Lin Goes Eight Quality Innings in Loss to Frisco

Amarillo, Texas (September 11, 2024) – The Sod Poodles saw their final series of the year evened up at a game a piece with the Frisco RoughRiders taking a 3-1 win on Wednesday night. The Sod Poodles only run of the game came in the first inning and was unable to provide Yu-Min Lin enough run support after going a season-high eight innings.

Limited to a single run on Tuesday night, the RoughRiders earned their second run of the series in the same fashion. Maximo Acosta hit a one-out solo home run to put Frisco up early in game two of the series. Amarillo answered back right away in their first trip to the plate. Gavin Conticello drew a one-out walk and raced around the bases to even things up on Caleb Roberts' two-out RBI double.

The RoughRiders retook the lead over Amarillo and Yu-Min Lin with a pair of runs in the third. The inning started with a single, followed by a double that placed both runners in scoring position. A productive ground out and the third hit of the inning gave the Riders a 3-1 lead.

Amarillo's first hit since the Roberts RBI double in the first inning came from Gavin Conticello with a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth. Conticello's second Double-A hit ended a streak of 10 straight Sod Poodles retired by Frisco pitching.

Lin got out of the seventh inning with the help of a double play after allowing a single. It was just a five-pitch inning for Lin who came back out for the top of the eighth. The D-backs no. 7-rated prospect got through the eighth with the help of the second straight inning-ending double play. He picked up his sixth strikeout and Roberts threw out Josh Hatcher trying to steal second for a strike 'em throw 'em out double play.

The Sod Poodles doubled their number of hits with singles from Neyfy Castillo and Jesus Valdez in the eighth. The fifth combined double play and the fourth in a two-inning span ended the Sod Poodles threat. Chris Rodriguez relieved Lin on the mound to face the Riders in the ninth. The right-hander tossed a clean inning to Send the Sod Poodles to the dish chasing two runs.

Amarillo sent their 2-3-4 hitters to the plate. Gino Groover singled after Conticello flared out to center field. Ivan Melendez extended the inning with a two-out single to send Christian Cerda to the plate serving as the potential game-winning run. Instead Dane Acker worked around the pair of singles with as many strikeouts to get his first save since coming out of the bullpen to manage his innings.

The Sod Poodles and Riders continue on Thursday night from HODGETOWN. RHP Joe Elbis (0-3, 3.70 ERA) will take the ball against LHP Mitch Bratt (2-2, 5.33 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

NOTES:

STAY AT THE QUALITY LIN: D-backs' no. 7-rated prospect not only set a new career-high eight 8.0 IP, but also set the new single-game high by any Sod Poodles pitcher in 2024 and matched the franchise-high all-time. Lin becomes just the third pitcher in team history to work 8.0 IP and the first since Jamison Hill did so on September 1st of last season. Wednesday night was his fourth quality start of the year and second straight after also working 6.2 IP with two earned runs in game one of the doubleheader against Midland last Thursday night in Midland.

IN SEARCH OF SOME SUPPORT: Wednesday night was the 40th quality start by an Amarillo pitcher this year and the 18th time the Sod Poodles have lost a game in which the starter provided them with a quality outing, including five losses to the Frisco RoughRiders. It was the 10th time in a quality start by the pitcher that the Sod Poodles offense was held to one or fewer runs.

ROCKET POWER: Caleb Roberts provided the Sod Poodles with their only run with his RBI double in the first inning. Roberts is the active leader in doubles for the Sod Poodles with Wednesday night being his 18th of the year. It's been a slow September for Roberts who collected his fourth hit in nine games played. However, three of the four have been for extra bases with a pair of homers last week in Midland to go with his double against Frisco. With the departure of A.J. Vukovich, Roberts leads the current team in every major offensive category except home runs (2 behind) and walks (8 behind).