Soddies Blanked on Thursday Night

Amarillo, Texas – Amarillo dropped game three of the six-game set to the San Antonio Missions by a score of 6-0. A five-run 8th proved too much to overcome for Amarillo who fell behind in the series 2-1 in front of 5,373 people in downtown Amarillo.

San Antonio started their night with back-to-back doubles to start Thursday's contest. The second scored the first as the Missions jumped out to yet another early lead, this time off Amarillo starter Deyni Olivero. The right-hander entered the game still searching for his first Double-A win since being promoted from High-A Hillsboro back on April 28.

The Sod Poodles were forced to wait for their first hit until the bottom of their third, a one-out double by Andy Yerzy. A pop-out and ground-out left the left-handed slugger stranded on second base. The Sod Poodles tallied their second hit with a leadoff single by Tristin English in the bottom of the fourth. A second single in the frame once again pushed the potential tying run into scoring position but the Sod Poodles were unable to capitalize.

After the two doubles to start the game, Olivero settled into a groove where he surrendered just two hits - a single and a double - over his next 5.0 IP. He struck out three over the span with a walk surrendered. Olivero was assisted by a couple of highlight reel plays behind him including a sliding catch to end the 4th inning by Eduardo Diaz.

A new pitcher for the Missions resulted in similar results as they had off San Antonio starter Ryan Lillie. The Sod Poodles put balls into play, but right to where the Missions were positioned, being retired in order by right-hander Henry Henry.

Josh Green replaced Olivero on the bump for Amarillo. The Louisiana native made his 17th appearance for Amarillo. He began his outing with a punchout ahead of a lineout to Yerzy manning first base. Edwin Rojas squeaked a ball down the right-field line for a two-out double to keep their half of the seventh inning alive. A two-out walk placed two runners aboard but both were left stranded as Green fanned his second batter of the inning, sending the game to the bottom of the seventh.

Henry got through the first two Amarillo hitters in the seventh but wasn't so lucky with Roby Enriquez. The outfielder notched a two-out double to place himself in scoring position as the potential tying run. The hit brought an end to Henry's night as the Missions made their second call to the bullpen. A ground out off the bat of Juan Centeno sent the game to the top of the 8th with Green still on the mound.

The Missions' fifth double of the game hurt, even more, when the ball thrown back in from the outfield scooted away from Drew Stankiewicz and Yerzy, allowing the runner to advance to third. A one-out RBI single doubled the deficit and another base hit placed runners on the corners. The Sod Poodles traded an out for a run as they were unable to turn two with Alexander having to charge in on a ground ball and unable to attempt to turn two. San Antonio's fourth hit of the inning extended their lead to four and brought an end to Green's night. Lefty Yorvin Pantoja replaced Green and inherited a runner with two outs.

A two-run home run and double extended the Missions' at-bats and sent their ninth batter to the plate in the frame. A fly ball tracked down by Diaz near the Amarillo bullpen ended the top of the 8th inning and sent the Soddies to the plate down by six.

Jorge Barrosa and English strung together a pair of two-out singles but a called third strike ended the bottom of the 8th leaving both stranded. Pantoja struck out two of the three batters he faced in the 9th.

In the bottom of the 9th, Amarillo's 4-5-6 hitters in the lineup were sent out to face Angel Felipe, the Missions' fourth pitcher of the game. A ground out, strikeout, and flyout ended the game, keeping the Soddies scoreless for just the fourth time ever at HODGETOWN and all have come this season.

The Sod Poodles will look to bounce back and even the series on Friday night when RHP Slade Cecconi takes the mound. The Arizona Diamondbacks' No. 9 rated prospect will make his 15th start of the year. The Missions will trot out their right-hander Ben Krauth (0-1,12.00 ERA) for his second start of the season for the Missions. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.

Notes:

Tr1st1n:INF Tristin English turned in a 2-for-4 effort tonight to extend his active hitting streak to 11 games. He is now in a four-way tie for the second-longest hitting streak by a Sod Poodle this season, joining Corbin Carroll, Eduardo Diaz, and Leandro Cedeño. English has only played 15 games with the Sod Poodles so far and has a hit in 14 of those. Tonight’s performance did snap his streak of a run scored in seven straight games, Amarillo’s third-longest such streak of the season. On the year with the Sod Poodles, English is batting .345 with 12 RBI and six multi-hit games

Dey Time:Starting pitcher Deyni Olivero turned in an excellent performance tonight for his third quality start of the season. He tossed 6.0 innings and allowed four hits with three strikeouts and tied his season-low with just one earned run. The Soddies offense didn’t score a run while he was on the mound, leaving Olivero (0-7) still searching for his first Double-A win. Despite his record, he’s been a steady arm in the Amarillo rotation since June 4, with a 4.89 ERA in eight starts and three or fewer earned runs in six of them. He has now tossed back-to-back quality starts dating back to June 7.

Searching For Support: Olivero’s winless start to the season has been directly linked to the run support he’s received. In 14 starts this year, he is averaging 4.2 IP per game, and the Sod Poodles have scored an average of 1.6 runs in innings where he is the pitcher of record. He has not allowed more than four runs in a start since June 4, but the Sod Poodles have not given him more than four runs of support in any of those games.

Power Outage, Pt. 2: The Amarillo offense had 15 hits and scored 12 runs in Wednesday’s affair, but went scoreless with six hits tonight. It was the seventh time that the Sod Poodles have been shut out this season, most recently on June 26 in Corpus Christi. Tonight’s six-run loss tied the second largest loss in a shutout this season, behind the aforementioned 7-0 defeat to the Hooks.

Trouble Via Double: The Missions collected seven doubles tonight, tied for the most doubles the Amarillo pitching staff has allowed in a game this season. It tied the Northwest Arkansas Naturals’ total on June 28. The Sod Poodles’ season high is six doubles, which they’ve done twice. There were a total of nine doubles hit in tonight’s game, tied for the third-highest combined total in a Sod Poodles game this season.

Double Double: Outfielder Roby Enriquez collected his 10th double since joining the Sod Poodles. In his first minor league season, the Puerto Rico native is hitting .288 across 47 games split between High-A and Double-A. He has recorded all 10 doubles in a Sod Poodles uniform and has launched four home runs (3 with Amarilli and 1 with Hillsboro) while recording 27 RBI.

Thirsty For A Win: The Sod Poodles dropped to 4-3 on Thursday night games in front of the home crowd. The team is now 8-7 overall on Thursdays for the year.