Sod Poodles Take Series Lead In Wichita

Wichita, KS – Twelve hits and two home runs powered the Sod Poodles to a 2-1 series lead over the Wichita Wind Surge on Thursday night. Amarillo scored first and held on for a 6-3 wire-to-wire win at Riverfront Stadium.

After a scoreless first inning, Juan Centeno put the Soddies ahead after hitting his seventh home run of the year, a solo shot to straightaway right field. Amarillo tacked onto the lead with a three-run top of the third thanks to five hits in the inning. Each of the first three batters of the inning singled including Tristin English who picked up his first RBI of the night. Roby Enriquez scored another two runners with his RBI single. A RBI double off the bat of English made it a five-run lead in the fourth inning.

That early run support turned out to be all Sod Poodles starter Brent Teller would need for the night. Making his second start for Amarillo, Teller (2-0) spun five scoreless innings where he allowed just three hits through his first five full innings. The Wind Surge cut into the Soddies lead with a leadoff home run to start the sixth before a double and RBI single brought an end to Teller's night. The right-hander ended his second start with four strikeouts and two earned while issuing three free passes.

Leandro Cedeño extended the Amarillo lead after the Wind Surge got two back earlier in the game with his 17th home run of the year. The slugger smashed a leadoff homer in the top of the 7th to make it 6-2.

Junior Garcia and Ty Tice tossed 2.2 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and two hits allowed combined, keeping the Wind Surge at bay through the later innings. Cam Booser made his second appearance of the series. The left-hander allowed one run on a hit but struck out one in a non-save situation.

The Sod Poodles will go for at least a series split tomorrow night against the Wind Surge. First pitch for game four is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with the Sod Poodles pre-game show slated to start at 6:45 p.m. on News Talk 940 AM.

Notes:

TristIN the Zone: Tristin English has done nothing but hit the baseball since being transferred from High-A Hillsboro on June 28. In his first nine games played in Double-A, English is hitting .324 (11-for-34) with two doubles, two home runs, and eight RBI. Thursday night marked his third multi-hit game and the fifth straight game with a hit for the former 93rd overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft.

One Through Five: Each of the first five Sod Poodles in the starting lineup tonight tallied two hits, accounting for 10 of the 12 total hits for the team. Leandro Cedeño hit a homer and a double while English and Enriquez each pitched in with two RBI each.

Juan Bomb: Juan Centeno hit his seventh home run of the year and his first for Amarillo since May 10 on the road in Springfield. His seven home runs are the most the 32-year-old has hit in a single season in his career. He hit four in 2019 playing for Triple-A Pawtucket in the Boston Red Sox Organization. During a seven-game stretch for Triple-A Reno earlier this year, Centeno hit .286 with a home run for the Aces.

Teller We Got Dubs: In his second start in Double-A, Brent Teller picked up his second win after tossing 5.1 IP with two earned runs allowed on six hits with four strikeouts. In three straight full-season starts since being signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Brent Teller is now 3-0 with a 5.36 ERA over 15.1 IP. His 5.1 IP on Thursday set a career-high along with tying his low earned runs in an appearance of at least 5.0 IP.

Bullpen Bullies: The trio of Junior Garcia, Ty Tice, and Cam Booser combined for 3.2 IP of one-run baseball with three hits allowed and four strikeouts without a walk issued. Garcia and Tice each picked up their second holds of the year while Booser was not in line for a save when he took over in the ninth. The Sod Poodles bullpen has allowed just one earned run this series over their first 12.2 IP this series. As a group, the bullpen has allowed just 11 hits over the first three games of the series with 15 strikeouts and one walk.