Sod Poodles Swept In Thursday Doubleheader

North Little Rock, AR – The Sod Poodles and Travelers played two seven-inning games on Thursday night at Dickey-Stephens Park to make up for a rainout on Tuesday night. Amarillo was held scoreless on the night and no-hit for the first time in franchise history in game one of the twin bill. A potent Amarillo offense ran into a buzzsaw of a pitching staff that leads the Texas League in most pitching categories and was held to just two hits over 14 innings combined.

GAME 1:

Southpaw Blake Walston got the ball in game one of the twin bill on Thursday night. The D-backs' No. 4 rated prospect and top-ranked pitching prospect worked around a two-out walk in the bottom of the first to keep the Travs off the scoreboard. A pair of hits including a two-out single plated the first run of the game and their first of the series after being blanked by the pitching staff on Wednesday.

The Amarillo offense was stifled through their first two innings, being retired in order their first two times to the plate. In the top of the third, Amarillo worked three free passes to help load the bases but all three were left stranded as the Travs held onto their one-run lead.

A solo home run in the bottom of the third extended the Arkansas lead. The Travs added a run in the fourth but looked to do more damage after loading the bases. A double-play and fly ball kept the Sod Poodles' deficit to three runs through four innings of the seven-inning game.

Right-handed Connor Jones racked up eight strikeouts through the first five innings of the game, holding the potent Amarillo offense hitless.

The Travs grew their lead in the fifth and sixth innings. A leadoff ground-rule double and triple made it a four-run game before a RBI single made it a 5-0 game in the fifth. A single and double plated another run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 6-0.

The Sod Poodles trotted to the plate chasing not only six runs but their first hit off Jones in the seventh and final inning in game one. Leandro Cedeño grounded out to shortstop while Ti'Quan Forbes and Juan Centeno each grounded out as the Sod Poodles were no-hit for the first time in franchise history.

GAME 2:

Josh Green was the man to get the start in the second game. The 2019 D-backs' 2019 Minor League Pitcher of the Year toed the rubber for the first time to start a game since earlier this year with Reno on April 23. The right-hander had been exclusively used out of the bullpen since joining Amarillo on May 7. In his career as a starter, Green entered the game 17-9 with a 4.36 ERA.

Green allowed just one hit over his first three innings of work and pitched in four strikeouts without a walk. Coming out of the bullpen in all five previous games, his three innings and four strikeouts marked the most in an outing with Amarillo so far.

Andy Yerzy tallied the first hit of the night for Amarillo with a double in the top of the second inning and was followed on base by Blaze Alexander who singled. With Yerzy on third base, a double play ended the Sod Poodles threat and kept the Soddies off the board for the ninth straight inning of the night. Much of how game one went, Amarillo was held hitless over the next four innings of the seven-inning contest.

Left-hander Jake Rice relieved Green and was the first pitcher out of the bullpen in the "bullpen" second game. Rice joined the Sod Poodles on the road in Arkansas and became the first 2021 Diamondbacks draft pick to make his Double-A debut. The former 9th round selection out of Kennesaw State fired two scoreless in his debut.

A scoreless game two came to an abrupt end in the bottom of the sixth inning. Right-hander Brett de Geus got two quick outs before seeing a solo home run break the tie and put the Travs up 1-0. Three straight singles added to the inning and made it 2-0 and put the Sod Poodles down once again to their final three outs of the night.

The Sod Poodles went down in order during the top of the seventh, dropping both games of the twin bill at Dickey-Stephens Park.

Regularly scheduled ball games are set to resume starting Friday when Right-hander Slade Cecconi (1-1, 6.08 ERA) gets the ball for Amarillo. The D-backs No. 10 rated prospect is coming off his last outing, picking up his first quality start in Double-A last Friday against the Tulsa Drillers. First pitch for game four of the series is scheduled for 7:05 PM.

Notes:

A First Time For Everything: The Sod Poodles were no-hit in game one of the doubleheader, the first time being held hitless in franchise history. Right-hander Connor Jones struck out eight over his seven innings of work and induced a ground ball or strike out for all 21 of the Sod Poodles outs in the scheduled seven-inning contest. The Sod Poodles were previously held to a franchise-low one hit on three separate occasions with the last time coming on September 1, 2021 against San Antonio. The Wichita Wind Surge took a no-hitter into the ninth inning at HODGETOWN on June 30, 2021 until Luis Basabe hit a solo home run with one out to break up the no-hit bid. That was the latest a no-hit bid had gone against Amarillo. The Sod Poodles picked up their first hit of the night with Andy Yerzy's ground-rule double in the second inning of game two. Matt Tabor and Luis Frias each tossed seven-inning no-no's in 2021, the first two in Sod Poodles history and will be forever immortalized in bobblehead from later this season.

All Guz Things: D-backs' No. 23 rated prospect, Jeison Guzman started both games for the Sod Poodles on Thursday night. After going 0-for-2, his five game hit streak since being added to the Amarillo roster had come to an end. It was the longest active hitting streak by a Soddie player. Blaze Alexander, Andy Yerzy, and Ti'Quan Forbes each had three-game hit streaks entering game one and saw them all come to an end.

Scoreless Carroll: Another streak that came to an end in game one of the DH was Corbin Carroll's streak of 13 consecutive games with a run scored. Entering the game it was the longest such active streak in MiLB and tied for the longest run scored streak in baseball this year. Still, the 22-year-old D-backs' top-rated prospect has scored more runs than anybody else in the farm system (44).

Just Josh'in Ya: Right-hander Josh Green made his 39th start of his career in game two of the twin bill. The former D-backs' Minor League Pitcher of the Year entered the game with a 17-9 record in his previous 38 starts including a 9-1 record with Low-A Visalia in 2019. Green had only come out of the bullpen so far since joining Amarillo back on May 7. Green fired three scoreless innings and struck out four which were all season-highs in Amarillo.

Very Rice To Meet You : Left-hander Jake Rice made his Double-A debut on Thursday night, making him the first 2021 D-backs' draft pick to make his way to Amarillo. The 9th rounder began the season with High-A Hillsboro, going 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA in 11 games for the Hops. Rice joined the team on the road in Arkansas prior to the start of the series and tossed two scoreless innings against the Travs with a strikeout, walk, and two hits surrendered.

Strength on Strength: This series was a head-on collision between two of the best at what they do. Amarillo entered the series leading nearly every offensive category in not only the Texas League but all of Double-A and most of the minors. The Travs on the other hand, lead the Texas League in ERA and had surrendered the fewest hits in the league through 42 games played. Arkansas got the better of Amarillo tonight, limiting the Sod Poodles to just two hits and zero runs over 14 innings of baseball.