Sod Poodles Shutout RockHounds In Series Finale

MIDLAND, Texas - In a Sunday afternoon series finale, the Sod Poodles needed just two runs to leave Momentum Bank Ballpark with a win. Bryce Jarvis spun his third quality start of the year, allowing just three hits over 6.0 IP. A solo home run in the top of the 5th inning proved to be the game's winning run as the Amarillo bullpen dominated the final three innings. Amarillo took 4-of-5 against their Oil Pan Cup rivals to kick off a two-week road trip.

The two teams mirrored one another through the first two innings in the Sunday matinee. A 1-2-3 inning orchestrated by each team in the first was followed up by both squads turning a double play to help get out of the second inning unscathed.

Ti'Quan Forbes helped turn the Amarillo double play in the bottom of the second inning and then proceeded to collect the game's first hit. The second double play hit into by Amarillo moved the game into the bottom of the third inning.

Jarvis went back to work, picking up his third strikeout of the game. He got some help working around his second walk as Juan Centeno threw out the attempted base stealer to get out of the third without a hit issued. The first Midland hit came with two outs in the fourth. The third Jarvis walk pushed the first runner into scoring position for either team in the game. A strikeout ended the Midland threat and kept the game scoreless.

The second Amarillo hit of the day put the first run on the board as Tristin English blasted a solo home run to straightaway center field to lead off the fifth.

BOOM! 💣 @EnglishTristin pic.twitter.com/R1a6LtVF03

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) August 21, 2022

Sod Poodles' center fielder Jorge Barrosa robbed extra bases with a leaping catch for the first out of the bottom of the fifth. Jarvis worked around his second hit allowed, retiring the next two in order including his sixth strikeout of the game.

Forbes notched his second hit of the game to start the sixth before stealing second base. A pop-out allowed Forbes to move up to third where he would score the second run of the game on a RBI single off Barrosa's bat.

Midland picked up their third hit of the game to lead off the bottom of the sixth. An attempted sac bunt was fielded by Jarvis and fired to second base to get the lead runner. Two straight flyouts brought an end to the sixth as Jarvis allowed just three hits with six strikeouts in a scoreless outing.

A mini two-out rally put together by the Sod Poodles came to an end without being able to tack on insurance runs. Centeno singled ahead of a walk and Forbes' third hit of the night to load the bases. A strikeout ended the frame as Amarillo clung to a two-run lead.

Kyle Backhus relieved Jarvis and retired the RockHounds in order for the first time since the first inning. Neither team produced a base runner over the game's final two and a half innings of play. For Amarillo, Brent Teller and Blake Rogers each pitched 1-2-3 innings to preserve the win. For their efforts out of the bullpen, Backhus and Teller earned holds, while Rogers picked up his second save of the series.

Amarillo took 4-of-5 against the RockHounds in this series, moving to just 3.0 GB of the current Texas League South Division leaders in the second half. Amarillo will not face the RockHounds again this season, but still has a six-game series against the Frisco RoughRiders who sit a game in front of the Sod Podles currently. The Sod Poodles will head to Corpus Christi for the start of a six-game series against the Houston Astros Double-A affiliate starting on Tuesday, August 23. After the conclusion of the current 12-game road trip, Amarillo will return to HODGETOWN for a 12-game homestand starting with Frisco on August 30.

Notes:

Carvis: Arizona Diamondbacks' No. 18 rated prospect Bryce Jarvis had one of his best outings of the season on Sunday against the RockHounds. He earned his third win of the season and first since May 4th which also came against Midland. The right-hander spun six scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and fanned six. He worked around three walks, being aided by a double play and caught stealing to face just 22 batters in his six innings of work. His six innings tied his season-high, doing so now three times and the first since his road start on May 15 in Springfield. In that game, it was also his last scoreless start where he allowed just two hits and struck out a season-high 10.

Three For Forbes: Ti'Quan Forbes led the way offensively for the Sod Poodles, going 3-for-3 with a run scored. Forbes collected half of the team's total hits. It was his sixth three-hit game and first since July 28. Of his six three-hit games this season, half have now come against Midland. In his Sod Poodle debut back on April 10, Forbes went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBI. In 85 games played this season, he is now hitting .258 with 23 XBH and 42 RBI.

*Backhus The Bully: *Left-hander Kyle Backhus made his fourth Double-A appearance on Sunday and dominated once again. The Sam Houston State product spun a 1-2-3 inning in the 7th. In his four appearances so far with Amarillo, the southpaw has allowed just one hit in 5.0 IP and has yet to allow a run. He earned his second hold on Sunday and is 1-for-1 in save opportunities.

Rogers Rolls: Blake Rogers notched his 12th save of the year, needing just six pitches to retire the Hounds in order in the bottom of the 9th. The Lewisville, TX native is now 12-of-13 in save opportunities this season, and has 23 saves since being signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 17, 2021. Since joining the D-backs' organization, nobody in the farm system has more saves than Rogers. In fact, during his time as a D-back, Rogers is T-4th in all of MiLB with his 23 saves.

Arm Barn Arsenal: The Trio of LHP Kyle Backhus, RHP Brent Teller, and RHP Blake Rogers faced the minimum over their combined 3.0 IP.

A Big Zero: The 2-0 win was the first Sod Poodles shutout win since June 25 against Corpus Christi. The Sod Poodles now have three shutouts this season, all on the road.

*Speed Poodles: *The 1:50-minute game became the fastest 9-inning Sod Poodle game in history, surpassing the 2:01 game played between Amarillo and Frisco on June 7 at HODGETOWN earlier this year. Sunday's matinee also was 21-minutes faster than the previous fastest 9-inning road game which came on June 1, 2021, a 2:11 game also played against the Frisco RoughRiders.