Garrett and Kennedy Homer, Sod Poodles Fall To Hooks 8-6

Friday, June 25, 2021 @ Corpus Christi Hooks [HOU]

Amarillo Sod Poodles (20-26) | Corpus Christi Hooks (21-25)

Corpus Christi, Texas — The Sod Poodles dropped game four of their series against Corpus Christi Friday night after a late comeback came up just shy. The Sod Poodles five runs from the fifth inning on but ultimately fell two runs short in the loss.

For the first time in this series, the Sod Poodles drew first blood. Stone Garrett sent his team-leading ninth home run over the left field wall to put the Sod Poodles up 1-0. The lead lasted just three batters into the bottom of the inning after consecutive walks to lead off the Hooks half made their way home on a three-run home run that put the Hooks in front.

Soddies starter Luis Frias lasted just two outs in the first after racking up 35 pitches in the inning. He was replaced by Mitchell Stumpo, who made his Double-A debut after being promoted from High-A Hillsboro on June 21st.

Stumpo induced a popup to the first batter he faced to end the first but gave up a leadoff home run in the bottom of the second inning as the Hooks pushed their lead to three runs.

Amarillo got a pair of outs in the fourth before a single and error helped keep the inning alive. Norel Gonzalez drove in his fourth run of the game with a RBI-double and extended the Hooks lead to 5-1.

Dominic Miroglio and Jose Curpa hit back-to-back doubles to start the top of the fifth inning. A single from Mikey Reynolds pushed runners to the corners, allowing Curpa to score on a ground ball and help the Sod Poodles cut into the deficit at 5-3.

Corpus Christi rallied again with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. A pair of singles put runners aboard for Gonzalez who added another two-RBI to his stat line with his second double of the game.

The Sod Poodles tacked on a run of their own in the seventh. Miroglio made his way to second base after a pair of errors. A groundout pushed Miroglio to third which allowed him to score on an Alek Thomas single. Amarillo made a late push for the lead after drawing a leadoff walk in the top of the eighth inning. Buddy Kennedy hit his second home run of the series on an 0-1 pitch to draw the Soddies within a run at 7-6.

Walks once again hurt the Sod Poodles who issued two straight walks to begin the bottom of the eighth. A fielder's choice placed runners at the corners before Gonzalez plated another run pushing their lead back to two.

The Sod Poodles comeback ended after the team went down in order in the ninth, ending the game and dropping the Sod Poodles to 20-26 on the year. Game five of this series will continue tomorrow night from Whataburger Field.

Notes:

Two For Miroglio: Sod Poodles catcher Dominic Miroglio recorded his seventh multi-hit game of the year and first since June 9th against Corpus Christi at HODGETOWN. Miroglio entered tonight's game just 2 for his last 19 with a triple and a RBI. He finished tonight's ballgame 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a double.

Double-A Debut: Mitchell Stumpo made his Amarillo and Double-A debut after replacing Luis Frias on the mound in the first inning. Stumpo tossed 3.1 IP and gave up four hits but just two runs with a walk and a pair of strikeouts. Stumpo was promoted from High-A Hillsboro after beginning the year 0-0 with a 1.08 ERA in five games. He struck out 12 while issuing just one walk in 7.2 innings of work for the Hops.

Stone Mashing Time: Stone Garrett's solo shot in the first inning gives hime nine on the year to lead the team and a tie for seventh in the Double-A Central. His nine home runs is also just one off the lead in the D-backs' organization.

A Buddy of Mine: Buddy Kennedy belted his second home run of the series, and second in Double-A after also being promoted from Hillsboro earlier this week. Kennedy's seven home runs in this 2021 campaign place him in the Top-10 among all D-backs' minor leaguers, joining current team-leader in home runs Stone Garrett and Luis Basabe who have nine and six respectively.

Long Ball Wall: As a staff, Soddies arms have allowed at least one home run in 18 straight games, since June 6. In the span, Amarillo has surrendered a total of 38 home runs, which is the most allowed in Double-A in the 18 games.

Curpa's First: Jose Curpa was also added to the Amarillo roster earlier this week and notched his first hit as a Sod Poodle with his double in the fifth inning. Curpa has been in the D-backs' system since 2017 and was sent to Amarillo despite never playing in High-A. Curpa began the year with Low-A Visalia for 14 games.

Tomorrow's Tidbits: Game five of this series will feature LHP Tommy Henry (0-3, 5.54) on the mound for Amarillo at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, Texas.