Sod Poodles Battle to 6-4 Victory over Hooks Friday Night to Even Series
June 28, 2019 - Texas League (TL1)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release
AMARILLO, Texas - The Sod Poodles bounced back with a 6-4 victory over the Corpus Christi Hooks in the second game of the series in front of over 7,000 at HODGETOWN on Friday evening. Infielder Ivan Castillo highlighted the Amarillo offense on his 3-for-4 night, finishing a home run shy of the cycle. Both Edward Olivares and Peter Van Gansen added two-hit performances to the lineup while Olivares and Chris Baker both homered.
Southpaw starter and recent MLB Futures Game selection Adrian Morejon tossed another scheduled two-inning outing and allowed just one unearned on one hit with a strikeout over 30 pitches. Righty Lake Bachar, who picked up his fourth win, followed Morejon and tossed an impressive five and one-third frames while allowing three runs and seven hits and collected four strikeouts.
The Hooks got their offense going in the top of the first inning to take an early lead. After Bryan De La Cruz sent a single up the middle and advanced to second on a fielding error in the outfield, he was moved up to third base on a groundout by Ronnie Dawson. A sacrifice fly ball by Stephen Wrenn then made it a 1-0 Corpus Christi lead.
In the bottom half of the first, Castillo started the Sod Poodles rhythm with a one-out single and Olivares followed with another base hit. After Owen Miller walked to load the bases with two outs to work with, Luis Torrens grounded into a double play to end the threat.
After a scoreless second inning, the Hooks found another scoring opportunity in the third. With Bachar in for Morejon, Osvaldo Duarte led off with a single and a pickoff throwing error brought him to third with no outs. Anibal Sierra took advantage and knocked a single to left field to make it a 2-0 contest.
In the bottom of the third, Amarillo rallied again sparked by Castillo's one-out double to right-center field. Olivares, who hadn't homered in 10 games, belted a two-strike pitch deep and over the left-field wall to tie the game and mark his 10th home run of the season. Then, with two outs, Torrens saw one pitch and knocked his second offered over HODGETOWN's videoboard to give Amarillo the 3-2 advantage.
The Sod Poodles continued in the bottom of the fourth with another run. After Brad Zunica led off the half with his 13th double of the season, Taylor Kohlwey came up with one out and singled up the middle to extend the Sod Poodles lead to 4-2.
After three consecutive zeroes on the board by Corpus Christi, the Hooks shifted the rhythm. In the top of the seventh, nine-hitter Sierra connected with a 1-1 pitch for a two-run home run to tie the game at 4-4, plating Chuckie Robinson, who started the inning with a leadoff single.
However, in the bottom half, the Sod Poodles retook the lead instantly after Castillo sent a one-out triple down the right field line and scored on a wild pitch during the next at-bat to make it a 5-4 advantage.
The Sod Poodles added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 6-4 advantage thanks to Baker's second home run of the season.
After a two-out hold in the top of the eighth by southpaw reliever Travis Radke, righty David Bednar came in the ninth seeking his fifth save. He shut down game two with a three-up, three-down frame to even the series.
The Sod Poodles and Hooks continue into game three of their four-game set at HODGETOWN tomorrow evening. First pitch in downtown Amarillo is at 6:05 p.m.
NOTES:
Futures Call: Amarillo Sod Poodles southpaw and Padres' number six-rated prospect (MLB.com) Adrian Morejon was selected to the National League roster for the 2019 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, which will be played at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, July 7th at Progressive Field in Cleveland. 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).
6TH Great Lake: Lake Bachar tossed 5.1 innings in relief Friday night against the Corpus Christi Hooks, as he earned his fourth win of the season. Bachar allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out four batters in his 89 pitch performance.
Big Fly: Soddies outfielder Edward Olivares belted his first home run in ten games Friday night to give him ten homers of the season. Olivares is second on the Sod Poodles roster with ten home runs and only trails Brad Zunica (11) by one home run.
Different Night, Same Result: Luis Torrens hit his second home run in as many nights Friday against the Hooks. The home run was his fifth of the season with all his long balls being of the solo variedly.
Baker Bomb: Chris Baker hit his first home run Friday night since May 22nd against the Corpus Christi Hooks. Baker now has two home runs on the 2019 campaign.
Throwing Ched: Michel Baez tossed two innings against Corpus Christi, Thursday and struck out five of the six batters he faced. Baez has struck out 29 batters this season which ranks 6th among Amarillo relievers.
Game Twos: After defeating the Corpus Christi Hooks by a final score of 6-4 Friday the Sod Poodles improve their game two record to 16-7. In series openers Amarillo holds a record of 5-18.
One Way: Ivan Castillo was a home run short of the cycle Friday night versus the Hooks. Castillo singled in the first, doubled in the third, and tripled in the seventh inning.
He's Got A Cannon: Catcher Luis Torrens threw out three Corpus Christi base runners in Friday night's game. Torrens holds a caught stealing percentage of .528 (28-for-53) which leads all Amarillo catchers this season. Torrens leads all of Double-A with his 28 caught stealing.
Swipin' Bags: Edward Olivares collected his 19th and 20th stolen bags Friday night. His 20 stolen bases ranks Olivares tied for 3rd in the Texas League in the category and is tied for 7th in all of Double-A. Nick Heath of Northwest Arkansas ranks first with 41 stolen bases this season.
Top Performers: The Sod Poodles currently possess two of the top hitters in the Texas League. Ivan Castillo leads the circuit and all of Double-A with a .348 batting average. Owen Miller's ranks 6th in the league with a .303 batting average. Miller leads the league in total hits with 89. That is 10 more than any other player in the Texas League. Arkansas' Donnie Walton ranks 2nd with 79 hits.
Hosed: Edward Olivares recorded his third outfield assist Sunday afternoon against the Drillers. All three of Olivares's assists have come while playing right field. Last season Olivares collected 11 assists with High-A Lake Elsinore.
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.
Rain, Rain Go Away: In the middle of the eighth inning, the Sod Poodles and Hooks were delayed 38 minutes because of rain. The delay was the shortest at HODGETOWN this season. The shortest delay this season the Sod Poodles have been a part of came on April 24 in Springfield when they were delayed 27 minutes.
What's Coming Up: The Sod Poodles will start a four-game homestand against the Corpus Christi Hooks on Thursday, June 27 at HODGETOWN. Then Amarillo will hit the road once again on Monday as they will face their rival the RockHounds for a three-game set in Midland.
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Texas League Stories from June 28, 2019
- Tulsa Tops Arkansas in Game Two of Series - Tulsa Drillers
- Pitching Duel Goes to Tulsa - Arkansas Travelers
- Sod Squad Squares Series - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Sod Poodles Battle to 6-4 Victory over Hooks Friday Night to Even Series - Amarillo Sod Poodles
- Bahr Sharp Early But Midland Pulls Away Late - Frisco RoughRiders
- Sod Poodles Adrian Morejon Selected to 2019 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game - Amarillo Sod Poodles
- Parsons Throws 7.0+ Innings, Cardinals Lose 6-2 to Naturals - Springfield Cardinals
- Hooks Shutdown Sod Poodles in Opener - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Sod Poodles Offense Quieted in 3-2 Series Opener Loss to Hooks - Amarillo Sod Poodles
- Thompson-Williams Homer Propels Travs Past Tulsa - Arkansas Travelers
- Walker Homers in Drillers Loss - Tulsa Drillers
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