Henry Spins Another Gem In 8-1 Win Over Missions

Friday, September 3, 2021 at San Antonio [SD]

Amarillo Sod Poodles (50-55) | San Antonio Missions (50-56)

San Antonio, Texas — The Amarillo Sod Poodles routed the San Antonio Missions 8-1 on Friday night to take a 3-1 series lead. The night got started with a solo home run in the top of the first inning and the Sod Poodles never looked back en route to their 50th win of the year.

Amarillo started Friday night's ballgame in San Antonio with a bang. Batting second in the lineup, Ryder Jones hit his eighth home run of the year to give the Sod Poodles a one run lead. Left-hander Tommy Henry sat the Missions down in order in the bottom of the second after just 14 pitches. Dominic Canzone started the top of the second with a solo home run of his own - his fifth of the year with Amarillo. It would prove to be all of the run support Henry and the Soddies would need.

Henry surrendered his first and only run of the game after two of the first three batters in the bottom of the second inning doubled.

Seeing their advantage cut in half, Amarillo got right back to work in the top of the third inning. Luis Bassabe drew a leadoff walk ahead of Jancarlos Cinton. The Puerto Rico native picked up his ninth double of the year, scoring Basabe from first. The Soddies then strung together consecutive singles including Stone Garrett's RBI single to take a 4-1 lead. For Garrett, he picked up his 60th RBI of the season, placing him in tie for second in the Arizona Diamondbacks' organization at the conclusion of Friday's game.

Henry gave up his third double of the night and then his first non-double when the next batter singled and placed runners on the corners. Henry responded by striking out the next three batters in a row to keep the Missions at bay. He added another strikeout in the bottom of the fifth to give him seven through five innings with just four hits allowed. The former second round pick added another win to his season, making him 3-6 and picking up consecutive wins for the first time in his career.

Three straight singles by Amarillo started the top of the sixth inning. With the bases loaded, Basabe hit the fourth single of the inning and plated another two runs as the Sod Poodles extended their lead to 6-1 and chased the Missions starter from the game.

Right-hander Jeff Bain replaced Henry on the mound in the bottom of the sixth. He was greeted with a single but a quick double play swung momentum back in the Soddies favor. Bain got out of the inning facing the minimum as he induced a ground ball for the third out of the frame.

Amarillo added insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning. Dominic Miroglio hit his ninth home run of the year to lead off the inning. Jancarlos Cintron walked and later scored on Jones' RBI double to make it a 8-1 ballgame.

Left-hander Mack Lemieux was the third Amarillo arm used on the night. He allowed a single that advanced to second on an errant throw with one out in the inning. That runner advanced to third on a wild pitch. Like Henry did earlier in the game, Lemieux stranded the runner after striking out the next two batters he faced - giving him three strikeouts in his lone inning of work.

Matt Brill came out of the bullpen in a non-save opportunity to close out the game for Amarillo. He struck out two of the four batters he faced after walking 2019 Sod Poodle Kyle Overstreet with two outs. Brill emphatically ended the game with a punchout.

The series continues with right-hander and D-backs' No. 17 rated prospect Drey Jameson (3-0, 2.51 ERA) making his sixth Double-A start on Saturday night. First pitch from the Wolff is scheduled for 7:05 PM with Amarillo aiming to win back-to-back series.

Notes:

I Spy A Buckeye: Sod Poodles outfielder Dominic Canzone hit his fifth home run of the season since being promoted to Amarillo in late July. Since joining the Soddies, Canzone is hitting .322 (28-for-87) with five home runs, five doubles, a triple, and 17 RBI in 23 games played.

Tommy Boy: After picking up his second win of the season in his last outing on August 26th, Tommy Henry picked up right where he left off. Henry finished Friday's outing after going five innings and allowing just one run of four hits. He struck out seven without a walk issued. Over his last 10 innings pitched, the former Michigan Wolverine has allowed just one run on six hits and has 15 strikeouts. Amarillo has won all three games Henry has started against the Missions this year. With seven punchouts Friday night, Henry is now ranked third in the Diamondbacks farm system with 128 on the season and trails fellow Amarillo starters RHP Brandon Pfaadt and RHP Ryne Nelson who sit 1-2 in the D-backs' system with 141 and 139 respectively. Fellow Soddie Drey Jameson - who gets the start tomorrow night - now sits in fourth with 124 strikeouts this season.

Hit Parade: Amarillo notched 16 hits against the Missions Friday night. They did most of their damage off San Antonio starter Tyler Viza who gave up 12 hits in his five innings of work. It was just the fifth time this year that the Soddies tallied 15 or more hits and first against the Missions. Amarillo had 20 hits against both Frisco and Corpus Christi earlier this year to set a franchise record. They then had another 19 hit performance against Frisco on August 25th and an 18 hit night against Corpus Christi on August 11th. The 16 hits matches the 16 hits San Antonio had against Amarillo on July 29th, tying the most hits in a single-game involving these two clubs.

"I was born in it, molded by it.": Right-handed pitcher Jeff Bain made his 24th appearance of the season. After beginning the season in the starting rotation, Bain has been a staple out of the bullpen since mid-June. The Cal Poly Pomona product is 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA in 16 games since June 19th. He has allowed just six earned runs over his last 29.2 innings.

Dom Bomb (x2): Amarillo backstop Dominic Miroglio couldn't be the only Dominic in Amarillo's lineup without a home run on Friday night. The California native belted his ninth home run of the season over the left field wall in the top of the 8th inning.

Three x 3 : Ryder Jones, Dominic Canzone, and Dominic Miroglio each tallied three hits in Friday night's game. It marks the fourth time this year and second in the last nine games that three Amarillo players had at least three hits in the same game. The feat was matched in all of the games Amarillo managed 15 or more hits except the game against Corpus Christi on August 11th. In that contest, seven of the nine starters had multi-hit games but only Stone Garrett and Luis Basabe had three hit games.

Bullpen Bullies: The trio of Jeff Bain, Mack Lemieux, and Matt Brill combined to allow just two hits and a walk with six strikeouts over the final four innings on Friday in San Antonio.

Soddies Split: With the win Friday night, Amarillo secured at least a series split against the Missions. Despite playing seven total games this series, one was a makeup of the first series in San Antonio from July 6-11 that was played as part of the doubleheader on Wednesday night. Amarillo has taken three of the first four of the current series. Amarillo has won or split every series since taking four of six against the Missions in late-July.