TL1 Amarillo Sod Poodles

Sod Poodles Overpowered by Drillers in 14-9 Loss Thursday Night

Published on August 30, 2019 under Texas League (TL1)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release


AMARILLO, Texas - The Sod Poodles dropped the series finale 14-9 to the Drillers in front of 6,413 fans, which officially spilled HODGETOWN's season attendance to over 400,000 in the inaugural season. Buddy Reed led the Sod Poodles offensively going 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI on the night. The Sod Poodles still remain one game up on the Midland RockHounds in the Texas League second-half South Division standings with four games to go in the regular season.

Tulsa plated two runs in the second inning when Omar Estevez worked a walk followed by a Donovan Casey two-run home run to left-center field to take the early 2-0 lead.

The Drillers then added three runs in the fourth inning to stretch their lead to 5-0. Cody Thomas hit a solo home run to center field. Two batters later, Casey singled up the middle and Carlos Rincon knocked a two-run home run to left field.

In the top of the fifth inning, Tulsa extended their lead to 6-0 when Jeter Downs hits a solo home run to left field. Amarillo responded in the bottom of the inning when they plated a solo run. Reed singled to center field and after stealing second base, Taylor Trammell brought him around on his RBI single to shallow right field to cut the Drillers lead to 6-1.

The Sod Poodles continued to chip away at the Drillers lead in the bottom of the sixth when they scored three runs on three hits. Owen Miller collected the first hit of the inning, singling to shallow right field which was followed by a Luis Torrens walk. Hudson Potts then singled to right-center field to load the bases. Two batters later, Reed belted a bases-clearing double to off the centerfield wall to narrow the Tulsa lead to 6-4.

In the top of the seventh, Tulsa pulled away with three additional runs to take a 9-4 lead. Errol Robinson started the inning off with a single up the middle and two batters later, Chris Parmelee hit a two-run home run to right field. Thomas then added his second home run to deep right field before the inning ended on a groundout.

Soddies starter Kyle Lloyd tossed seven innings and allowed nine runs on ten hits. Lloyd struck out two batters and walked one in his seventh loss of the season.

Amarillo plated one run in the eighth inning when Torrens crushed a solo home run to left field to make the score 9-5.

But, again, the Drillers would bounce back. They scored five runs in the top of the ninth to leap out to a 14-5 advantage, highlighted by Parmelee's second home run, a grand slam.

The Sod Poodles attempted a monster comeback in the bottom of the ninth when Trammell singled to left field to start the ninth-inning rally. Ivan Castillo, Miller, and Torrens followed with back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles. The inning continued when Potts reached on a fielding error by the shortstop to advance Torrens to third base. Brad Zunica kept the rally alive when he singled to right field to score the fourth run, Torrens. But the Sod Poodles would fall short with a strikeout to Reed.

The Sod Poodles begin their last regular-season series Friday against the Arkansas Travelers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at HODGETOWN.

NOTES

Tomorrow's Preview: The Sod Poodles continue their homestand with another four-game series with the Seattle Mariners Double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers, Friday in downtown Amarillo.

Welly Voted Best: The Texas League announced Thursday that Amarillo Sod Poodles manager Phillip Wellman has been named the 2019 Texas League Manager of the Year. It marks the veteran skipper's second Manager of the Year honor in three seasons (2017 - San Antonio). Pete Woodworth, pitching coach of the Arkansas Travelers, was selected as the Mike Coolbaugh Coach of the Year. The awards were voted on by the league's managers, staff and media.

400K Reached: In the Sod Poodles 64th home game, HODGETOWN welcomed it's 400,000th fan. In the span, Amarillo's community gathering place has seen a total of 400,643 fans.

37th Sellout: HODGETOWN saw it's 37th sellout of the 2019 season in their 64th home game.

Magic Number: The Sod Poodles magic number to clinch the second-half South Division heading into Friday is three games since Amarillo holds the tiebreaker over Midland. If Midland loses Friday and Amarillo wins Friday, the Sod Poodles need to either win one game or Midland needs to lose one game for a second-half clinch.

STUDDY Reed, Castillo, Miller: Outfielder Buddy Reed collected his second three-hit game of the 2019 campaign on Thursday night against Tulsa. It marked his first multi-hit performance since August 4 against Frisco (2 hits). It also marked his 15th double of the season. Infielders Ivan Castillo and Owen Miller also added three-hit performances Thursday, marking their seventh and fifth times they reached the feat this season.

Hundred Mark: Buddy Reed reached the 100 career stolen base mark on Thursday. Against Tulsa, he stole two bases and now has accrued 101 stolen bags as a minor leaguer.

GONE: In the series with Tulsa, both teams set a new HODGETOWN high of 21 total home runs in the four-game series. Tulsa hit 16 of the total with five coming off the bats of the Sod Poodles.

Hit Parade For Amarillo: Amarillo's 17 hits Thursday night marked the most hit by the Sod Poodles in one game this season. The previous high was 16 which they reached three times this season. The last time was on July 7 against Frisco.

30 Combined: The combined 30 hits between Amarillo and Tulsa on Thursday night marked the most by two teams during their inaugural campaign. The most previously was set on May 13 when the Sod Poodles and RockHounds combined for 28 hits.

Lots of Runs: The combined 23 runs by Amarillo and Tulsa on Thursday at HODGETOWN set a season-high. The previous high was 21 set on May 26 with Midland.

Torrens Big Fly: Catcher and Postseason All-Star Luis Torrens slugged his 14th home run of the season Thursday night.

Series #40: In their 40th series of the 2019 season, the Sod Poodles dropped to Tulsa 1-3. It marked their 18th series loss. Overall in 2019, they hold a 19-18-3 series record.

New High: Kyle Lloyd allowed a career-high six home runs in his 115th career minor league start. His previous high in a start was three home runs allowed, which happened three times. Two of the starts he allowed three home runs happened this season on June 3 and June 27, both at HODGETOWN.

Postseason Stars of the Soddies: The Texas League revealed Wednesday its 2019 Postseason All-Star team, featuring a league's second-highest four (4) Amarillo Sod Poodles players. The postseason selections highlight the league's best throughout the 2019 season at each position. Sod Poodles players selected to the Postseason All-Star team are: Catcher Luis Torrens, Infielder Ivan Castillo, Outfielder Edward Olivares, and Right-Handed Pitcher Lake Bachar.

Drillers Recap: The Sod Poodles finished their regular season with the Tulsa Drillers to HODGETOWN. Amarillo finishes with a record of 5-9. At home, the Sod Poodles went 3-4 against Tulsa with two walk-off wins on June 16 and August 28. The Sod Poodles did not fare too well in Tulsa as they went 2-5 at ONEOK Field. Eight of the 13 matchups against the Soddies and Drillers were decided by two or fewer runs this season.

Hitting Stats: The Sod Poodles currently rank 2nd in Double-A baseball with a .261 team batting average. Amarillo sits third in all of Double-A with 629 runs scored total.

Playoff Picture: The Sod Poodles head into their first-ever Texas League Postseason in their inaugural season beginning Wednesday, September 4 at HODGETOWN in the South Division Championship Series. Amarillo will host the first two games on Wednesday, September 4 and Thursday, September 5. An opponent is yet to be determined but Midland currently leads the race with the second-best overall record in the South.

PREVIOUS NOTES:

Reed's Big Blast: Outfielder Buddy Reed knocked his 13th home run of the season Wednesday. It was his first since July 25th at Springfield and marked his first walk-off hit of 2019.

WALK-OFF: The Sod Poodles collected their seventh walk-off victory this season and second against Tulsa this season. The team's last came on August 12 against Midland at HODGETOWN in extra innings.

Long-Ball Parade: Amarillo and Tulsa combined for the most home runs by two teams in a game at HODGETOWN with nine total round-trippers. On Wednesday, Tulsa collected a total of five while Amarillo knocked four of their own.

Back-to-Back: Brad Zunica and Ruddy Giron became the 4th Amarillo duo to collect back-to-back home runs in a game this season. The last duo to do it was Luis Torrens and Hudson Potts on August 3 against Frisco at HODGETOWN.

Out-hit W: The Sod Poodles collected their 11th victory in a game this season when they were outhit. On Wednesday, they were outhit 13-11 by Tulsa. Amarillo is now 11-45 in the category.

Far Out: Amarillo bats combined for four home runs Wednesday to tie a team season-high in a game (3rd time overall in 2019). Last two: 5/5 vs. ARK and 8/3 vs FRI.

Bednar's Brilliance: Amarillo reliever David Bednar has now collected 13 straight scoreless outings with his stellar performance Wednesday against Tulsa. Since the start of June, he has a 1.98 ERA in 27 appearances (36.1 innings) while striking out 52 batters in that span with just five walks.

The New Guy: Southpaw Sam Williams was called upon and quickly made his Double-A debut. In his outing, he tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless, one-hit ball with two strikeouts to maintain a tied matchup. Williams was signed by San Diego as a non-drafted free agent on June 12. The Canton, Ohio native went to Northern Kentucky.

Pitchers Who Rake: Starter Lake Bachar helped his cause with a hit and RBI in game three against Tulsa, marking his second consecutive at-bat where he collected a hit and RBI. On Tuesday, reliever Blake Rogers slugged his second hit this season in big fashion with a two-out, two-RBI double in game two against Tulsa. It marked his first career extra-base hit and the ninth hit overall by a Sod Poodles pitcher this season.

Day Games Are Good: The Sod Poodles improved to an 11-8 record in day games overall in 2019 with Wednesday's walk-off win. In the Soddies' first morning contest this season, on May 22, Amarillo won 7-6 over Corpus Christi.

Big 6: Amarillo's big six-run frame in the third inning came one short of tying a season-high for runs scored in an inning. The Sod Poodles plated seven in an inning two times this season. The first time the Sod Poodles accomplished the feat was on April 11 vs. Corpus Christi with the second time coming on August 22 in Tulsa.

#70: The Sod Poodles' notched their 70th victory of the regular season Wednesday, which guarantees a winning overall record in the club's inaugural campaign.

53 Inaugural Players: In the Sod Poodles inaugural season so far, Amarillo has welcomed 53 different players - 21 players and 32 pitchers. On Wednesday, Sam Williams marked the 32nd pitcher to appear and 53rd player overall on the Amarillo all-time list.

Largest Deficit: Monday night's game set the largest deficit the Sod Poodles have faced against Tulsa this season (seven runs). The previous largest was only two runs which came on June 23 at ONEOK Field.

Deep Into Monday: Monday night's contest marked the longest game at HODGETOWN to date. The game one of the series with Tulsa lasted 3:35. The previous longest was 3:30 set on July 22 against Northwest Arkansas.

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Texas League Stories from August 30, 2019


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