Lin's Perfect Night At The Dish Lifts Amarillo To Win

POSTGAME NOTES

Friday, August 13, 2021 vs. Corpus Christi Hooks [HOU]

Corpus Christi Hooks (41-47) | Amarillo Sod Poodles (39-48)

Amarillo, Texas - After falling behind on a trio of long balls from Corpus Christi, Amrillo battled back in the later frames to pick up the 8-4 win. Led by the bottom of the batting order, the Sod Poodles took a 3-1 series advantage on Friday night in downtown Amarillo.

Right-hander Luis Frias got the start on the mound for Amarillo and proceeded to strike out the side in the top of the first inning. In the bottom of the first, Dominic Fletcher singled with one out before a pair of two out walks off Corpus starter Tyler Brown loaded the bases. A strikeout ended the threat and kept the game scoreless through the first frame.

Brown struggled with walks early in the outing, issuing four free passes through the first two innings but did not surrender a run. The Hooks broke through, scoring the first run of the game with a solo home run off Frias in the top of the second. Corpus added another two home runs in the top of the third to take a 3-0 lead. Their first non-home run hit for the Hooks came via a single in the top of the 4th inning. That runner later came around to score on the second single of the inning. A double play ended the threat and kept the Hooks' lead within reach at 4-0.

The Sod Poodles finally broke through with a run after consecutive singles to leadoff the bottom of the fifth. Lyle Lin and Camden Duzenack both singled and advanced on Brown's third wild pitch of the night. A ground out off the bat of D-backs' No. 4 rated prospect Alek Thomas produced a RBI and cut the deficit to 4-1.

A walk and hit by pitch with one out gave Amarillo two baserunners in the bottom of the sixth. Ryder Jones followed them aboard with a single that loaded the bases. Lin delivered again, this time scoring two with his second single of the game as the Soddies cut it to a 4-3 game. As he did in the fifth, Duzenack copied Lin and drove in another two runs with a single into center field to give Amarillo their first lead of the game at 5-4.

Left-hander Tyler Holton came on after Frias' night ended after five innings with four runs - three earned - on five hits with eight strikeouts. Holton was dominant, striking out two in his first inning of work. He fired three scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and struck out five Corpus batters, his most in a relief appearance this season as he picked up his third win of the year.

Amarillo picked up some insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. Geraldo Perdomo led it off by drawing his second walk of the night before advancing to third on Jones' second single of the game. A ground out plated Perdomo before Lin picked up his third RBI of the night with a double down the left field line, scoring Jones. Thomas also singled into left field, scoring Lin to give Amarillo an 8-4 advantage and put a cap on tonight's scoring.

Right-hander Mitchell Stumpo came on for the ninth, retiring the side in order and shutting the door on the Hooks in the process with the Soddies third straight win in the series.

The series continues tomorrow night with game five of the six-game set at HODGETOWN. The Sod Poodles will send LHP Tommy Henry (1-4, 5.16) and will face Hooks lefty Parker Mushinski (0-4, 3.78). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm.

Notes:

What A Duze-y: In his fourth game since re-joining the Soddies from Triple-A Reno, Camden Duzenack picked up two hits while also plating a pair of runs for Amarillo. The Melissa, Texas native began the season on the Soddies Opening Day Roster. He played just nine games with Amarillo on the road before being promoted to Triple-A Reno. In his first action inside HODGETOWN this season, he is 4-for-14 with four RBI this series. He also made a diving play to end the top of the eighth inning, keeping a run off the board following a two-out double.

Better Late Than Never: Alek Thomas continued his streak at the plate, picking up another hit Friday night on the final strike in his final at-bat, extending his current streak to nine straight games with a hit. Thomas is batting .444 (16-for-36) with three home runs, three doubles, a triple, and 13 RBI in this span. The longest streak of Thomas' professional career so far is a 20-game hit streak that he had in his first professional season. He made his pro debut with a three-hit night on June 18, 2018 before going hitless the next night. He then hit safely in his next 20 games. Thomas hit safely in 25 of his first 28 professional games while hitting .325 with three doubles and five triples.

Lin In The Win: Catcher Lyle Lin went a perfect 3-for-3 with a double while also driving in three of the Soddies eight runs tonight. Lin joined the club from Low-A Visalia at the end of the Frisco series last week. The former Arizona State Sun Devil tallied his first Double-A multi-hit game and is now hitting .444 (4-for-9) with a home run, double, and five RBI in three games to start his Double-A career.

Holton Down The Fort: Sod Poodles left-hander Tyler Holton picked up his third win of the year after firing three shutout innings in relief. He set his single-game high for strikeouts in a relief outing this season by fanning five Corpus batters.It is his second win in relief with his other one coming back on July 27th against San Antonio here at HODGETOWN with 1.2 innings where he allowed one hit as well.His three relief innings also tied his single-game high in 2021.

Make It Three: With this three-game win streak it marks just the first time since May 15th-19th that Amarillo has a three-game win streak. The team won a season-long four games in that span. Amarillo will have an opportunity to match that streak tomorrow night against the Hooks.

Frias Fans Eight: In his 16th start for Amarillo, righty Luis Frias took a no-decision following his five-inning, five-hit performance with four runs allowed and eight strikeouts. In five of his last six starts, Frias has struck out seven batters or more and walked one or none.

Starters Starting Strong: In five of the last six bids for Amarillo starting arms, they have tossed five innings or more and struck out seven batters or more. They have combined to go 3-1 in the span with two no-decisions.