Soddies Led By Nelson's Career-Night, Route Drillers 10-2

Tuesday, September 7, 2021 vs. Tulsa [LAD]

Tulsa Drillers (58-51) | Amarillo Sod Poodles (52-56)

Amarillo, Texas — The Amarillo Sod Poodles picked up the series opening win over the Tulsa Drillers on Tuesday night at HODGETOWN. The D-backs' No. 5 rated prospect, Ryne Nelson had a career-night on the mound while Stone Garrett hit his 20th homer of the year in the eight run victory.

The Dodgers Double-A affiliate used a two-out rally in the first inning to score their first run of the ballgame. A double and single scored the run as Tulsa left fielder Justin Yurchak was thrown out at second base trying to stretch his single into a double to end the inning.

Amarillo answered right away, tying the game in the bottom of the opening frame. Diamondbacks No. 9 rated prospect Geraldo Perdomo hit his fourth home run of the season into the parking lot beyond the berm in right field. The Soddies then used their own two-out rally to take the lead with three straight singles giving Amarillo the 2-1 advantage.

Soddies starter Ryne Nelson retired the Drillers in order in the second as he pitched with the lead. He faced the minimum for the second straight inning in the top of the third - picking up another strikeout in the process.

Outfielder Stone Garrett extended the lead with his 20th home run of the season to start Amarillo's third inning. The Houston-area native took the first pitch he saw and sent it over the wall in left center field. Tulsa notched a pair of singles off Nelson in the top of the fourth - their third and fourth hits of the game. The right-hander struck out the next two batters ahead of a fly out to get out of the inning unscathed.

Ryder Jones hit a lead off double in the bottom of the fifth and later scored on a sacrifice fly hit into left field by Perdomo.

Nelson kept plugging away on the mound for Amarillo. He retired Tulsa in order in the fifth and sixth including two strikeouts to end the fifth. He added another punchout in the sixth - his eighth of the night.

Sod Poodles' outfielder Eduardo Diaz drew a leadoff walk and then advanced to second base on a single by Dominic Miroglio. A double play took Miroglio off the base path but allowed Diaz to advance to third. Singles from Ben DeLuzio and Perdomo extended Amarillo's lead to 7-1 after DeLuzio swiped second base.

Tulsa's leadoff man in the seventh hit a ground rule double but it was not enough to rattle Nelson's confidence. He completed his outing by picking up the ninth strikeout of his night and left the runner stranded in scoring position. By going seven innings he also set a career-high for innings pitched. It was the first time at either the professional or college level the 23-year old had gotten through the seventh. He had previously gone 6.2 innings once in early may when he was with High-A Hillsboro. Since his promotion to Double-A he had gone 6.0 innings five times.

Infielder Buddy Kennedy doubled in the bottom of the seventh but was left standing on second base with three of the next four Amarillo bats being sent right back to the dugout. Outfielder Dominic Canzone was the only other Amarillo player to reach base in the inning after drawing a one out walk.

Georgia native Justin Lewis replaced Nelson on the mound for Amarillo to start the top of the eighth. Tulsa scored their second run of the game on a solo home run with two outs in the inning. A walk gave the Drillers another baserunner but he would not make it into scoring position as a ground ball force out ended the top half of the eighth.

Amarillo scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth after drawing four walks in the inning. A single and wild pitch helped Amarillo cap the night's scoring. Lewis retired the Drillers in order in the ninth to secure the team's ninth win in their last 13 games played.

The series continues with right-hander and D-backs' No. 26 rated prospect Brandon Pfaadt (1-0, 1.56 ERA) making his fourth Double-A start on Wednesday night. The 2020 fifth round selection out of Bellarmine University has reached Double-A in his first professional season. Game two of the series is scheduled for a 7:05 PM first pitch for another Weiner Wednesday presented by Texas Ford Dealers. Amarillo will once again transform into the Pointy Boots de Amarillo, a Wednesday staple at HODGETOWN during the 2021 season as part of Minor League Baseball's Copa de la Diversiόn initiative.

Notes:

Ryne For Nine: Amarillo starter and Arizona Diamondbacks No. 5 rated prospect had himself a career night. The former Oregon Duck set a new career-high by tossing seven innings against the Drillers. He allowed just one run in the top of the first inning before retiring 18 of the next 21 batters he faced. The right-hander not only set a career-high in innings pitched but also pitches in a single outing by crossing the century mark for the first time in his early career. The 2nd round draft pick (56th overall) in the 2019 MLB draft now leads all D-backs' minor leaguers with 148 strikeouts during his 2021 campaign after adding nine in the series opener. Not only that, since making his Double-A debut on June 30th, Nelson leads the Double-A Central with 89 strikeouts. His .227 BAA also leads the league while his 3.32 ERA ranks 2nd in the league. After setting a career-high in innings, his 65.0 innings are also 2nd in the league.

A Sugar Shot: Sod Poodles outfielder Stone Garrett mashed his 20th home run of the year on Tuesday night. The Sugar Land, Texas native has homered in each of the last three games - becoming th first Sod Poodle to accomplish that feat in 2021. He adds to his record-setting season - his first in the Diamondbacks organization. Garrett now holds the Sod Poodles single-season home run record, exceeding the 18 that Edward Olivares hit for Amarillo during the 2019 inaugural season. He also not only leads the team, but leads the D-backs' farm system in home runs (20) and RBI (67). With a batting average of .284, he leads all Amarillo batters and ranks 6th in the D-backs' organization.

# 2 Hot To Handle: D-backs' No. 9 rated prospect Geraldo Perdomo continues to rake since rejoining the club after a stint on the development list. After beginning his 2021 campaign with Amarillo hitting .151 in his first 47 games, he has hit .323 in 25 games since his activation from the Development List on August 5th. He added his fourth home run of the year - a towering 417 foot shot that landed in the players parking lot beyond the right field berm and tied his season-high with three-RBI in the series opening win. He has four multi-RBI games this year with each of them coming after August 5th.

15 or More: The Amarillo Sod Poodles picked up 16 hits in the series opening win. They did most of their damage off Tulsa's starter Jose Martinez, who allowed 14 hits in the game. It is the sixth time the Soddies have racked up 15 or more hits in a game, going 6-0 in such games. It was the fourth time since the calendar turned to August and second time in the last four games.

Three Dom's, Seven Hits: Amarillo had three Dominic's in their starting lineup against the Drillers. D-backs' No. 19 rated prospect Dominic Fletcher went 3-for-4 with a walk and run scored. Dominic Canzone also added three hits, also going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI and a walk. Dominic Miroglio pitched in the hit column, going 1-for-4 in the blowout win.

30th Quality Start: Ryne Nelson picked up the sixth quality start since joining Amarillo in late June and eighth overall in 2021. As a staff, the Sod Poodles now have 30 quality starts on the year, led by Nelson's six. Tomorrow's starter RHP Brandon Pfaadt has one QS under his belt in his brief time in Double-A. The right-hander tossed seven scoreless against Frisco on August 25th en route to his first Double-A win. Thursday starter Tommy Henry has four quality starts for Amarillo this season. RHP Drey Jameson Has four in just six starts since being promoted to Double-A. LHP Kenny Hernandez has added four while RHP Matt Tabor who is now in Triple-A also had four quality outings during his stint with Amarillo.