Sod Poodles Drop Game Five to Missions
June 18, 2022 - Texas League (TL)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release
San Antonio, TEXAS - The San Antonio Missions (33-27) led wire-to-wire over the Sod Poodles (30-32) in an 11-2 victory on Saturday night. Amarillo now trails in the series 3-2 with an opportunity to split tomorrow.
San Antonio scored first off of Soddies starter Blake Walston. The leadoff batter in the bottom of the 1st singled and advanced all the way to third on a sacrifice bunt. He was scored on an RBI single to put the Missions up 1-0.
Walston bounced back with a 1-2-3 2nd, but San Antonio added three more runs in the 3rd. San Antonio started it with another leadoff single, and the runner advanced to second on a passed ball. He then made it to third off a sacrifice fly and scored on a balk. Three batters later, a two-run homer made it 4-0 Missions.
Amarillo got on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the 4th. After not recording a baserunner through the first three innings, Corbin Carroll led off the frame with his 11th double of the season. With one out, Eduardo Diaz scored him on an RBI single, his team-leading 43rd of the year.
Jorge Barrosa saved a run in the 4th by throwing out the runner at home, but the Missions continued to increase their lead with a run in the 5th inning. Walston retired the first two batters of the inning on strikes, and a two-out walk and a stolen base put a runner in scoring position. The next Mission singled to make it 5-1, ending Walston's night.
Walston was coming off back-to-back wins in quality starts in the last series against Frisco, but was tagged with five earned runs in five innings pitched today. He threw 81 pitches for a final line of 5.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, BB and 5 K, and the Diamondbacks' No. 4 prospect's ERA grew to 7.12 on the year.
Ty Tice relieved Walston in the 6th, and three singles to lead off the inning quickly loaded the bases. He bounced back with two clutch strikeouts and escaped the inning scoreless with a groundout.
San Antonio put the game out of reach with a six-run explosion in the 7th inning. Jake Rice entered the game and walked the leadoff batter, who advanced to second on a wild pitch. A single put runners at the corners, and a walk loaded the bases. Two scored on an RBI single, and a walk re-loaded the bases with two outs.
The Sod Poodles replaced Rice with Kyle Mora in the high-leverage situation, but his fourth pitch as a Sod Poodle was taken deep by Chandler Seagle for a grand slam that made it 11-1, Missions.
After just two baserunners through the middle innings, Amarillo got a runner to scoring position in the 8th but a double-play ended the threat.
Carroll added one more to Amarillo's total with a solo home run to lead off the 9th. The home run was his 15th of the season, which leads the Sod Poodles and ranks second in the Texas League. The next three Soddies were retired to end the game.
Amarillo was out-hit 14-6 by the Missions and only got three runners into scoring position. The Sod Poodles bats put the ball in play quite a bit, only striking out three times, but the stout San Antonio defense held them at bay.
The two squads will wrap up their series tomorrow, Sunday, June 19th, with first pitch at 2:05 PM. Amarillo will have Slade Cecconi (3-3, 4.82 ERA) on the mound after he earned the win in a quality start in a 6-3 victory on Tuesday.
Notes:
Carroll Roll: OF Corbin Carroll went yard in the 9th inning tonight for his 15th home run on the season. The Diamondbacks' top prospect went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a double and leads the Sod Poodles in HR, AVG (.324), hits (66) and walks (37) with 10 doubles on the year. He now ranks second in both the Texas League and ARI farm system (he trails Reno's Stone Garrett, 17 HR).
On A Roll: OF Eduardo Diaz went 2-for-3 tonight, extending his hitting streak to seven games. He's been productive through the first five games of the series, batting 6-for-21 with two RBI. This was his second multi-hit game during his streak and his 19th of the year. Diaz has been a constant source of offensive production this year for Amarillo and leads the team with 43 RBI.
New Faces: RHP Kyle Mora made his Sod Poodles debut tonight, but was rudely welcomed by a grand slam from Chandler Seagle off his fourth pitch. He then picked up his first strikeout to end the inning, and went 1-2-3 in his second frame. Tonight's appearance was also Mora's Double-A debut. He had a 2.54 ERA in five seasons at UCLA and played two seasons with the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association Independent League.
Playoff Race: With the loss, the Sod Poodles fall four games behind the Missions in the Texas League South standings. The first half of the season ends in seven games for Amarillo after the completion of their upcoming series against Corpus Christi on June 26th. The team in first place in both the North and South Divisions will earn an automatic playoff berth, while the remaining teams will fight to win the second half. Amarillo and Frisco both trail the Missions by four games. The Sod Poodles will play the Hooks (27-35) in their next series, Frisco will play Arkansas (35-28), and San Antonio will play Wichita (33-28).
Texas League Stories from June 18, 2022
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- Cardinals Fall to Hooks 10-5 - Springfield Cardinals
- Naturals Shut Out Travs on Saturday - Arkansas Travelers
- Drillers Win on Valera's Big Homer - Tulsa Drillers
- Seagle's Grand Slam Caps Missions' 11-2 Victory over Amarillo - San Antonio Missions
- Wind Surge Lose Another Nail-Biter in Tulsa - Wichita Wind Surge
- Sod Poodles Drop Game Five to Missions - Amarillo Sod Poodles
- Homer-Happy Hooks Clip Cards in Wild Win - Corpus Christi Hooks
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