Offense Comes To Life In 10-4 Win

Amarillo, TX – The Amarillo Sod Poodles (33-38) defeated the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (32-38) 10-4 on Wednesday night at HODGETOWN. It was Amarillo’s first victory of the Texas League Second Half (1-1), which began on Tuesday.

The Sod Poodles scored 10 runs for the first time since June 21st, and Brandon Pfaadt (5-4) earned the win in his third straight quality start. Amarillo advanced to 24-0 when out-hitting their opponent.

After a grand slam in the first inning last night, the Naturals launched two homers in the 1st off of Sod Poodles’ starter Brandon Pfaadt tonight. The dingers were back-to-back solo shots that put Northwest Arkansas on top, 2-0.

The Sod Poodles got on the board with a run in the 2nd inning. Tristin English got aboard on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a two-out wild pitch, and Ti’Quan Forbes joined him on the bases with a walk. Elvis Peralta came through with a runner in scoring position and made it 2-1 with an RBI single. Forbes advanced to third on the play, and the inning ended as he was thrown out at home attempting a delayed steal.

After the early home runs, Pfaadt settled in and retired eight batters in a row, including a perfect 2nd and 3rd. He struck out five batters through the first three innings, including his 100th strikeout of the season.

Amarillo jumped ahead for good and took a 5-2 lead with four runs in the bottom of the 3rd. Jorge Barrosa reached on a throwing error with one out, and Juan Centeno brought him home with an RBI double off the center-field wall.

Leandro Cedeño followed Centeno with a single to put runners at the corners, and Roby Enriquez plated the go-ahead run with an RBI single. The two runners on base then advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch, and with two outs Tristin English launched a double off the left-field wall to score two more.

Newly in the lead, Pfaadt cruised through five scoreless innings to end his night after six frames. He allowed two earned in the 1st but finished with 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, and 9 K on 94 pitches. The D-backs No. 8 prospect leads the Texas league with 105 K (12.1 K/9) this season and earned his 5th win of the year tonight.

2+7=9

AKA the number of strikeouts @b_pfaadt has in this game pic.twitter.com/MlysuDCdtm

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) June 30, 2022

The Sod Poodles added two insurance runs in the 4th, their third straight inning with a run. Peralta led off the frame with a double, and Barrosa scored him on an RBI triple that was crushed to right-center field. Cedeño scored him on an RBI single that was mere inches from being a two-run homer, ricocheting off the top of the right-field wall. Enriquez ripped a fly ball to the same location just two pitches later, but it was caught on the warning track to end the inning.

The bats kept their foot on the gas pedal all game long and added three more runs in the 6th. Peralta led it off with a walk, but he was tagged out on the bases after Drew Stankiewicz reached on a dropped third strike. The next four batters each singled, and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch made it 10-2, Soddies.

Jeff Bain relieved Pfaadt in the 7th and struck out the side, but Northwest Arkansas tagged him on a two-run homer in the 8th to cut the lead to six. Amarillo put two runners of their own on in the bottom of the 8th, but the 10-4 lead held for Cam Booser, who entered to pitch the 9th. He allowed a baserunner on a walk, but a strikeout and a double-play ended the game.

The Sod Poodles out-hit the Naturals 12-7, and played clean defense compared to Northwest Arkansas’ two errors. Amarillo racked up 14 strikeouts and clutch pitching forced the Naturals to go 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Jorge Barrosa and Leandro Cedeño led the way with two RBI and three hits apiece, and Tristin English added two RBI as well.

With their first win of the second half in the books, Amarillo will face Northwest Arkansas in game three tomorrow, Thursday, June 30 with first pitch at 7:05 PM. Amarillo's RHP Slade Cecconi (4-3, 4.36 ERA) will face RHP Alec Marsh (1-6, 6.95 ERA) for the Naturals.

Notes:

King Of Ks: Arizona’s No. 8 prospect Brandon Pfaadt picked up his 100th strikeout of the season tonight in the 3rd inning. He ended his outing with 9 K in 6.0 IP after tying his season-high of 12 in his last outing on June 23 against Corpus Christi. The former Bellarmine Knight has been the king of Ks this year, and his 105 strikeouts this year leads both the Arizona farm system and the Texas League. He ranked second in the Arizona farm with 160 K in 131.2 IP (11.0 K/9) in 2021, and he has 105 K in 78.1 IP (12.1 K/9) this year. Tonight’s start was also his third quality start in a row and seventh of the season.

Quick Work: RHP Jeff Bain relived Pfaadt in the 7th inning tonight and promptly struck out the side. It was the 30th time this season that a Sod Poodles pitcher recorded three strikeouts in an inning.

Boose(r) Cruise: Up six in the 9th inning, LHP Cam Booser entered the game and secured the Sod Poodles victory. It was the sixth consecutive scoreless outing for Booser, who has allowed just one hit with nine strikeouts in 8.0 IP over the streak. The recent success has been beneficial to his season stats, as his ERA is down to 5.79.

Rock ‘N Roll: 2B Elvis Peralta was a big contributor to the Amarillo offense tonight, reaching base three times in a 2-for-3 effort with a single, double, and a walk. He drove home a run in the 2nd and scored in the 4th, and flexed his speed with a steal in the 6th. This was just his second multi-hit game of the season and the 22nd of his three-year minor league career (144 games).

Nice Play, Jorge: OF Jorge Barrosa came alive in tonight’s win in a 3-for-5 effort with three runs scored and two RBI. He ripped his first triple of the year in the 4th inning while tying his season-high in runs scored (3). This was his third three-hit game of the year, which is his season-high. Since joining the Sod Poodles from A+ Hillsboro on April 22, the outfielder is batting .231 with 6 home runs and 26 RBI.

Triple Single: 1B Leandro Cedeño connected on three singles tonight with two RBI and a run scored. He also drew a walk in the 8th, the fourth time he reached base. The three-hit performance was his fourth such effort this season and his first since May 11. The RBIs were his 43rd and 44th of the season, good for second on the squad, trailing only Eduardo Diaz (47).