Warmoth's Three RBI Night Propels Soddies

AMARILLO, Texas (April 20, 2024) – The Sod Poodles racked up 14 hits, including five extra-base hits as a balanced offensive attack propels Amarillo to a 9-6 win on Saturday night. With the win, the Sod Poodles took control of the series and secured at worst a series split heading into the final game of the first full homestand in 2024.

Springfield jumped in front with a first-inning run for the third time this series. The Double-A Red Birds used a pair of hits against Dylan File to manufacture the night's first run. Two extra-base hits against File to start the top of the second, including a two-run home run built the Cardinals' lead to 3-0.

Amarillo began to chip away in the bottom of the third. Kevin Graham led off the inning with a single before eventually stealing second with a pair of outs. Lyle Lin drove him in with a RBI double. The first of consecutive three-run innings helped Amarillo build what would become an insurmountable lead. Deyvison De Los Santos began Amarillo's two-out rally in the home half of the third with a single and was followed on base by Ivan Melendez who also scorched a base knock. Back-to-back walks, one to load the bases, and the other making it 3-2 brought an end to Edwin Nuñez's night on the bump. Logan Warmoth greeted the new Cardinals arm with a two-RBI single, putting Amarillo ahead 4-3.

A.J. Vukovich doubled to start the fourth. The first of two outs behind him allowed him to move up a base and stand 90 feet away from scoring. He did just that on ball four to Melendez after the wild pitch got by the Springfield backstop. Neyfy Castillo and Warmoth drove in Amarillo's fifth and sixth runs with RBI singles after Graham started the string of three consecutive base knocks in the frame.

File worked scoreless third and fourth innings, allowing just a pair of hits over the two frames. The last bit of damage done against the right-hander came via a two-out solo home run in the top of the fifth. He sequenced outs and base runners in the top of the sixth. The two-out single kept the Cardinals at the plate and forced a pitching change after 92 pitches. Gerardo Gutierrez was only tasked with getting out of the inning and did so in just four pitches.

Warmoth's third and final hit of the night came in the form of a leadoff double to start the home half of the seventh. He would later score on the second wild pitch by a Cardinals pitcher. Amarillo's final run came when Melendez made it back-to-back games with a home run. His eighth-inning solo shot made it 9-4.

Dillon Larsen and Taylor Rashi worked the final three innings of relief for the Sod Poodles. Larsen struck out three while allowing two hits in 1.2 scoreless innings. Rashi cleaned up the eighth with a strikeout against the first batter he was tasked to face. The top of the ninth began with a hit-by-pitch and double to put two into scoring position for Rashi to work around. A two-RBI single brought Springfield within shouting distance at 9-6 and still nobody out. The Amarillo righty then sat down each of the next three, punctuating his second save of the year with a strikeout.

Amarillo and Springfield will conclude their six-game series in downtown Amarillo on Sunday afternoon. It'll be a rematch of the same two pitchers that began the series sharing the mound. RHP Jamison Hill (0-0, 12.91 ERA) will start for Amarillo while the Cardinals' no. 13-rated prospect, RHP Max Rajcic (1-0, 12.15 ERA), will get his second go-around at HODGETOWN. First pitch is slated for 1:05 p.m.

NOTES:

THREE PIECE: Logan Warmoth put together his best offensive effort of the season on Saturday night, finishing the game 3-for-5 with a double, three RBI, and a run scored. It was his second multi-hit game of the season, and first since going 2-for-5 on April 9th in Midland. His last three-hit game came during the 2023 season - against Amarillo. When Warmoth was with Arkansas, he went 3-for-5 with a HR, RBI, and two runs scored on September 10. The former 1st round pick had five games of 3+ hits last season as a Traveler, two of them coming against Amarillo, and one coming at HODGETOWN on August 17th. For his career, Warmoth has 95 doubles, 30 home runs, 12 triples, and 221 RBI in 541 games.

TWOKAVICH: A.J. Vukovich extended his hit streak to seven games after going 2-for-5 with a double and run scored on Saturday. Now sitting at seven straight with a hit, the D-backs no. 15-rated prospect matched Deyvison De Los Santos for the longest hitting streak by a Sod Poodle in 2024. Vukovich has hit safely in 11 of the 13 games so far this year. His current streak has him hitting .423 (11-for-26) with a home run, five RBI four walks, and three runs scored. His .340 AVG in 13 games this year has him with the seventh-best AVG in the Texas League. He also is T-2nd in RBI (12), fifth in total bases (25), sixth in OPS (.953), and seventh in SLG (.560).

FULLY EXTENDED: Ivan Melendez made it four straight games played with a hit, finishing Saturday 2-for-4 with a home run, RBI, walk, and three runs. After his eighth-inning home run, Melendez became the first Sod Poodle in 2024 with a home run in back-to-back games. He did that twice during the 2023 season and had two different stretches where he left the yard in three consecutive games. Other Sod Poodles to extend hitting streaks on Saturday night include Logan Warmoth (4), Neyfy Castillo (3), and Deyvison De Los Santos (3).

DEY'S THAT END IN Y: Deyvison De Los Santos collected another hit, making it 12-of-14 games the D-backs no. 14-rated prospect has had at least one hit. He is hitting .333 to start the season, the eighth-best AVG in the league through the first 14 games. De Los Santos also ranks in the top 3 in the Texas League in HR (T-1st, 4), total bases (1st, 35), Hits (T-2nd, 19), XBH (T-2nd, 7), Runs (T-2nd, 13), SLG (3rd, .614), and OPS (3rd, 1.001). Over his last 63 regular season games in Double-A since July 14th, De Los Santos is hitting .318 (83-for-262). He ranks 1st in runs (55), 2nd in hits (83), 2nd in XBH (34), 2nd in TB (154), T-2nd in HR (17), 4th in SLG (.588), and T-7th in RBI (43) in all Double-A baseball.

HEAT CHECK: Neyfy Castillo made it three straight games with a knock after going 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI and a walk on Saturday. Castillo entered the series against Springfield with just two hits on the year in his first eight games. This week, Castillo has gone 4-for-20 with all three of his XBH in 2024 and has driven in all four of his RBI against the Cardinals.

GRAHAMBO: Kevin Graham picked up another multi-hit game, going 3-for-4 with a double, walk, and three runs, It was his fourth multi-hit game in nine games played. Now qualified, Graham's .412 AVG on the year leads the Texas League. He is second in OBP (.474), SLG (.618), and OPS (1.092). Graham also swiped his first base of the year on Saturday night.

DYLAN'S FILE: Dylan File earned his first affiliated win since August 19, 2022, when the right-hander was with Triple-A Nashville. File went 5.2 IP on Saturday night, allowing four runs on nine hits with four strikeouts and a walk. His 5.2 IP Saturday marked the longest start by an Amarillo pitcher this season, topping the 5.1 IP that Luke Albright tossed on Thursday against Springfield.