TL Amarillo Sod Poodles

Sod Poodles Early Deficit Too Much to Overcome as Midland Takes Game Three

May 20, 2021 - Texas League (TL)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release


AMARILLO, Texas - After being held to just two runs through the first two games, Midland doubled that production in the second inning tonight alone. The RockHounds tagged Amarillo starter Humberto Mejia (0-1, 4.79 ERA) for five runs on four hits including a pair of home runs from Devin Foyle . Tonight's 7-2 loss to Midland ends the Sod Poodles four game win streak in 2021 and five straight over Midland dating back to 2019.

Mejia retired the side in order in the top of the first inning before the big Midland second. A no-doubt solo home run made it 1-0 before a double and walk gave the RockHounds another runner in scoring position with one out. Mejia enticed a flyout for the second out and looked like he might pitch his way out of the jam on a close 1-2 pitch that could have ended the inning. Instead Foyle sent the very next pitch over the left field wall and put the Sod Poodles in a big hole early.

Amarillo was able to push a run across in the bottom of the second on a bases-loaded sac fly that was tracked down in the left-center field gap. The three runners on at the time ended up being the only real threat to score for the majority of the game as Midland starter Bryce Conely (2-0, 4.73) gave up just two hits over five innings.

Foyle's second home run of the game put Midland up 5-1 after the fourth inning before he added a two-RBI triple in the sixth to give him six RBIs in the game.

Mejia's night came to a close after four innings of work before being replaced by Justin Vernia who made his fourth appearance of the 2021 campaign.

Vernia pitched two innings, giving up the two-RBI triple with a walk and pair of strikeouts. The Sod Poodles used a plethora of other arms in the loss including Mitchell Osnowitz who made his Amarillo debut after being assigned here on May 15th. Him, Brandyn Sittinger, and Mack Lemieux combined for three hitless innings over the final three frames with a strikeout each.

The Sod Poodles managed to score another in the ninth after a leadoff single from Dominic Miroglio, a one-out double from last night's hero Dominic Fletcher and sac-fly by Geraldo Perdomo.

In all, the Soddies were held to five hits in the game, two from another new face, D,J. Burt, who is now the second Sod Poodle to hit a triple this season.

Game four of this series will continue tomorrow night at HODGETOWN with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM. The Sod Poodles will transform into the Pointy Boots de Amarillo for the first time in franchise history.

NOTES:

Mejia's Outing: No. 29-rated D-backs prospect Humberto Mejia made his fourth start of the 2021 campaign Thursday night against Midland and dropped to 0-2 overall. Over four frames, Mejia allowed five runs on four hits including three home runs and walked three with as many strikeouts.

Streaks Ended: The Soddies longest winning streak of the 2021 campaign ended at four following the Thursday night loss to Midland while hit streaks for Alek Thomas and Jose Herrera concluded as well at five each.

End of Perfection: The Sod Poodles perfect home record ended the third game in with a loss to Midland Thursday night. In the first two games at HODGETOWN against Midland, the Soddies shutout the RockHounds 10-0 and won 3-2 in extras respectively.

Standing Tall: Amarillo names are among the Minor League leaderboards. Edgar Arredondo leads the Minors with four wins in 2021 while Ryan Weiss is in the top 10 in average against (.098 - 9th) and WHIP (0.50 - 9th).

Chase for the Oil-Pan Cup: The chase for the Oil-Pan cup continues in 2021 after the Sod Poodles took the inaugural 2019 season race 19-12. The Oil-Pan Cup is a season-long rivalry series between Amarillo and Midland. Currently, the series in 2021 between the squads stand at 2-1 in Amarillo's favor.

They Will Come: In three openings in 2021, HODGETOWN has seen a total of 15,829 fans so far (5,276 average). The attendance leads the pack of teams who have opened at most three times so far at home. In 2019, Amarillo drew just under 450,000 fans in the team's inaugural Championship season.




Texas League Stories from May 20, 2021


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