Tabor Cruises To First Double-A Win  

Tuesday, June 29, 2021 vs. Wichita Wind Surge [MIN]

Amarillo Sod Poodles (22-27 | Wichita Wind Surge (28-21)

Amarillo, Texas — The Sod Poodles welcomed Wichita to HODGETOWN for the first time ever with a 4-3 win in the opening game of this six-game series. The Sod Poodles (22-27) jumped out to an early lead over the North Division leaders and cruised to the series opening win after a stellar start on the mound.

After seeing his career-long 14-game hit streak come to an end in the team's series finale at Corpus Christi on Sunday, Dominic Fletcher wasted no time starting a new streak. The Arizona Diamondbacks No. 15 rated prospect belted a knee high slider over the right field wall for his sixth home run of the season. The home run gave the Soddies an early 2-0 lead after Alek Thomas singled to lead off the ballgame.

Amarillo starter Matt Tabor worked quickly through his first six innings, allowing just one baserunner. Former Amarillo Sod Poodle DJ Burt was signed by Wichita just three days ago and singled in his first at bat against his former team.

The first two Soddies were retired in the home half of the third inning before Stone Garrett reached on an errant throw by the Wind Surge second baseman. Garrett was able to move into scoring position on the throw and score when Jose Herrera singled into right field. The Soddies added one more in the fourth after Dominic Miroglio hit a one-out double down the left field line. A ground out moved him to third base before scoring on a single off the bat of Thomas.

After the single by Burt in the second inning, Tabor and the Sod Poodles retired the next 15 batters in a row before a throwing error by Tabor allowed just the second base runner of the game for Wichita. That baserunner came back to hurt a little more when Burt added his second hit of the night. This time it was a hit that left the ballpark and cut the Soddies lead in half.

Ryan Weiss relieved Tabor to begin the eighth inning. Weiss made his first appearance out of the bullpen this season on Father's Day and has since made three straight relief outings. The move to the bullpen seemed to put a spark into the righty who came into this game with 5.1IP scoreless out of the pen. He retired the side in order in the eighth with a pair of strikeouts. The Sod Poodles threatened with another run in the eighth inning after Herrera drew a one out walk. A ground out moved Herrera to second and he got the wave around third on a Jancarlos Cintron but was thrown out at the plate to send the game to the final inning with the Soddies holding a two run lead.

With two outs, Wichita got their third hit of the game, another home run to pull within one run. Another single sent Burt as the potential go-ahead run to the plate. A quick two foul balls put Burt and the Surge down to their final strike. Weiss finished off the game with a fastball on the outer edge for the final out.

Amarillo and Wichita continue their series tomorrow night for game two from downtown Amarillo. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM as the team will throw on their Pointy Boots de Amarillo uniforms once again. It's also Weiner Wednesday at the ballpark with $1 hot dogs all night long. You can catch Sam Levitt and the Sod Poodles Pregame show starting at 6:45 PM on KIXZ-940 AM.

Notes:

High Quality Stuff: Matt Tabor set a new single game high for any Sod Poodles pitcher by going seven innings. LHP Tommy Henry went 6.2 innings on Saturday night but could not get through the seventh frame. Tabor tied his career-high in innings pitched, matching the 7 innings he tossed in his final High-A outing with Hillsboro before being promoted to Amarillo.

Professional First: Weiss made his professional debut with one inning out of the bullpen on June 24, 2018 before starting his next 46 games as a pro. Weiss has now come on in relief his last three games, and tonight picked up the first save of his professional career with his two innings tonight. Weiss did give up a solo home run in the ninth but struck out Burt to seal the win.

Tick, Tok, Watch That Clock: Tonight's 2 hour and 21 minute contest marked the shortest nine inning ballgameat HODGETOWN. Coming into tonight's game, the shortest game time this season was 2:28 on May 22nd vs. Midland.Tonight's game also edged out the fastest game time of a home game from 2019 by one minute. The team played a 2 hour and 22 minute game against Frisco on July 5, 2019. The quickest nine inning game the Sod Poodles have ever been apart of also came earlier this year with a 2:11 game in Frisco on June 1, a game the Sod Poodles lost 4-1.

Dom Bomb: D-backs' No.15 rated prospect got the scoring started early with his sixth home run of the year in the first inning. It was Fletch's second home run in his last three games. He also hit that home run after jumping on a ball in the first inning. His six home runs rank tied for the second most on the team this year and Top-10 among all D-backs' minor leaguers.

Long Ball Logistics: As a staff, Soddies arms have allowed at least one home run in 20 straight games, since June 6. In the span, Amarillo has surrendered a total of 42 home runs, which is the most allowed in Double-A.

Mirollin: In a six game span from June 15 -24, Dominic Miroglio was hitting .105 (2-for-19). In this four games since, he is hitting .400 (6-for-15) with two doubles and three runs scored. He was one of two Sod Poodles tonight with a multi-hit game (Alek Thomas) and has recorded multi-hit games twice in this span and now has his eighth multi-hit game of the year.

Return Of Burt: DJ Burt had the only two hits for Wichita through the first eight innings and was responsible for the only two Wind Surge runs heading into the ninth. The former Sod Poodle recorded one multi-hit game with Amarillo, oddly enough in his second game with the Soddies. Tonight was Burt's second game since being signed by the Wind Surge on June 26th.

Tomorrow's Tidbits: RHP Ryne Nelson will make his Double-A debut on the mound tomorrow night. The D-backs' No. 19 rated prospect was promoted from High-A Hillsboro on June 24th. With Hillsboro, Nelson was 4-1 with a 2.52 ERA in eight starts.