Sod Poodles Double Up Drillers 10-5 

Amarillo, TX – The Amarillo Sod Poodles (18-18) defeated the Tulsa Drillers (21-14) by a final score of 10-5 on Thursday night at HODGETOWN. Corbin Carroll and Drew Stankiewicz each homered and Jancarlos Cintron scored three runs on three hits.

Blake Walston, the Diamondbacks' No. 4 prospect, took the mound for this third career Double-A start. He opened the game on a strong note, striking out two in a perfect 1st inning. Runners reached the corners in the 2nd, but he forced a double play to escape the jam.

For the first time in the series, the Sod Poodles struck the scoreboard first with three runs in the bottom of the 2nd. After the first two batters struck out, Juan Centeno drew a walk and Jancarlos Cintron singled. Drew Stankiewicz put the Sod Poodles on top with a three-run home run to right field, his second of the season.

Must be something about wearing that number 3 jersey...

New number but @DrewStankie delivers all the same!

BOT 4 | AMA - 4 | TUL - 1 pic.twitter.com/cjGI6FlZDV

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) May 20, 2022

Tulsa jumped on the board with a run in the top of the 3rd off a pair of doubles. They doubled again in a scoreless 4th, the third two-bagger Walston allowed.

Jorge Barrosa showed off his speed in the bottom of the 3rd to put the Sod Poodles up 4-1. He reached on an error with one out and advanced to second on a wild pitch. He took off for third base in a hit-and-run with Eduardo Diaz at the plate, and he scored from on the RBI groundout to second.

Amarillo scored for the third consecutive inning in the 4th. Centeno singled and advanced to third after an errant throw from the third baseman, and Cintron scored him on his team-leading 13th double of the season. Cintron then stole third on a swinging strike and scored on an RBI single from Stankiewicz.

Stankiewicz followed suit as he advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single from Corbin Carroll. After four innings, the Sod Poodles had a 7-1 lead.

Blake Walston allowed three runs to score in the top of the 5th but exited with a three-run lead. Devin Mann took him deep on a solo home run to left field and Andy Pages added a two-run homer as well. Walston exited the game just shy of being eligible for the win, finishing with a line of 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, and 6 K on 78 pitches. The outing was his longest start with the most strikeouts in his brief Double-A career.

Brett de Geus relieved Walston with two outs in the 5th and exited the inning with a groundout. He allowed a double and walked the bases loaded in a scoreless 6th.

Cintron led off the bottom of the 6th with a single, his third hit of the game. Jeison Guzman put runners at the corners with a single two batters later, his first hit as a Sod Poodle. Carroll then brought them both home and put the Sod Poodles up 10-4 with a three-run homer to right field, his 12th of the year.

Cor-💣 ?

COR - 💣 ‼️@Dbacks No. 2 rated prospect continues to mash the baseball! That’s the 12th of the year for @corbin_carroll pic.twitter.com/yhGDYCoglt

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) May 20, 2022

Jeff Bain came on in relief in the top of the 7th and allowed a solo home run to the first batter he faced, but retired the next three to preserve a 10-5 lead. Bain passed the baton to Junior Garcia for a scoreless 8th.

The Sod Poodles were held hitless over the final two innings, but their double-digit run total proved too much for the Drillers to overcome. Blake Rogers secured the win with a scoreless 9th inning and a strikeout looking to end the game. The Amarillo bullpen only allowed one run in 4.1 IP.

Amarillo out-hit Tulsa 11-10 and committed one error to their two. The Sod Poodles batted 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position and the pitching staff tallied 10 strikeouts.

The series will continue tomorrow, Friday, May 20 with first pitch from HODGETOWN at 7:05 PM. RHP Slade Cecconi (2-1, 6.46 ERA) will square off against Tulsa's RHP Landon Knack (0-1, 7.20 ERA).

Notes:

Streak Snappers: The victory snapped a three-game losing skid dating back to Sunday’s series finale in Springfield. The brief losing streak was tied for the longest of the season, tying the three games in a row the team dropped to Midland from May 5-7. The longest winning streak of the season was four games in a row over San Antonio on April 19-22.

Double Dutch: INF Jancarlos Cintron had a productive day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI, a season-high three runs scored, and a stolen base. This was the second game this season that Cintron had three hits and he also knocked his team-leading 13th double of the season. He ranks third in the Texas League, is tied for sixth in the minors, and leads the Arizona farm system in two-baggers this year.

Do the Stanky Leg: INF Drew Stankiewicz put the Sod Poodles in the lead for good with a three-run homer in the bottom of the 2nd. He finished the night with four RBI and two runs scored in a 2-for-4 effort. It was his fourth multi-hit game of the year and second home run. His RBI total was also his most in a game this season.

Carroll Keeps Raking: Diamondbacks' No. 2 prospect OF Corbin Carroll continues to dominate Double-A pitching. He knocked his 12th home run of the year tonight, the most in the Arizona farm system. On the year, the left-handed outfielder is batting .331 with 12 HR, 25 RBI, seven doubles, three triples, and 26 walks with a 1.176 OPS. He also extended his hitting streak to seven games and tonight was his third straight game with two hits. The three-run home run was his fourth of its kind this season and he tied his season-high with four RBI in tonight’s 2-for-5 effort.

Passing the Baton: The Amarillo bullpen was excellent tonight, allowing just one run over the final 4.2 innings. Jeff Bain allowed a leadoff home run in the 7th, but Junior Garcia, Blake Rogers, and Brett de Geus – who earned his first win of the season – teamed up to slam the door on the Drillers.