Amarillo Takes Weekend Series From Springfield

Amarillo, Texas (July 21, 2024) – Amarillo won the weekend rubber match, and season series, against the North Division-leading Springfield Cardinals with a 6-5 win 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 that saw 25 combined hits.

After spinning 5.2 IP without allowing a hit in his last start, Dylan Ray ran into a little bit of trouble early in his start against Springfield on Sunday. Matt Church laid down a bunt single in the top of the first and the Cardinals got another hit off the D-backs' no. 9-rated prospect to build a 1-0 lead after their first trip to the plate. Ray bounced back to toss consecutive scoreless frames in the second and third leaving a runner stranded in each inning as he worked around a pair of hits in both. Springfield added two more runs in the top of the fourth but Ray limited the damage as best he could with the Cardinals having the bases loaded without an out.

Amarillo had a difficult time getting anything going off Max Rajcic until the bottom of the fourth inning. Caleb Roberts recorded the first hit off the right-hander and made it count as he left the yard for a leadoff solo homer. Amarillo pieced together two more hits in the frame but was unable to cut into the deficit any further. Springfield tacked on another run in the top of the fifth off John Matthews in his first inning in relief of Ray. A two-out single, stolen base, and their second hit of the inning made it a 4-1 game.

Another leadoff hit by Kevin Graham in the fifth started an Amarillo rally. Andrew Pintar followed him on base with a single and Graham was able to score after the ball skirted past Matt Lloyd and got all the way to the left field wall. Roberts collected his second hit in as many innings to put runners on the corners for A.J. Vukovich. The team's leader in doubles added another one to bring home the tying run. Following the second out of the inning and a Cardinals pitching change, Ivan Melendez gave Amarillo a lead they would not surrender as he brought home Vukovich with a RBI single to cap the four-run inning and a 5-4 lead.

Jamison Hill came on 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, tossing a scoreless half-inning of his own to keep it a one-run game heading to the final three innings. Jake Rice struck out two in his lone inning of work on Sunday night.

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

After Amarillo was retired in order during the bottom of the eighth, Mitchell Stumpo came on for the ninth. He 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 will have an off day on Monday before welcoming the Wichita Wind Surge to town on Tuesday to continue the nine-game homestand. It'll be the only series of the year against the Wind Surge for the Sod Poodles. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

NOTES:

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

The Rocket gives the fans in Bar 352 a souvenir. pic.twitter.com/NEvSIMiUtu

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) July 22, 2024

TWO-KUVICH: A.J. Vukovich ended his series against the Cardinals by going 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored. In the three games series, the Sod Poodles all-time leader added five more to his career total and now sits on 154 career RBI as a Sod Poodle. His double was the second of the weekend and he is up to 21 on the year to lead the team and ranks T-3rd in the Texas League and T-6th overall in Double-A.

TITANIC TANKS: Ivan Melendez crushed his 18th home run of the season as he went 2-for-4 with two RBI, a run scored in the series finale. His 18 home runs this season lead the Texas League by three over fellow 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 5th player to hit 30 home runs in Amarillo threads.

The Big Texan adds to his Texas League lead in trips around the bases. pic.twitter.com/If2yAvpo3S

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) July 22, 2024

SHUFFLE THE CARDS: Amarillo earned their third series win of the season by taking two of three games from the Cardinals. Amarillo also won the series against the North Division's best team, winning five of the nine games the two played against one another - all coming at HODGETOWN. Amarillo holds a 25-21 record against the Cardinals since 2019 and climbed over .500 against the North Division this year, now owning a 17-16 record against cross-division foes.