Jameson Dazzles In Wire-To-Wire Win

Amarillo, TX – After an explosive game on Tuesday that saw a combined 29 runs, the Amarillo Sod Poodles (6-5) defeated the San Antonio Missions (2-9) by a final score of 7-4 on Wednesday night at HODGETOWN.

The Missions led off the game with a single against No. 6 D-backs organizational prospect RHP Drey Jameson, but that hit was all they could muster against the Amarillo ace. The runner stole second base and was gunned down trying to steal third. Jameson then retired the next 17 batters he faced, tying RHP Brandon Pfaadt with a Sod Poodles’ season-high eight strikeouts while touching 100 MPH on his fastball.

The Sod Poodles put runners on in the first two innings but didn’t break the scoring open until a five-run 3rd. Corbin Carroll and Eduardo Diaz led off the inning with a walk and a single, after doing so in the 1st as well. Dominic Canzone scored Carroll on an RBI groundout, his 11th RBI of the season. Leandro Cedeno then drew a walk to put two runners on, and Ti’Quan Forbes scored them both with an RBI double.

With a three-run lead and a runner on base, Jancarlos Cintron blew the game wide open with a two-run home run to score Forbes and make it a 5-0 game. Juan Centeno followed him with a double, but was stranded on second base. The Sod Poodles batted around in the inning.

Jameson was aided by error-free Sod Poodle defense, including a highlight diving snag at third base by Forbes. Kai-Wei Lin came on in relief in the top of the 7th, ending Jameson’s stellar outing at 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB and 8 K on 74 pitches.

Up to 8 strikeouts now for @JamesonDrey

Decent little outing, IOHO pic.twitter.com/9iicbf7TMi

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) April 21, 2022

Up five in the 7th, Lin immediately put two runners on with a leadoff walk followed by a single. The Sod Poodles’ defense responded with a 6-4-3 double play, and Lin ended the inning with a swinging strikeout on a breaking ball.

After the stretch, Diaz led off the bottom of the 7th with a single and Canzone scored him on an RBI double off the first pitch he saw. Leandro Cedeno reached on his second single of the evening, and Forbes knocked in Canzone on an RBI single to make it 7-0. The Soddies loaded the bases with two outs for Drew Stankiewicz, but he narrowly missed a grand slam and ended the inning with a 365-foot warning-track flyout.

Cam Booser entered the game with a healthy cushion in the 8th. The Missions led off the inning with back-to-back walks, and both advanced into scoring position on a groundout. Booser responded with a strikeout, but a bang-bang play at first resulted in an RBI single for Chandler Seagle. The next batter, Esteury Ruiz, added another run on an RBI single that escaped the glove of Jancarlos Cintron. With the score now 7-2, Drew Stankiewicz ended the inning with two runners on base via a highlight jumping grab in shallow right field.

Ryan Weiss took over for the final frame in the top of the 9th. He allowed two singles that put runners at the corners, and an RBI ground-rule double from Korry Howell cut the Amarillo lead to 7-3. An RBI groundout off the bat of Agustin Ruiz made it a three-run game, but a 97-MPH lineout to Cedeno at first base ended the ballgame.

The Sod Poodles ended the night out-hitting the Missions 12-7 and San Antonio committed two errors. Five Soddies had multiple hits, led by Diaz’ three. Forbes’ RBI double earned Play of the Game honors, and he led the team with 3 RBI. Amarillo’s pitching staff struck out 10 batters and only issued three walks, compared to three Ks and four BB for the Missions.

Amarillo and San Antonio will be back in action tomorrow, Thursday, April 21st for game three at HODGETOWN with first pitch at 7:05 PM. The Sod Poodles will have RHP Slade Cecconi (0-0, 1.00 ERA) on the mound to face LHP Gabe Morales (0-0, 0.00 ERA) for the Missions.

Notes:

Boots Point To Victory: The Sod Poodles competed and were victorious as Los Pointy Boots de Amarillo for the second time this season. The previous victory was on April 14 at Tulsa, and was also a 7-4 victory. Amarillo will compete as the Pointy Boots once a week thanks to the Minor League Copa de La Diversión initiative, and will compete under the alias at every Wednesday home game.

Pour Me Some Jameson: With his inning-ending strikeout in the top of the 6th, Drey Jameson capped a stellar performance in which he retired 17 straight batters with eight strikeouts. His one hit allowed was a career-best for him in all starts in which he's thrown at least 5.0 innings. Jameson has now been the winning pitcher in his last two outings, and owns a season line of 2-1, 3.55 ERA, 14 strikeouts and just four walks in 12.2 innings pitched.

Five In A Leand-Row: With a single in the bottom of the 5th, Leandro Cedeno extended his hitting streak to five games. Through 11 games this season, Cedeno is batting .417 (15-for-36) and is second in the Texas League with 13 RBI. In the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization in 2021, Cedeno had a 10-game hitting streak with the Peoria Chiefs (A+) and a seven-game streak with the Springfield Cardinals (AA). He also recorded a total of 60 RBI across both levels with 12 home runs.

*At Long Last, A Streak!: *After starting off the season with 10 games without consecutive wins or losses, the Sod Poodles have won back-to-back games against the Missions. The 10-game flip-flop streak was the longest in franchise history, surpassing the previous-record six-game streak set in 2021.

Ti’Quan HODGE: Third baseman Ti’Quan Forbes has quickly become acquainted with his new home ballpark, notching nine hits through his first three home games. He is batting .642 in home games with two doubles, a home run, seven RBI and six runs scored. In six road games, Forbes is batting just .045 (1-for-22) with two RBI.

Finding His Power: Jancarlos Cintron knocked in his second home run on the season off a 394-foot jack to left field. His previous home run was a solo shot on April 15 at Tulsa, and tonight's effort was his first game this season with multiple hits and multiple RBI. Cintron has now launed 26 home runs in his five-year minor league career, and had eight in 72 games for Amarillo in 2021.

Strong Start, Shaky Finish: After another excellent start by a Sod Poodles starter, the starting rotation owns a 3-1 record with a 3.45 ERA - the 9th best starting ERA in Double-A. After allowing four runs in the final two innings, the Amarillo relief core now owns a 3-4 record with an 8.88 ERA - the worst bullpen ERA in Double-A. The starters are holding opponents to a .238 batting average, while opponents are batting .343 against the relievers.