TL1 Amarillo Sod Poodles

Travelers Edge Sod Poodles

Published on April 28, 2019 under Texas League (TL1)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release


North Little Rock, Arkansas - The Sod Poodles dropped Sunday afternoon's game at Dickey-Stephens Park to the Arkansas Travelers, 4-2.

The Travelers plated two runs in the fourth against Amarillo starter Jesse Scholtens, who tossed three scoreless frames to begin his outing.

In the fourth, he allowed a leadoff double to Jake Fraley. Later in the inning, Nick Zammarelli laced an RBI single to right field as the Travs took a 1-0 lead. Donnie Walton followed with another run-scoring single to extend the advantage to 2-0.

After Zac Grotz tossed three scoreless innings in his start for Arkansas, righty Matthew Willrodt replaced him. Willrodt hurled put up zeroes in the fourth and fifth before running into trouble in the sixth.

Trailing 2-0, the Sod Poodles rallied in the sixth against Willrodt as he walked Edward Olivares and Owen Miller to put two runners on-base with nobody out. Jorge Oña then drilled an RBI single to right centerfield to score Olivares and put Amarillo on the scoreboard.

Right-hander Wyatt Mills replaced Willrodt and immediately induced a 1-6-3 double play off Hudson Potts' bat as Miller raced across home with the tying run. Both runs were charged to Willrodt.

With the score tied 2-2, righty Emmanuel Ramirez replaced Scholtens to begin the bottom of the sixth. He issued a one-out walk to Zammarelli followed by a single to Walton. He then struck out Joseph Odom but the final pitch of the at-bat went wild and allowed both baserunners to move up. Moments later, Ramirez uncorked another wild pitch and Zammarelli scored the go-ahead run from third to make it 3-2.

Paco Rodriguez started the seventh out of Amarillo's bullpen and retired the side in order in the seventh. In the eighth, the Travelers scored an unearned run against Rodriguez to add insurance and take a 4-2 edge.

Mills would go on to toss three scoreless innings of relief for the Travelers. Righty Darren Gllies secured the Travelers' victory with a scoreless ninth and picked up his first save of the season.

At the plate, Oña led the Sod Poodles with three hits and raised his team-high batting average to .365. Owen Miller collected a single in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to seven games.

The Sod Poodles wrap up their series and road trip against the Travelers on Monday night. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. Amarillo sends righty Lake Bachar to the mound while the Travelers go with righty Darren McCaughan.

The game is aired on 940 AM KIXZ and via streaming platforms with Sam Levitt on the call. Coverage starts at 6:50 p.m.

NOTES

Providing Relief: The Sod Poodles bullpen has shined through the first three games at Arkansas, tossing a combined 11 innings while allowing just one earned run.

Kyle Lloyd pitched three scoreless frames on Saturday followed by a scoreless inning from Andres Muñoz. On Friday night, Kyle McGrath and Blake Rogers combined for another four scoreless frames. On Sunday, Emmanuel Ramirez gave up an earned run in an inning while Paco Rodriguez allowed an unearned run in two frames.

More for Miller: With a single in the first inning on Sunday, Owen Miller now has a seven-game hit streak. It's just a game shy of matching Luis Torrens' eight-game streak, which was snapped on Sunday at Arkansas.

Laying Down the Law: Reggie Lawson spun another solid outing on Friday night at Arkansas, tossing five innings while allowing just two runs and striking out nine for a victory. The performance followed Lawson's five-inning performance on April 20 vs. Corpus Christi, when he allowed just one run and picked up a win.

Magnificent McGrath: Left-hander Kyle McGrath was sensational on Friday night in Amarillo's 6-2 win, tossing 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. That was after he tossed two scoreless innings in Tuesday night's win and picked up the victory.

Owen and Olivares: Owen Miller and Edward Olivares put together solid games over the four games at Hammons Field in Springfield. Olivares went 6-for-16 with a home run, seven RBI, and two runs scored in the series. Meanwhile, Miller went 7-for-17 with three RBI.

Homers for Huddy: Hudson Potts delivered his second homer in as many days with a go-ahead two-run shot in the ninth inning to propel Amarillo to a 4-2 win on Wednesday. Potts also belted a two-run shot on Tuesday night in Amarillo's 9-6 win. He now has three home runs this season.

Bullpen Magic: The Sod Poodles bullpen shined in Tuesday night's win at Springfield. LHP Kyle McGrath, RHP Andres Muñoz, and RHP David Bednar combined for five scoreless innings in relief. On Wednesday, LHP Travis Radke tossed scoreless innings in his Amarillo debut while RHP Blake Rogers secured the win and picked up a save with scoreless ninth.

Rodrigo Got Rollin': Amarillo outfielder Rodrigo Orozco is off to a tremendous start at Double-A. In his first four games with the Sod Poodles, Orozco was 9-for-19 with a home run, five RBI, seven runs scored, six walks, and three doubles.

Friendly Confines: After the Sod Poodles victory on Saturday night, they have improved their record at HODGETOWN to 6-4. Five of their six wins at home have come against the Corpus Christi Hooks plus a lone victory against the Midland RockHounds back on April 9 when they won by a final score of 8-2.

Amarillo Bombers: The Sod Poodles have slugged 31 home runs this season, which led the Texas League heading into Sunday's play.

Check out the Amarillo Sod Poodles Statistics



Texas League Stories from April 28, 2019


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