Grand Slam Lifts Amarillo To Series Split With 7-5 Win

Amarillo, Texas — The Sod Poodles scored six runs in the second frame highlighted by a grand slam allowing them the necessary cushion to fend off a late rally from the Hooks. The 7-5 win at HODGETOWN on Sunday evening helped Amarillo secure a series split after taking the last two games of this series.

Scoring Summary: The Sod Poodles used a six-run second inning to take a commanding lead early Sunday evening. After a pair of hits and a walk to load the bases, an RBI walk plated the first run of the night for the Sod Poodles before Jancarlos Cintron broke the game open with a grand slam. The home run was Cintron's first of the year and extended his current hit streak to six games. Jake McCarththy hit a single against the Hooks shift before stealing his league-leading 16th base. He later scored on a Stone Garrett RBI single to make it 7-0 Amarillo. Corpus Christi had a three-run sixth inning aided by two home runs in the frame The first coming off the bat of Chandler Taylor with the second coming from David Hensley. Corpus Christi made things interesting with back-to-back solo home runs with two outs in the ninth to draw within two runs before Edgar Arredondo shut the door with his second strikeout of the inning.

Soddies Stats: A couple of Sod Poodles extended their current hit streaks in the win. Stone Garrett went 2-for-4 to make it seven straight games with a hit. Jancarlos Cintrons' grand slam gave him a hit in his last six games with Amarillo. Luis Frias tied a career-high by fanning nine Hooks. Frias had nine K's against Midland in his first HODGETOWN start on May 21 vs. Midland. The D-backs' No. 9 rated prospect also struck out nine earlier this year with High-A Hillsboro.

Hooks Highlights: Taylor went 2-for-3 in the loss for the Hooks collecting his fifth home run of the season. David Hensely also knocked his fifth home run of the year in the sixth inning. Corey Julks' ninth inning home run came off the bat at 106 MPH and traveled 462 ft. Scott Manea followed Julks as they went back-to-back to get within two runs.

Tomorrow's Tidbits: The Sod Poodles have an off day tomorrow before starting a new six-game series against the Midland RockHounds (Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics). Midland has already made one trip to HODGETOWN with the teams splitting that series from May 18 - 23.

Notes:

Welcome To SLAMARILLO: Jancarlos Cintron made his first home run of the year a memorable one as he sent the eighth pitch of his at bat in the second inning over the left-center field wall for the third Grand Slam in team history. Kyle Overstreet hit an inside the park grand slam here at HODGETOWN on July 16, 2019 vs. Springfield. Michael De La Cruz hit the first Soddies slam in 2021 at Frisco in their June 5th matchup.

The Scranton Swiper: Jake McCarthy regained his league lead for stolen bases with 16. San Antonio's Esteury Ruiz stole a base in their win earlier today to tie McCarthy who took back his solo lead with his stolen base in the fifth inning. McCarthy also went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Few And Far Between: Mitchell Osnowitz gave up just his second run of the season. Both have come here at HODGETOWN and via the solo home run route. Osnowitz came into tonight's game with five straight scoreless outings.

Off The Schneid: Luis Frias ended his current two-game losing streak. It was the first time in his professional career that he had lost back-to-back outings. The D-backs' No. 9 rated prospect is now 2-3 in his Double-A career.

Ways To Win: Amarillo improved to 14-4 when scoring 4+ runs and improved to 5-18 when being outhit by the opponent. The Sod Poodles are 11-2 when leading after six innings, 12-1 when up after seven, and a perfect 13-0 when leading after eight.

Soddies Split: Amarillo is now 1-2-3 through seven series in 2021. The team won their opening series of the year in Tulsa before splitting their next two series against Wichita and Midland.