Sod Poodles win series against Cardinals

July 21, 2024 – Texas League (TL)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release

AMARILLO, Texas – Amarillo won the weekend rubber match, and season series, against the North Division-leading Springfield Cardinals with a 6-5 victory on Sunday night. Amarillo was sparked by a four-run fifth inning to take the lead and held on to win the series finale in a game with 25 combined hits.

After going 5.2 IP without allowing a hit in his last start, Dylan Ray ran into trouble in his start against Springfield on Sunday. Matt Church laid down a bunt single in the first inning and the Cardinals got another hit from the D-backs’ No. 9-rated prospect to build a 1-0 lead after their first trip to the plate. Ray bounced back to throw consecutive scoreless frames in the second and third innings, stranding a runner in each inning while working around a pair of hits in both innings. Springfield added two more runs in the fourth inning, but Ray limited the damage as best he could with the Cardinals loading the bases with no outs.

Amarillo struggled to get anything going from Max Rajcic until the bottom of the fourth inning. Caleb Roberts got the right-handed pitcher’s first hit and made it count when he left the field for a leadoff solo homer. Amarillo added two more hits in the frame but could not close the deficit any further. Springfield added another run in the top of the fifth from John Matthews in his first inning in relief of Ray. A two-out single, a stolen base and their second hit of the inning made it a 4-1 game.

Another leadoff hit by Kevin Graham in the fifth inning sparked an Amarillo rally. Andrew Pintar followed with a single and Graham was able to score after the ball went past Matt Lloyd and all the way to the left-field wall. Roberts collected his second hit in as many innings to put runners on the corners for AJ Vukovich. The team’s leader in doubles added another to bring in the tying run. After the second out of the inning and a Cardinals pitching change, Ivan Melendez gave Amarillo a lead they would not relinquish when he drove in Vukovich with an RBI single to end the inning with four runs and a 5-4 lead.

Jamison Hill came up for the sixth and pitched his way to a scoreless inning. Amarillo got two more runners on base in their half of the inning, but Andrew Marrero didn’t break through, pitching a scoreless half inning of his own to keep it a one-run game heading into the final three innings. Jake Rice struck out two in his only inning of work Sunday night.

Melendez added some insurance with his 18th home run of the season. The D-backs’ No. 8-rated prospect hit a two-out blast off Bar 352 to give the Sod Poodles a two-run lead after the seventh. The Amarillo bullpen continued its busy series finale with Jhosmer Alvarez becoming the fourth different reliever used in as many innings. Two hits and a pitching error by Alvarez helped cut the Sod Poodles’ lead to just one run. The right-handed pitcher also walked one batter in the inning but left two Springfield runners on base, including the potential tying run in scoring position.

After Amarillo was retired in order in the eighth inning, Mitchell Stumpo came on in the ninth and worked a 1-2-3 inning en route to collecting his eighth save of the year as Amarillo held on to win 6-5.

The Sod Poodles have the day off Monday before welcoming the Wichita Wind Surge to town on Tuesday to continue their nine-game homestand. It will be the Sod Poodles’ only series of the year against the Wind Surge. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

COMMENTS:

ROCKETS READY FOR TAKE-OFF: Caleb Roberts finished 2-for-3 with his 11th home run of the campaign and an RBI. His leadoff homer in the fourth inning was Amarillo’s first hit of the game. His trip around the bases was his 28th in 180 regular-season games since joining Amarillo during the 2022 campaign. He ranks sixth all-time in Sod Poodles history in homers and is now just two shy of becoming the sixth Amarillo player to ever hit 30 career homers.

TWO-KUVICH: AJ Vukovich finished his series against the Cardinals by going 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. In the three-game series, the Sod Poodles’ all-time leader added five more to his career total and now has 154 career RBIs as a Sod Poodle. His double was the second of the weekend and he has 21 on the year to lead the team and is T-3rd in the Texas League and T-6th overall in Double-A.

TITANIC TANKS: Ivan Melendez hit his 18th home run of the season as he went 2-for-4 with two RBI, scoring a run in the series finale. His 18 home runs this season lead the Texas League by three over teammate Tim Tawa. It was the 30th career home run for the D-backs’ No. 8-rated prospect as a Sod Poodle and he became the fifth player to hit 30 home runs in Amarillo threads.

SHUFFLE THE CARDS: Amarillo secured its third series win of the season by taking two of three games against the Cardinals. Amarillo also swept the series against the North Division’s top team, winning five of the nine games the two faced off against each other — all in HODGETOWN. Amarillo has a 25-21 record against the Cardinals since 2019, has climbed over .500 against the North Division this year, and now has a 17-16 record against cross-division opponents.

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