Thursday, July 22, 2021 vs Frisco RoughRiders [TEX]

Amarillo Sod Poodles (28-40) | Frisco RoughRiders (42-27)

Amarillo, Texas — The Amarillo Sod Poodles dropped game three of their six-game series against the Frisco RoughRiders Thursday night at HODGETOWN. The RoughRiders took the early lead on a home run in the first inning as they led wire-to-wire in the 9-2 win.

For the second night in a row the RoughRiders jumped out to a lead in the top of the first inning off a home run. Tonight it was off the bat of catcher Jose Trevino who picked up the first home run of his rehab assignment from the Texas Rangers. His home run off Sod Poodles starter Kenny Hernandez gave the Riders a 2-0 lead.

After Amarillo was retired in order in the bottom of the first, Hernandez and the Soddies defense got back to work. A leadoff double was quickly erased on a double play by second baseman Osvaldo Abreu as Hernandez ended up facing the minimum in the frame. Ryder Jones nearly got the Sod Poodles on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the second. Jones looked like he had enough opposite field power but it kept slicing foul just before the pole in left field.

Frisco got right back to work, leading off the inning with another double. A bunt placed another runner aboard after Hernandez had trouble wrangling the ball in, placing runners on first and third. A ground out to Abreu plated another run as Trevino picked up his third RBI of the night. A warning track fly out by Josh Jung gave Frisco their second out of the inning. A single and three-run home run with two outs pushed the Frisco lead to six runs.

Amarillo drew a leadoff walk and strung together consecutive singles with one out to load the bases. A fly out to the second baseman and ground out kept the Soddies from cutting into the lead at all, leaving all three runners stranded.

The RoughRiders went down in order during the fourth with Hernandez picking up the first strikeout of the night after dealing eight of them in his Double-A debut last week against Midland. Sod Poodles infielder Buddy Kennedy singled in the bottom of the inning, picking up the team's third hit of the game, extending his current hit streak.

Hits by Trevino and Jung did no harm after two groundouts to Kennedy at third base kept the game at 6-0 in the top of the fifth.

D-backs' No. 4 rated prospect Alek Thomas got a two-out rally started with a hard hit ball down the first base line as he advanced to second base on an error. Jan Carlos Cintron scored him as he followed Thomas on base with a single as the Soddies made it a 6-1 ballgame.

Right-hander Jeff Bain came on to relieve Hernandez to begin the top of the sixth. He got some help from his defense as Mikey Reynolds threw out a runner trying to stretch a single into a double then making a diving catch as Bain faced the minimum in his first inning. Kennedy made his way on base for the second time on the night after drawing a walk with one out in the Sod Poodles' half of the sixth but was once again left stranded. The RoughRiders added to their lead after a one-out triple and single pushed their lead back to six runs.

Frisco extended the lead to seven runs after another two hits in the top of the eighth inning. Bain picked up his first strikeout of the night to end the top of the eighth.

Stone Garrett hustled his way onto first base after beating out an infield single as he slid into first, beating the late toss to the covering pitcher. Jones singled into left-center, advancing to both him and Garrett a base as the left fielder mishandled the ball. Kennedy drove in Garrett on a deep sacrifice fly to right field making it a 8-2 game. Amarillo once again loaded the bases with one out but could not cut into the lead any further. Frisco picked up another run on two more hits in the ninth, making it a 9-2 game.

Amarillo sent the top of their lineup to start the bottom of the ninth. Thomas went down on strikes while Cintron grounded out to shortstop. Garrett picked up his second single of the night then advanced to second on defensive indifference. A balk pushed Garett to third prior to the game ending as Jones grounded out to the RoughRiders first baseman.

Game four of this six-game series continues tomorrow from HODGETOWN with postgame fireworks after the final out. It'll be a faceoff between a pair of top pitching prospects for these two organizations. D-backs' No. 22 rated prospect Matt Tabor (2-4, 3.46 ERA) takes on the Rangers' No. 3 rated prospect and No. 1 rated pitching prospect RHP Cole Winn (2-3, 2.73 ERA). Gates at the ballpark will open at 6:05 PM with first pitch slated for 7:05 PM.

Notes:

Buddy's Streak: INF Buddy Kennedy extended his current hitting streak to five games with his 4th inning single. Since being promoted to Double-A from Hillsboro on June 21st, it is the longest such streak in his brief Double-A career. During his last five games, Kennedy is 7-for-20 with a double, triple, home run, and four RBI. He also picked up his first three-hit performance in Double-A when he went 3-for-5 with two home runs in Sunday's series finale in Midland. He has hit safely in eight of his last nine games played.

Super Mikey: After picking up the first outfield assist of his professional career on July 15th, Mikey Reynolds is now making a habit of it. He threw out Steele Walker trying to stretch a single into a double in the top of the sixth for the first out of the inning. He then followed that up by making a diving catch in shallow left-center field, robbing a base hit from Jax Biggers for the second out of the inning. He made another sliding catch in the top of the 8th inning.

Long Ball Logistics: Sod Poodles pitchers have given up a home run in four straight games including two in all three games to begin this series against Frisco.

Pen Notes: Right-hander Jeff Bain allowed just the second and third earned runs over his last 12.1 innings out of the bullpen for the Sod Poodles. Bain began the year in the starting rotation but has since made nine straight appearances out of the 'pen with a 3.06 ERA over those nine outings.

Low-K: Amarillo struck out four Frisco batters, a season-low for a single-game this season. Kenny Hernandez struck out eight in his Double-A debut and is averaging over four strikeouts a game in his seven starts to begin his 2021 campaign. Bain picked up one strikeout while Levi Kelly matched both of those guys, striking out two in the top of the ninth in his lone inning of work.

Two Hits, One Stone: Stone Garrett notched his team-leading 19th multi-hit game of the year with his 2-for-5 game tonight. Garrett's 62 hits this season lead the Sod Poodles along with his .291 AVG, 11 homers, and 38 RBI.