Thomas And Fletcher Homer, Amarillo Drops Opener 11-8

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Amarillo Sod Poodles (36-48) | Corpus Christi Hooks (41-44)

Amarillo, Texas — The Amarillo Sod Poodles opened their six-game series with an 11-8 loss to the Corpus Christi Hooks on Tuesday night in downtown Amarillo. The Soddies fell behind by 10 runs after the first two and half innings before clawing their way back in the later frames. Dominic Fletcher showed off his defensive prowess as well as his power at the plate while Alek Thomas added to his current hit streak.

Left-hander Kenny Hernandez got the start on the hill for the Sod Poodles looking for his first win since being promoted to Double-A. After not allowing more than two runs in three of his first four Double-A starts, Hernandez saw the Hooks put up that many in the first inning. A leadoff double and one out walk both came around to score on a two-out single in the top of the first inning.

Alek Thomas drew a walk to get the Soddies underway with their first at bats of the night. Dominic Fletcher snuck a ball into fair territory as his ball found the chalk down the left field line, allowing Thomas to advance to third. Fletcher was thrown out trying to stretch his single into a double. The Soddies were unable to tack on any runs of their own with the next two batters going down in order.

Both clubs went three up and three down in their next at bats The Hooks then strung together six hits and exploded for seven runs to take a 9-0 lead in the top of the third.

Hernandez's night came to an end as right-hander Jeff Bain came on to start the top of the fourth. Bain gave the Sod Poodles three strong innings of relief, allowing one earned run on three hits while adding two strikeouts.

After seeing the Hooks put up a seven spot a few innings prior, the Soddies found themselves on the scoreboard in the sixth. Buddy Kennedy drew a leadoff walk before Geraldo Perdomo laid down a perfect bunt up the third base line. A one-out single by Ryder Jones scored both runners and started a run of hits that pulled the Sod Poodles within four runs after scoring six in the inning. Fletcher tied the team-lead with his 11th home run of the night, a three-run blast for the final three runs of the frame.

The Hooks added to their lead and made it a five run game after a solo home run in the top of the eighth. Amarillo continued to chip away with two more runs in the bottom of the eighth. Alek Thomas picked up his ninth homer of the season as the Sod Poodles drew within three runs. The next two batters went down on strikes as the game headed to the ninth inning.

Joe Jones came on for his eighth appearance of the season. He pitched around two walks by striking out two in his one inning of work and keeping a pair of runners stranded.

A leadoff strikeout and fly out put the Sod Poodles down to their final out. Luis Basabe who came into the game for Dominic Canzone put a charge into the ball that carried into straight away center field but was tracked down on the warning track.

This six-game series continues tomorrow night as the Pointy Boots de Amarillo take on the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits. First pitch from downtown Amarillo is scheduled for 7:05 PM. Drey Jameson will make his HODGETOWN debut for Amarillo after tying the franchise-high with his 11-strikeout performance on the road in Frisco in his Double-A Debut last Thursday. RHP Cesar Rosado (1-5, 6.18 ERA) will be on the mound for the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits.

Notes:

On The Hook: Sod Poodles starter Kenny Hernandez had his first real hiccup since being promoted to Amarillo in mid-July. He had not given up no more than three earned runs in any of his first four starts with the Soddies in no less than five innings of work. Tonight, Hernandez gave up two in the first inning before a seven-run third inning for the Hooks. It set not only a Double-A high, but career-high eight earned runs for Hernandez. His previous high was seven which he allowed back in 2017 when he was with the AZL Diamondbacks against the AZL Mariners.

"HE DID WHAT?!?!?: D-backs No. 15 rated prospect Dominic Fletcher made what might have been the best catch in HODGETOWN history in the top of the fourth inning. With two outs, he leapt above the right-field fence to rob what would have been a home run coming down on the top of the fence and nearly flipping over it onto the right field lawn.

6 Or More: For the ninth time this season and second in as many games, the Sod Poodles scored six or more runs in a single inning. The Sod Poodles set a franchise-high with their nine-run outburst against the Frisco RoughRiders on June 5th. Earlier this year, the Sod Poodles set a HODGETOWN-high 19 runs by one team in a single-game against Corpus Christi on June 9th. In that game, Amarillo plated seven runs in back-to-back innings in the second and third innings.

Dom Bomb: Dominic Fletcher hit his 11th home run of the season as part of the six-run sixth inning for the Sod Poodles. He is now tied with fellow outfielder Stone Garrett for the team lead in long balls. Fletcher, who is in his second professional season after being drafted by the D-backs in the 2nd round (75th overall) hit five homers in his first season with Single-A Kane County. He has three home runs over his last 10 games.

Two For 2: Geraldo Perdomo notched his 7th multi-hit game of the year and first since June 18th when he went 2-for-4 against Midland. The D-backs' No. 3 rated prospect was recently activated from the Development List and added his first multi-RBI game of the year in the series finale against Frisco on Sunday night.

Thomas Keeps Chuggin' Away: Alek Thomas picked up his 7th three-hit game of the season in tonight's 3-for-3 performance that included his ninth home run of the year and yet another multi-RBI game, his 10th of the year. Thomas extended his current hit streak to six games, the longest of the year for the D-backs' No. 4 rated prospect. Over his last six games, Thomas is hitting 11-for-23 with two home runs, a triple, two doubles, and eight RBI.