Giesting Spins Quality Start In Win Over Riders

Amarillo, Texas (September 10, 2024) – Amarillo earned a 5-1 win over the Frisco RoughRiders to begin the final series of the season. Los Pointy Boots de Amarillo were propelled by a Spencer Giesting quality start and a pair of home runs in the sixth inning gave the southpaw all the run support he would need to earn his fourth Double-A win.

Giesting allowed five total hits during his outing with four of them being for extra bases. He worked around a one-out double in the second and then was aided by a double play and caught stealing to erase a pair of base runners in the third.

The Amarillo offense put up the first run of the night in the home half of the third. Kristian Robinson drew a one-out walk before advancing to third via a balk and stolen base. Gavin Conticello earned his first Double-A hit after being promoted to Amarillo today. The D-backs' no. 25-rated prospect collected his first RBI in the process to give Amarillo the early 1-0 lead. Giesting spun a 1-2-3 fourth and once again worked around a one-out double in the fifth. The RoughRiders tagged the lefty for their third double of the night with Josh Hatcher narrowly missing a home run in the sixth.

Gino Groover and Ivan Melendez extended the lead by hitting a pair of solo home runs two batters apart in the bottom of the sixth. Frisco's fourth XBH of the night gave them their first run as Cooper Johnson hit his 13th home run of the year in the seventh. Giesting picked up the seventh strikeout of his outing and then got a fly out to end his stellar night.

A couple of walks and a single was compounded by the only error of the game in the bottom of the eighth as Amarillo extended their lead to 5-1. Will Mabrey allowed a couple of hits in the top of the ninth but did not yield a run to slam the door on the Riders.

The series continues on Wednesday night with LHP Yu-Min Lin (3-5, 4.36 ERA) on the bump for Amarillo and will be countered by RHP Winston Santos (4-3, 5.27 ERA) and the RoughRiders. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

NOTES:

GAVIN A DAY: D-backs no. 25-rated prospect Gavin Conticello made his Double-A debut on Tuesday night. In his second trip to the plate, he collected his first hit and picked up his first RBI with a single into right field. He ended his debut 1-for-4.

SPENCE IN BOOTS: Spencer Giesting turned in his fourth quality start since arriving in Amarillo. The D-backs no. 27-rated prospect matched his season and Double-A high with 7.0 IP where he allowed just five hits and the lone damage coming from a solo home run in his final inning of work. It was the second time he had a 7+ inning quality start with his last coming on August 9th against NW Arkansas. Since August 16, 2023, Giesting has spun 13 quality starts between High-A Hillsboro and Amarillo. Tuesday night gave him his 14th win over the same span which is tied for the most in all Minor League Baseball.

GROOVY: D-backs no. 9-rated prospect Gino Groover launched his first HODGETOWN home run and second since arriving in Double-A. Groover started the sixth inning with a solo shot off Bryan Chi. In his first eight games with Amarillo, Groover is hitting .355 (11-for-21) with two home runs, three doubles, and four RBI.

TITANIC BLASTS: Ivan Melendez was the only Sod Poodle to have a multi-hit game in the series opener against the RoughRiders. The D-backs' no. 23 prospect hit his 21st home run of the season to tie the Texas League lead that Tim Tawa left behind when he headed to Triple-A Reno. It was the first home run for Melendez since August 21 against Corpus Christi. Melendez is up to 33 home runs for his Double-A career, the fifth most in Sod Poodles history. Melendez ended the night 2-for-4, his 27th multi-hit game and the most among all active Sod Poodles.

POODS ON A TUES: Amarillo ends the year with a 15-6 record on Tuesdays, their most wins on any day of the week this season. Amarillo also ends the year 17-7 in game one of the series.