Beer Plates Two, Lin Spins Quality Start to Beat Frisco 2-1

Amarillo, Texas (September 14, 2023) – Amarillo earned their 75th victory of the season behind a quality start from Amarillo left-hander Yu-Min Lin. Lin Matched his career-high for innings while Seth Beer delivered the only two runs Amarillo would need to take down the RoughRiders on Thursday night.

Scoreless through the top of the fifth, Beer provided the night's first runs with two outs in the home half of the fifth. Caleb Roberts collected his third hit of the night with a two-out single before A.J. Vukovich followed him on base with a two-out single of his own. The former then swiped second to put both runners into scoring position for Beer. The Amarillo first baseman capitalized with a double that hopped over the short porch in right field and allowed both runners to score easily.

Lin was back to the mound for the top of the sixth and made quick work of the first two batters he faced. A two-out walk kept the RoughRiders at-bat alive ahead of a wild pitch that allowed the runner to move to second. The D-backs no. 4-rated prospect allowed another free pass but worked his way out of the mini jam by inducing a ground ball for the final out of the inning to get through six scoreless against the RoughRiders.

A leadoff double in the bottom of the sixth off the bat of Neyfy Castillo was left stranded on third as the inning came to a close with Lin back on the mound for the top of the seventh. The southpaw worked through yet another 1-2-3 inning and added his seventh and eighth strikeouts of the night. He was back out for the top of the eighth with Amarillo also being retired in order during their seventh trip to the plate still holding onto a two-run lead.

Lin walked the first batter in the eighth with a single that had eyes for the 5-6 hole coming behind it. His start came to a close as Christian Montes De Oca came out of the bullpen and inherited a pair of baserunners left by Lin. A long single off the left field wall followed and cut the Sod Poodles advantage in half. Castillo ensured it would stay that way as he showed off his cannon of a right arm for an inning-ending double play as the runner on third tried to make a dash for the plate.

Without a base runner for the Sod Poodles in the bottom of the eighth, Montes De Oca headed back to the mound looking to close out Thursday's game. A couple of deep flyouts to Roberts in left field provided Montes De Oca and the Sod Poodles their first two outs of the final inning. The Amarillo right-hander slammed the door shut on Frisco with a strikeout to punctuate the 2-1 Sod Poodles victory.

The Sod Poodles and RoughRiders will continue their series - the final regular season series of the season on Friday night at HODGETOWN. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

NOTES:

YU'S SECRET STUFF: D-backs' no. 4-rated prospect Yu-Min Lin was dealing on Thursday night against Frisco. After making his Double-A Debut against the RoughRiders back on July 16th with six scoreless innings, just two hits allowed, and eight strikeouts, he backed it up against Frisco. Thursday, Lin was through seven scoreless with yet again just two hits allowed and eight strikeouts. He returned for the top of the eighth but surrendered a walk and a single before his night was over after 98 pitches. A run did come across charged to the left-hander and he was unable to get an out that would have set a new career-high for innings pitched in a start. Still, Lin earned his fifth Double-A win in his first 11 starts and has worked 13.0 IP with just seven hits, two runs, and 11 strikeouts over his last two games while picking up wins in each game. The southpaw now leads the D-backs farm system with 140 strikeouts this season, his 1.19 WHIP, and is second in qualified ERA with his 3.86 ERA through 24 starts. He also ranks second in BAA in the farm system, holding opponents to a .222 clip.

THREE PLEASE: On the same day he was named Arizona's Minor League Player of the Month for August by the Player Development Staff for August, Caleb Roberts turned in a three-hit night at the plate for Amarillo. Roberts was 3-for-3 with a run scored through his third at-bat of the night and finished 3-for-4. It was his sixth three-hit game of the year which is tied for the third-most among all Sod Poodles players this year. His third hit of the night also gave him hit number 100 for the season. With three games to play in the regular season, Roberts needs just two hits to break his single-season career-high for hits after getting to 101 last year between Hillsboro and Amarillo. He got his 101 hits playing in 120 games and after Thursday, played his 95th of this year. Among all qualified Double-A players in 2023, Roberts ranks tied for third with eight doubles this year and also ranks sixth in SLG (.529), while his .913 OPS is 10th best. His 47 XBH this year are the fifth most in the Texas League and his 17 home runs are tied for seventh in the D-backs' farm system.

A THIRSTY THURSDAY SPECIAL: It was two for the price of one when Seth Beer collected his 51st and 52nd RBI of the year with a double in the bottom of the fifth to score Amarillo's only two runs for the game. Beer finished 2-for-4 with the pair of runs driven in. He was one of just two players to have a multi-hit game as Amarillo finished the night with nine total hits. It was Beer's 27th multi-hit effort and his 14th multi-RBI game for Amarillo in 81 games. Beer improved his AVG at home this year to .352 in 39 games and has 21 of his 32 XBH this year in front of the HODGETOWN faithful. 34 of his 52 total RBI have also come at home in 2023 for the Sod Poodles.

DON'T TEST ME BRO: Nefy Castillo hosed the would-be tying run at the plate right field in the top of the eighth. It was Castillo's 10th outfield assist this season and his ninth from right field. No other player for Amarillo this year has more than six outfield assists on the season.

DON'T POKE THE BEAR: Christian Montes De Oca has converted on saves in each of his last three appearances and is up to nine on the season. Montes De Oca worked the final two innings Thursday and allowed just one hit with a strikeout and without a run charged against him. His nine saves this year are the second-most in the D-backs farm system behind Kyle Backhus, T-4th in the Texas League, and T-13th in all Double-A. Dating back to the start of last season - his first in pro ball, Montes De Oca has converted on 22-of-25 saves and his 22 saves are T-9th in all of Minor League Baseball along with seven others during the span. The right-hander has worked nine of his last 13 games without allowing a run and owns a 2.38 ERA since the start of August.