Sod Poodles Doubleheader Sweep Over Missions Highlighted By Frias' No-Hitter 

Sunday, August 1, 2021 vs. San Antonio Missions [SD]

San Antonio Missions (37-40) | Amarillo Sod Poodles (33-44)

The Sod Poodles swept the San Antonio Missions in a scheduled doubleheader Sunday at HODGETOWN.

Soddies right-hander and D-backs No. 9 rated prospect Luis Frias highlighted the series-ending twin-bill after tossing a seven-inning no-hitter in game one to lead the Soddies to a 4-0 victory.

In game two, the Sod Poodles mounted a late comeback, tying the game in the bottom of the fifth and taking the final 2-1 advantage in the bottom of the sixth.

The Sod Poodles will hit the road for a six-game trip to Frisco and take on the RoughRiders, Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, at Riders Field beginning on Tuesday, August 3.

The Soddies return to HODGETOWN the following week and begin a six-game homestand on Tuesday, August 10 against the Corpus Christi Hooks, Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.

*Game One: *

Amarillo starter and D-backs pitching prospect Frias, in his 15th career Double-A start, led the Sod Poodles to a game one victory over the Missions after tossing a seven-inning no-hitter, the first-ever of any kind at HODGETOWN.

After setting the first 15 batters down through five frames, Frias started the sixth inning with a strikeout for a 16th consecutive batter retired. In the next at-bat, Frias surrendered his lone walk to Kelvin Melean before retiring two more batters.

In the seventh, Frias initiated the final frame with a strikeout followed by a groundout and a flyout in foul territory to seal the no-hit bid and send the team into a frenzy.

Offensively, the Soddies broke a scoreless ballgame in the fourth when Buddy Kennedy launched a solo home run to make it a 1-0 contest.

In the fifth, after Alek Thomas walked to lead off the frame, Dominic Fletcher lasered a two-run home run to right field to extend the lead to 3-0.

The Soddies plated their fourth and final run in the sixth courtesy of Thomas' two-out solo home run to mark his seventh of the 2021 season.

*Game Two: *

The Missions began the scoring in the second game of the twin-bill. In the top of the first, after Estuery Ruiz doubled with one out, Jose Azocar followed with an RBI single to make it a 1-0 San Antonio lead.

Through the first four frames, the Soddies posted just two hits, both by Jancarlos Cintron, and went 0-for-2 with the runner in scoring position.

In the fifth, Amarillo found a rhythm after Kennedy and Dominic Canzone collected back-to-back singles to start the half. After a walk to Renae Martinez loaded the bases with no outs, Dominic Miroglio knocked a sacrifice fly ball to left to plate a tagging Kennedy to tie the contest at 1-1.

The momentum continued into the bottom of the sixth starting with Cintron's third hit of the night. After a balk to move Cintron into scoring position and a walk to Kennedy, Canzone knocked in the go-ahead run on a single to right field to make it a 2-1 final.

Southpaw Tyler Holton started the game on the mound for Amarillo, tossing two innings of one-run, three-hit ball with a walk and two strikeouts. Levi Kelly, Matt Brill (W, 2-2), and Mack Lemieux (S, 1) combined for five two-hit, shutout frames with six strikeouts.

Notes:

No-Hitter No. 2: Right-hander and D-backs No. 9 prospect Luis Frias made history by becoming the first Sod Poodles pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter of any kind at HODGETOWN in downtown Amarillo. It also marked the second seven-inning no-hitter for the Sod Poodles of the 2021 season and against the same opponent. On July 11, Matt Tabor tossed a seven-inning no-no against San Antonio on the road, marking the first-ever no-hitter of any kind for the franchise.

Frias For The Books:Luis Frias tied a career-high in innings pitched in a start with seven complete frames in game one of Sunday's doubleheader. It also marked the first bid without allowing a hit as well as the first complete game for the Dominican native and at HODGETOWN.

No-Hitters of Amarillo's Past: In Amarillo's professional baseball history, before two recorded in 2021, there have been three no-hitters. The last came on August 22, 1971 when Wes Scott tossed a seven-inning no-hitter for the Amarillo Giants (affiliate of SF Giants) against Dallas-Fort Worth (affiliate of Baltimore Orioles) in the 5-0 victory (Texas League). Before then, Migel Puente tossed a no-hitter on August 15, 1969 for the Amarillo Giants (affiliate of SF Giants) against Shreveport (affiliate of Atlanta Braves) in the 3-0 win (Texas League). The first no-hitter for an Amarillo team came on June 5, 1941 when Russel Crider tossed a nine-inning gem for the Amarillo Gold Sox in the West Texas-New Mexico League against Big Spring (affiliate of Brooklyn Dodgers) in the 6-0 win.

Homer Support: The Soddies 4-0 win in game one of Sunday's doubleheader against the Missions marked Amarillo's first victory of 2021 where every run batted in scored via the home run. There are been six games where the Soddies only run support was via the home run but all games resulted in a loss (5/22, 6/1, 6/6, 6/23, 6/27, 6/30).

Shutout: The game one 4-0 shutout on Sunday against the Missions marked the third shutout victory for the Soddies in 2021. The first shutout win came on May 15 at Wichita (8-0) and the second came against Midland on May 18 (10-0). Overall this season, the Sod Poodles are 3-5 in shutout games.

Trio for Cintron: Jancarlos Cintron marked his third three-hit night of 2021 in game two of Sunday's doubleheader. It also marked the third in his Double-A career.

First Twin-Bill: The doubleheader at HODGETOWN on August 1 against the Missions marked the first-ever professional twin-bill in Sod Poodles franchise history. In the team's inaugural season in 2019, they had scheduled a doubleheader on May 7 against Arkansas at HODGETOWN after rain and wind postponed the May 6 contest, but a severe weather/tornado threat canceled the day's games.

Double-A Streak: Soddies outfielder and recently-new member in Amarillo, Dominic Canzone, marked his fifth straight game at Double-A with a hit. On Sunday night, Canzone went 2-for-3 with the go-ahead RBI. Over the five games, he has gone 8-for-18 with a double, home run, and four RBI. In the span, he has also collected three multi-hit games.

Kennedy's First at HODGETOWN: Infielder Buddy Kennedy hit his first home run at HODGETOWN since joining the club on June 21 from Hillsboro. Overall, Kennedy has collected six home runs in Double-A and 11 total this season between High-A and Double-A.