Sod Poodles Take Game One In Midland
Amarillo, Texas (June 6, 2023) – No hit through five innings, Amarillo's offense turned it on thanks to a five-run fifth frame to take game one in Midland 8-4. Luke Albright stifled the RockHounds through six quality innings and earned his fourth win of the season. With Albright on the
Amarillo, Texas (June 6, 2023) – No hit through five innings, Amarillo's offense turned it on thanks to a five-run fifth frame to take game one in Midland 8-4. Luke Albright stifled the RockHounds through six quality innings and earned his fourth win of the season.
With Albright on the mound, Midland used three hits including a two-run double to take a 2-0 lead after the first inning came to an end. After mustering just one baserunner through their first chances at the plate, the first two Amarillo batters in the top of the third were plunked to bring the top of the Sod Poodles order back to the plate. The RockHounds escaped the frame with their two-run lead intact as the Sod Poodles left a pair of runners stranded.
Albright picked up his second strikeout to help retire Midland in order for the first time in the first three innings. The Sod Poodles suffered the same fate in the top of the fourth as the game remained 2-0 in favor of the RockHounds. The Sod Poodles right-hander once again worked a quick inning, striking out two more RockHounds in the bottom of the fourth to help retire the seventh straight Midland hitter.
Midland maintained their two-run cushion as the three Sod Poodles who faced Joey Estes were sent back in order in the top of the fifth. A leadoff single in the bottom of the inning was the first Midland hit since the bottom of the first. It would be the only baserunner Albright would allow as a strikeout, lineout, and groundout brought an end to the fifth with Amarillo still in search of their first hit of the game.
An error helped put Ryan Bliss aboard to start Amarillo's sixth go-round at the plate. After fouling a pitch off his foot and breaking his bat in the process, a new piece of lumber for Jordan Lawlar helped score the first hit - and run - of the game for the Sod Poodles. The D-backs' no.1 rated prospect roped a ball to the left-center gap to score Bliss with a double. A.J. Vukovich followed suit, hitting the second consecutive RBI double to tie the game. Another pair of RBI doubles - the third and fourth of the inning - along with a flair shot by Tim Tawa capped a five-run inning giving Amarillo a 5-2 lead.
Albright worked around a one-out single to send the Sod Poodles right back to the plate looking to build off the big sixth inning. Bliss singled to begin the inning and was followed on base by Lawlar who dropped a bunt down the third base side for his second hit in as many innings. Seth Beer notched Amarillo's third hit of the inning, a RBI single to score Bliss and extend the Sod Poodles' lead to 6-2.
Right-hander Austin Pope replaced Albright on the Hill for the bottom of the seventh. He fanned two, retiring the RockHounds in order in his first inning of work.
Each of the first three Amarillo batters in the top of the eighth reached base, going walk, single, walk to do so, and loaded the bases for Bliss. A double play limited the potential damage but did add the seventh run of the game as Caleb Roberts was able to score on the play. Pope worked his second clean frame out of the Amarillo bullpen and kept two RockHounds stranded in scoring position.
Vukovich doubled to lead off the top of the ninth and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch to make it an 8-2 game.
In a non-save situation, Mitchell Stumpo came out for the bottom of the ninth inning. The righty got a flyout and strikeout before issuing a couple of two-out walks. A single scored the third Midland run of the game and brought on Kyle Backhus from the bullpen. A RBI double made it 8-4 prior to the game coming to an end as Beer fielded a high chopper and softly tossed it to Backhus covering the first base bag.
Game two of the Oil Pan Cup will resume from Midland on Wednesday. First pitch from Momentum Bank Ballpark is slated for 6:30 p.m. RHP Jamison Hill (0-4, 5.94 ERA) will get the ball for Amarillo.
NOTES:
GOOD NIGHT, ALBRIGHT: Sod Poodles right-hander Luke Albright tossed his second quality start in his last three outings, going 6.0 IP with two earned runs to earn his fourth win of the season. Albright picked up the first quality start of the season by a Sod Poodle, doing so on May 25th in San Antonio. He now is the first Sod Poodle to have two quality starts after his start on Tuesday. His 58 strikeouts on the year pace all Amarillo starters as do his 48.1 IP through 11 starts in 2023. His strikeouts & IP rank 2nd and 4th respectively in the D-backs' farm system and only Blake Walston (5) has more wins in the organization this year.
DOUBLE THE FUN: After being held hitless through the first five innings, Amarillo broke through thanks to four RBI Doubles in the top of the sixth inning. Jordan Lawalr roped the first and A.J. Vukovich followed suit right behind Lawalr. Adrian Del Castillo and Caleb Roberts picked up the other two in the sixth inning. Vukovich added his second double of the game in the top of the ninth inning. All five extra-base hits for Amarillo on Tuesday were doubles, the second time Amarillo has muscled five doubles in a game this season. They last did so back on April 12 vs. Corpus Christi.
HE'S MORE THAN MIDWEST NICE:After going 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored, and RBI, A.J. Vukovich raised his AVG to .262 on the season. A former fourth-round pick out of East Troy High School in Wisconsin, Vukovich extended his current hitting streak to seven games, tied for the best active streak on the team. Since the start of the Springfield series last week, Vukovich is hitting .357 (10-for-28) with four doubles, a triple, three home runs, 10 RBI, and nine runs scored. His 31 RBI this season are tops on the club and fifth-most in the D-backs farm system.
TIMMY TWO HITS: Tim Tawa had a two-hit night, his 11th multi-hit game this season. He is tied with A.J. Vukovich for the longest active hit streak on the team, hitting safely in each of his last seven games as well. During his stretch, the former Stanford Cardinal is hitting .385 (10-for-26) with a double, four homers, and eight RBI. Three of his 11 total multi-hit games have come in the last seven games during this stretch.
OIL PAN CUPdate: The 24-game-long season series between the two teams currently sits at 4-3 in favor of the RockHounds in 2023. Through the first three seasons, Amarillo has won the Oil Pan Cup twice (2019, 2022) with Midland taking home the Cup in 2021.
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring
'Hungry' Alcántara hoping to pounce on big league prey in '25
MESA, Ariz. -- The thing about jaguars is, you don’t want to see one when it’s hungry. So when Cubs legend Sammy Sosa spoke to the organization’s No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline -- and the No. 89 prospect overall -- the former slugger gave him some apt advice. “His
Rainiers broadcaster Pay talks historic role on MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Prospect Santos 'electric' in Spring Breakout start
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Malcolm Moore knew Winston Santos was locked in before he even threw a pitch. In the second annual Spring Breakout game, Santos -- the Rangers’ No. 5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline -- was throwing to Moore, the Rangers’ No. 4 prospect and highest-ranked catcher. The battery more
Switch-pitcher Cijntje deals from both sides in Spring Breakout
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jurrangelo Cijntje knew who’d be waiting for him in the batter’s box when he emerged from the visiting bullpen on Friday evening. The Mariners’ switch-pitcher had seen Guardians infielder Travis Bazzana recently at a card-signing event, to which they each joked, “I’m going to see you soon,”
Fans in this Minor League town are hungry for ... the Spicy Meatballs?!?
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Chandler adds mix to upper-90s heat in stellar Spring Breakout start
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- In the inaugural Spring Breakout game a year ago, as he was coming out to pitch the ninth inning, Bubba Chandler slammed a Red Bull and declared “let’s do this” before pumping upper-90s heat.