Yu-Min Lin Returned in Extra Inning Defeat
June 14, 2024 - Texas League (TL)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release
Frisco, Texas - In Yu-Min Lin's return to the mound, the Sod Poodles came back in the ninth to force extra innings but ultimately fell 4-3 in ten innings to the Frisco RoughRiders.
Lin, the D-backs fourth-rated prospect, made his first start in nearly two months, tossing five innings and giving up three runs (two earned). Ivan Melendez had two extra-base hits and drove in all three Sod Poodles' runs. He tied the game with a home run in the ninth and doubled home two runs in the fourth. Kyle Amendt was spectacular in relief, striking out five of the six batters he faced. Keyber Rodriguez delivered the knockout blow for Frisco, a walk-off single in the tenth.
The Soddies were able to hit a couple of balls on the barrel in the first frame of the game, but the only baserunner came via a Tim Tawa walk. Yu-Min Lin strutted out to the mound in a Double-A baseball game for the first time since April. He struggled to settle in as he hit his first batter and gave up a single to his second. The next batter lined out to left field. Seeing an out go up on the scoreboard settled Lin down as he induced two groundouts to end the inning. However, one of the groundouts was able to plate the first run of the game.
The second inning was dominated by pitching, with both Lin and the Frisco starter, Nick Krauth, setting the side down in order with a strikeout.
The top of the third inning was no kinder to Amarillo, as yet again they went down in order. After getting a groundout, Lin gave up his second hit of the game to Kellen Strahm. He stole second base and J.J. D'Orazio didn't get a grip on the baseball, cutting it into centerfield, which allowed Strahm to get all the way to third. A sac-fly scored him despite a magnificent throw by Kevin Graham that was narrowly late. A groundout sent the game to the fourth inning with a 2-0 score.
Tawa got on base for a second time and recorded the Sod Poodles first hit on a line drive double that short-hopped the left field wall. He advanced to third on a Caleb Roberts groundout that made for the second out of the inning. A.J. Vukovich walked, and Ivan Melendez hit a two-strike breaking ball off the chalk down the left field line for a double. It scored both Tawa and Vukovich to tie the game at two. Graham hit a rocket right at the second baseman in a bid to take the lead. Lin started to get in a groove as he produced a 1-2-3 inning.
Logan Warmoth worked a one-out walk and advanced to second on a two-out Matt Beaty single. For the second consecutive inning, luck was not on the side of the Soddies as Tawa torched a line drive right at the third baseman to end the threat. A one-out walk, followed by back-to-back singles, broke the tie in the Frisco half of the fifth. Lin was able to limit the damage to just one, and his day ended after five with his team trailing 3-2.
Vukovich got things going with one out in the sixth by lining a single past the shortstop. That was the only baserunner they could produce. John Matthews came in to relieve Lin and gave up a leadoff single. After that, he was able to induce three softly hit balls to retire the side.
The Soddies punched out twice in a three-batter top of the seventh. Kyle Amendt came in to pitch and was nothing short of dominant. He struck out the side in order, all swinging.
The Soddies were running short on outs to tie the game as they came up to the plate in the eighth. Unfortunately, Beaty, Tawa, and Roberts went down in order. Amendt came out for his second inning of work, looking to replicate his fantastic first. He was almost able to do that, striking out the first two batters before finally allowing contact on a groundout.
The Soddies needed a run and Ivan Melendez delivered. With one out, he crushed a no-doubt home run to left field to tie the game. D'Orazio picked up his first hit with two outs but nothing came of it. Luke Albright came in to attempt to extend the game by keeping the RoughRiders off the board. He missed the zone with his first four pitches to Keyber Rodriguez, and he advanced to second on a wild pitch. Albright locked in to get the next two batters to ground out and pop out to Cintron at short, keeping Rodriguez at second. A walk and a hit-by-pitch brought the tension to its peak as the bases were loaded with two outs. With the winning run just 90 feet away, Albright was able to punch out Kellen Strahm to send the game to extra innings.
Logan Warmoth started the extra frame at second base, and Cintron laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance him to third. After getting ahead 3-0 in the count, Beaty struck out on a high fastball for the second out. Tawa just missed in his opportunity, ending the inning on a fly-out to left field. Albright came back out to the mound to try and once again advance the game to another inning. He surrendered a leadoff single to left field by Cody Freeman, but Graham was able to retrieve the ball swiftly, preventing the runner from scoring. A defensive indifference put two runners in scoring position. After falling behind 3-1 in the count, the Sod Poodles elected to intentionally walk Frainyer Chavez. Albright was able to strike out Josh Hatcher for the first out. He broke the bat of Keyber Rodriguez, but with the infield in, his groundball squeaked between Cintron and Melendez. His single scored Kellen Strahm to win the game for the RoughRiders, 4-3.
The Sod Poodles will be back in action in Frisco on Saturday night as they look for their first win of the series. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 P.M.
NOTES:
WHERE YU BEEN: D-backs no. 4-rated prospect, Yu-Min Lin, made his first start for Amarillo since April 23rd on the road in Frisco. The left-hander worked five innings for the Sod Poodles on Friday night where he allowed three runs (two earned) on four base hits and a walk.
CLUTCH GENE: With one out in the top of the ninth and the Sod Poodles trailing by a run, Ivan Melendez delivered a touch of heroics, swatting his 10th home run of the season to give the Sod Poodles a chance and ultimately sending the game to extra innings. Melendez, the D-backs' no. 8-rated prospect ended Friday night 2-for-4 with a double to go along with his ninth-inning round-tripper. Melendez drove in all three runs for Amarillo on Friday night, his sixth overall multi-RBI game and second three-RBI game.
KKKKKYLE AMENDT: Reliever Kyle Amendt pitched two innings out of the bullpen for the Sod Poodles on Friday. The right-hander and former Dallas Baptist product struck out the side in order during his first inning of work and added two more to start the eighth inning. His five strikeouts are a new Double-A high. After allowing two earned runs in his Amarillo debut, Amendt has made four straight scoreless appearances and has a total of 12 strikeouts to just one walk in 5.0 IP with the Sod Poodles. Friday night's five strikeouts for Amendt tied his career-high which he set earlier this year, striking out five Everett batters while he was in High-Hillsboro.
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