Series Evened as Sod Poodles Fall 5-1 on Friday Night

Tulsa, Okla. (August 11, 2023) – The Sod Poodles were held to just three hits in their 5-1 loss on Friday night as the series evened at two games a piece in Tulsa.

One of the three hits came in the top of the first when Caleb Roberts hit a one-out double but he would be left stranded on third as the initial half-inning came to an end.

The Drillers struck first with a pair of runs in their first trip to the plate. Two singles put runners on the corners with one away. A wild pitch would put both runners into scoring position and it appeared that Amarillo starter Peter Solomon would escape the inning unscathed after a fly out and inducing a ground ball. A two-out throwing error allowed both runners to score as Tulsa jumped in front 2-0. A walk and a pair of wild pitches in the bottom of the second put another Tulsa runner at third base ahead of a RBI single that bolstered the Tulsa advantage to three runs.

Roberts added the second Amarillo hit in the top of the fourth inning but would be taken off the base path as A.J. Vukovich beat out the attempt at a double play. After stealing second, Vukovich would be left stranded as a strikeout ended the Amarillo threat to crack the scoreboard. Tim Tawa doubled to lead off the bottom of the fifth but was caught trying to swipe third base. Each of the next two were retired behind him.

Neither team would cross the plate again until the bottom of the eighth with Amarillo getting just two runners aboard after Tawa's fifth-inning double. Dillon Larsen replaced Solomon in the bottom of the sixth and struck out the lone man he faced in the inning. The left-hander worked around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh as the only base runner he would allow in the inning. In the eighth, a leadoff single and one-out walk put two aboard. A RBI single extended the Drillers' lead before the second walk of the inning loaded the bases. The fifth wild pitch of the night between Solomon and Larsen would make it a 5-0 advantage for Tulsa.

The first two Amarillo batters in the top of the ninth walk their way on base. A ground ball that looked to be a double play resulted in no outs and a bases-loaded situation for Amarillo with no outs. The Sod Poodles avoided the shutout as a one-out walk with the bases loaded brought home the lone run of the game. Back-to-back strikeouts ended the Friday night contest.

Right-hander Luke Albright will toe the rubber for Amarillo on Saturday night as the Sod Poodles look to take control of the series. First pitch from ONEOK Field is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

NOTES:

SO NICE HE DID IT TWICE: Caleb Roberts collected two of the three Amarillo hits on Friday night, going 2-for-3 with a double, run scored, and a walk. A night after seeing his season-long hit streak come to an end, Roberts started a new streak with his 23rd multi-hit effort of the season. Roberts currently leads the Texas League with his seven triples on the year while also ranking 4th in AVG (.273), T-5th in OPS (.913), and is ninth in XBH (39).

DON'T CRY BECAUSE IT'S OVER: Jordan Lawlar saw his nine-game hit streak and 28-game on-base streak come to an end after going 0-for-4 with a strikeout on Friday night. The 28-game on-base streak was the second-longest such streak in the Texas League this season.

FRI-NAY: The loss dropped Amarillo to 4-13 this year on Friday night games. The four wins are the fewest on any day of the normal Tuesday-Sunday schedule of games.

FIVE OR FEWER: Amarillo was held to five or fewer hits in consecutive games for just the third time this season. They had back-to-back five hits games on July 20-21 against Wichita and then two hits and four hits against Frisco on May 18-19. Friday marked the 19th time this season Amarillo has been limited to five or fewer hits. The Sod Poodles still lead the Texas League, hitting .269 collectively with the next closest team being the Springfield Cardinals who are hitting .259 this year. Amarillo ranks 12th in all of MiLB in team AVG, while Triple-A Reno leads the minors hitting .303 this season.