Roberts hosed a would-be base stealer to send the 2-3-4 hitters to the dish after the seventh-inning stretch. Unable to get a runner aboard since the fourth, Mabrey was back out to try and keep it a two-run game. A single and stolen base plus a walk turned into a double play for Mabrey and the Sod Poodles. A shallow pop-up into left field was hauled in by Dalesandro with the game headed to the bottom of the eighth.
The 14th straight Amarillo batter was retired after Travis Kuhn worked a clean inning during his first inning of labor for the Travs. No damage was done off Taylor Rashi despite a two-out single keeping the inning alive in the top of the ninth.
An 0-2 hit by pitch put the first base runner aboard for Amarillo in four innings. A one-out walk placed the potential tying run on first. Unfortunately, consecutive strikeouts halted the chances of comebacks in back-to-back nights for Amarillo.
The series against Arkansas will wrap up on Sunday from HODGETOWN with Amarillo still having a chance to clinch the series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
NOTES:
FRIEND OF THE TRIPLE TRIANGLE:Caleb Roberts added to his Texas League lead in triples after hitting his eighth of the season in the bottom of the first. It was his first three-bagger since August 1st. Roberts also ranks top 10 in the league in SLG (6th, .531) and OPS (7th, .908). His eighth triple is now tied for the second-most in Double-A. Entering this season, Roberts previous single-season high for triples was four, which he hit last season between High-A Hillsboro and Amarillo. Roberts finished the game 2-for-5, his 24th multi-hit game of the year. Entering Saturday, Roberts was 1-for-9 in the series with a double, RBI, run scored, and drew a walk.
TIMMY TWO HITS:Tim Tawa improved to 7-for-20 in the series after his third multi-hit effort of the week. He finished Saturday night 2-for-4 with a RBI, walk, and run scored. With now 28 multi-hit games on the year, he has the second most on the club in 2023, trailing Ryan Bliss' 35.
TWO BEERS IS BETTER THAN ONE:Seth Beer was the other of the three Amarillo players to record 2+ hits. He finished the game 2-for-4 with a run scored and a pair of singles. He is now 5-for-16 on the week with a double, two RBI, three runs, and a walk. It was his 18th multi-hit game in 62 games in Amarillo threads.
DUKE VUKE: A.J. Vukovich pulled closer to the single-season RBI record with his 84th of the year with a single in the first inning to score Caleb Roberts. The D-backs' no. 10-rated prospect now trails Leandro Cedeño by nine to tie the record.
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