Deja Two - Fletcher's Two HR Game Fuels Soddies
Amarillo, TEX – Dominic Fletcher belted two solo home runs to help the Sod Poodles defeat the Midland RockHounds by a final score of 8-3 on Tuesday night at HODGETOWN. After dropping two of three games to the RockHounds in the opening series of the year, RHP Slade Cecconi and
Amarillo, TEX – Dominic Fletcher belted two solo home runs to help the Sod Poodles defeat the Midland RockHounds by a final score of 8-3 on Tuesday night at HODGETOWN.
After dropping two of three games to the RockHounds in the opening series of the year, RHP Slade Cecconi and the Sod Poodles allowed just three runs on 11 hits to win the first game of the current series against their Oil Pan Cup rivals.
Amarillo struck the scoreboard first with four runs in the bottom of the 2nd. Jorge Barrosa singled and Blaze Alexander scored him on an RBI triple, his first three-bagger of the year. Alexander then scored on a wild pitch. Three batters later, Jancarlos Cintron drew a walk and Corbin Carroll blasted a two-run home run to left field to make it 4-0. The D-backs' No. 2 rated prospect has now hit five home runs for the season, second-most on the Sod Poodles roster.
The RockHounds responded in the top of the 3rd with solo home runs from Shane Selman and Chase Calabuig.
Jorge Barrosa extended the Amarillo lead with an RBI double in the bottom of the 3rd, scoring Ti’Quan Forbes to make it 5-2.
Slade Cecconi ended his night on a strong note, striking out two in the 4th and exiting with a three-run lead. The No. 11 organizational prospect’s night ended at 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB and 3 K.
Right-hander Justin Lewis relieved him in the 5th. He pitched two shutout innings and allowed a double in both but collected three strikeouts as he notched his second win in 2022.
The Sod Poodles added more insurance runs in the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings. Dominic Fletcher laced a solo home run over the left-field wall in the 5th, extending the lead to four runs and his hitting streak to 11 games. Cintron and Juan Centeno linked up for back-to-back doubles to plate a run in the 6th. Fletcher struck again in the 7th, launching his second solo home run of the night to make it 8-2.
No. 19 @Dbacks prospect Dominic Fletcher cleared the fences twice for the @sodpoodles: https://t.co/AKXtHox8kn pic.twitter.com/txZurv5cwh
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 4, 2022
Corbin Carroll flexes his opposite-field pop 💪
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 4, 2022
The @Dbacks’ No. 2 prospect drills his fifth homer for the @sodpoodles. pic.twitter.com/aT2UauDsox
Blake Rogers allowed a solo home run to Logan Davidson in the 8th, and Blake Workman came on in the 9th to shut the door on the RockHounds with a game-ending double-play.
Amarillo notched 10 hits as a team, led by Fletcher, Barrosa and Cintron with two apiece. The Sod Poodles pitching staff was clutch as a unit, striking out 7 and forcing the RockHounds to go 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
The Soddies and RockHounds will be back at it again tomorrow, Wednesday, May 4 with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM at HODGETOWN.
Notes:
Yerzy Joins the Fun: 1B/C Andy Yerzy got on base with a two-out single in the first inning, extending his current hitting streak to five games. With six hits now on the streak, he is batting .283 on the season with seven RBI. Yerzy extended his streak along with Dominic Fletcher (11 games, the team’s longest this year), Corbin Carroll (8 games) and Juan Centeno (8 games). In his six-year minor league career, Yerzy’s longest hitting streak was 22 games in 2017 with the rookie-level Missoula Osprey. Centeno’s streak is tied for the third-longest in his career. His longest was 23, also in 2017.
First Place Fletcher: OF Dominic Fletcher hit two home runs tonight and extended his hitting streak to 11 games, tied for first in the Texas League. This was just the second multi-HR game of his career, as he also hit two solo shots on September 9, 2021 against Tulsa. He now has 22 RBI on the year, first on both the Sod Poodles and the Arizona farm system and third in the Texas League. On the year, Fletcher is batting .296 with three home runs and three stolen bases.
Workhorse: RHP Blake Workman faced three batters in a scoreless 9th inning to seal the Sod Poodles win tonight. The scoreless appearance is his 4th n a row dating back to April 22. During the streak, he’s pitched 7.0 innings and allowed just two hits with eight strikeouts.
Defense Wins Championships: The Sod Poodles did not commit an error for the fourth game in a row, extending their Texas League-leading consecutive error-free innings streak to 39.2. The longest such streak in franchise history is 70.0 innings, spanning seven games from August 26 to September 2 in 2019. This season, Amarillo has committed 23 errors with a .970 fielding percentage and 15 double plays.
Late Lead, Low Score: For the fourth time this season, the Amarillo pitching staff held opponents to less than four runs. In those games, the Sod Poodles are now 3-1. The team has also been stellar at holding late leads this year, improving to 9-0 when leading after eight innings.
Hey, This Trend Looks Familiar: At 12-10 on the season, The Sod Poodles have now not recorded back-to-back wins or losses for eight contests in a row. They began the year with 10 such games in a row before they went on a four-game winning streak against the San Antonio Missions. Amarillo has lost back-to-back games just once this year, both against San Antonio.