Amarillo Suffers Ninth Inning Defeat to Cards

Amarillo, Texas (July 20, 2024) – The Amarillo Sod Poodles and Springfield Cardinals were deadlocked late into the game on Saturday night. After Amarillo tied the game in the fifth inning, Springfield used a rally in the ninth to score the final three runs of the game and take game two of the weekend series 7-4 over Amarillo.

A.J. Vukovich got the scoring started on Saturday night. The D-backs' no. 15-rated prospect capitalized on the first two batters ahead of him reaching base to start the bottom of the first inning. Andrew Pintar drew a leadoff walk and moved to third as Jancarlos Cintron singled to send Vukovich to the plate. He looped a ball into shallow left-center field to easily score Pintar. Matt Beaty made it a two-run game as he delivered the third straight single for Amarillo before the inning came to a close.

The Cardinals pushed a run of their own across in the second inning off Billy Corcoran. The right-hander surrendered a two-out double and then RBI single behind it as Springfield cut the Amarillo lead in half. Corcoran worked around his second walk of the night paired with a catcher's interference to leave both runners stranded in the top of the third.

Seeing Springfield charge in front with a three-run top of the fifth, Amarillo answered the bell in their trip to the plate in the inning. With two runners on, Cintron laid down a sac bunt to put both into scoring position for Vukovich. He once again provided a RBI and passed the baton to Beaty. On a 3-0 count, Beaty roped a ball off the right field wall for a double to even the game at 4-4.

Gerardo Gutierrez came on in relief of Corcoran to start the top of the sixth. After retiring each of the first two he was able to work around a pair of baserunners to escape the inning without surrendering the go-ahead run. The Sod Poodles weren't able to capitalize on getting Andy Weber aboard to start the bottom of the sixth via a Springfield error as the game remained tied.

Will Mabrey and Zach Barnes each pitched for Amarillo in the top of the seventh. Mabrey sequenced outs and singles with Barnes cleaning up the frame with a strikeout. He returned to the mound to start the top of the eighth after Amarillo was retired in order. Barnes made it four straight Cardinals sent back to their dugout with a six-pitch eighth inning.

The Sod Poodles squandered a prime scoring opportunity in the bottom of the inning. A pair of walks to Beaty and J.J. D'Orazio placed the go-ahead run in scoring position with just one out. However, Jack Ralston responded to the walks by striking out two batters, sending the game to the ninth.

Springfield used four hits in the top of the ninth to break the deadlock and score three runs and give themselves a 7-4 lead. Jesus Valdez collected his second hit of the night with a leadoff double for Amarillo. The next three Sod Poodles batters were retired by Matt Svanson as the Cardinals evened the three-game series at a game a piece with the series being decided in the rubber match on Sunday evening.

RHP Dylan Ray (0-1, 4.22 ERA) will start for Amarillo with the Cardinals sending RHP Max Rajcic (7-7, 4.88 ERA) in the series finale. First pitch on Sunday is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.

NOTES:

BIRTHDAY BOY: Celebrating his 23rd birthday on Saturday night, A.J. Vukovich added to his all-time RBI lead with a pair against Springfield. The D-backs no. 15-rated prospect is now up to 152 for his Amarillo career and tied Tim Tawa for the lead in RBI this year with 47. He ended the game 1-for-4.

FIVE FOR SIX: Jesus Valdez extended his current hitting streak to six games after finishing the night 2-for-4 with a double and run scored. His six-game hitting streak is the longest of the season for Valdez who is now hitting .476 (10-for-21) with four doubles, a triple, and two RBI since July 5th. Saturday night was his seventh multi-hit game in 47 appearances this year.

BEATY BATS BALLS: Matt Beaty ended the game 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI, and a walk. It was his ninth multi-hit performance this season in 40 games played for Amarillo. Beaty is hitting .290 on the year since joining the Sod Poodles roster, including hitting .354 in his 14 games at HODGETOWN.