Melendez Homers, Sod Poodles Drop Game One in Tulsa

Tulsa, Okla. (August 8, 2023) – Amarillo jumped out to an early lead in game one in Tulsa but was toppled in the series opener 7-4. Ivan Melendez added to his season home run total in the loss.

A.J. Vukovich reached via an infield single with two outs to extend the inning for Melendez to come to the plate in the top of the first. Melendez then proceeded to torch his ninth Double-A home run to give Amarillo a 2-0 lead. Jamison Hill worked around a pair of walks in his first inning of work to keep the Drillers behind on the scoreboard. The top of the second inning was also extended with two-out as Caleb Roberts drew a walk. Jordan Lawlar roped a double down the left-field line that allowed Roberts to race around the bases to extend Amarillo's advantage to three runs.

A pair of one-out hits by the Drillers in the bottom of the second put runners on the corners. A force out at second gave Amarillo their second out of the frame but helped to push across Tulsa's first run of the night. A walk kept the inning alive before Hill got Jorbit Vivas to line out to center to keep a pair of runners stranded. Melendez notched his second hit of the night with a single to lead off the third. After two quick outs, Melendez was thrown out trying to swipe second to end Amarillo's third trip to the plate.

A leadoff double in the bottom of the third helped to plate Tulsa's second run of the night. Following a RBI single, Hill struck out the final two batters of the inning to maintain a 3-2 lead.

Deyvison De Los Santos singled to start the fourth and later came around on Caleb Roberts' two-out RBI single. The Drillers worked their way in front in part to a pair of two-out home runs in a five-run bottom of the fourth to lead 7-4.

Jake Rice relieved Hill to begin the bottom of the sixth. The left-hander worked two scoreless innings allowing just one hit and struck out three. Lawlar tallied his second hit of the night, a single in the top of the eighth. Melendez followed him aboard with his third poke of the ballgame. Amarillo was unable to use the pair of one-out base runners to cut into the deficit as the game moved to the bottom of the eighth.

Emailin Montilla worked the home half of the eighth for his second appearance in Double-A. The lefty worked around a walk to keep the game at three runs headed to the top of the ninth.

De Los Santos added just the third Amarillo hit since the top of the fourth inning. A fielder's choice ground out removed De Los Santos from the base path and placed Neyfy Castillo on first base. An error allowed J.J. D'Orazio to reach base and sent Roberts to the plate as the potential tying run. A strikeout ended the game as Tulsa took game one of the series.

The series will continue on Wednesday from ONEOK Field in Tulsa. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

NOTES:

ANOTHER ONE: D-backs' no. 7-rated prospect Ivan Melendez hit his 27th home run of the season on Tuesday night. He currently ranks tied for second in all of Minor League Baseball this year in long balls, trailing Cardinals farmhand Luken Baker (31). His 27 home runs this year rank T-20th all-time in D-backs' minor league history. Only 13 D-backs' minor leaguers have ever hit 30+ home runs in a single season as Melendez continues to join that list by year's end. He ended the series opener in Tulsa 3-for-4 with two RBI. Through his first 19 games in Double-A, the El Paso native is now hitting .325 and leads all of Double-A in RBI (24), SLG (.740), and is tied for home runs with nine since his arrival. He also ranks second in total bases (57) and is tied for second in XBH (13).

RESERVATION FOR EIGHT: Caleb Roberts finished the game 1-for-4 to extend his hit streak to eight games, tying his previous long for this season. Over his last eight games, Roberts is hitting .400 (14-for-35) with two home runs, two doubles, a triple, and six RBI.

TWENTY SIX: Jordan Lawlar extended his on-base streak to 26 games after collecting another multi-hit performance on Tuesday in Tulsa with hits in each of his last seven. He has hits in 20 of the 26 games during the streak and is hitting .304 during the stretch.

TWO FOR 13: Deyvison De Los Santos added his 23rd multi-hit game of the season after going 2-for-4 on Tuesday night. Since returning to the active roster after a stint at the complex, the D-backs' no. 4-rated prospect is hitting .329 over his last 20 games with eight multi-hit outings and has a hit in 17 of his last 20 games played.

RICE IS NICE: Left-hander Jake Rice has spun eight scoreless appearances over his last 13 appearances dating back to June 9th. He went two innings on Tuesday night while surrendering just one hit and punched out three Tulsa batters. Over his last five appearances, Rice has gone 7.0 IP and allowed five hits, three earned runs, and struck out 13.