Lawlar of the land: It's never too late to rally

AMARILLO, Texas – No lead is safe in HODGETOWN, a hitters' haven where ERAs and slugging percentages increase in identical measure.

But this is ridiculous.

After trailing, 11-1, entering the bottom of the seventh inning, top D-backs prospect Jordan Lawlar hit a three-run homer as part of a seven-run eighth and delivered a walk-off single in the 10th to give Double-A Amarillo a 12-11 victory over Frisco on Wednesday. The 10-run comeback marked the largest in Sod Poodles' history since the Texas League club debuted in 2019.

The Sod Poodles also erased a 7-1 deficit against the RoughRiders to capture an eventual 9-7 victory in the series opener Tuesday.

“We’ve spent enough time in this ballpark to know anything can happen at the HODGE,” Lawlar said. “It doesn’t matter what the score is. We’re going to go up there, not waste at-bats and put good team at-bats together.”

Still, it looked like Wednesday’s contest was headed toward being a laugher as rain poured in downtown Amarillo and temperatures dipped into the high 40s. But down seven runs entering the bottom of the eighth, five of the first six Sod Poodles reached against Frisco reliever Ricky DeVito. Three crossed the plate, setting up an 11-7 score with two runners on when Lawlar stepped in for his chance to add to the momentum.

Facing a 1-2 count, MLB Pipeline's No. 9 overall prospect drove a 96 mph pitch from DeVito the opposite way toward the berm in right field. Three-hundred and eighty-one feet later, Lawlar had closed the gap to 11-10.

No. 4 Arizona prospect Deyvison De Los Santos, who finished 3-for-4 with a walk, extinguished the Frisco lead for good with an RBI single three batters later.

“As we kept snowballing, the energy did the same thing,” said Lawlar.

The 20-year-old shortstop got one more chance to provide midweek theatrics after the RoughRiders failed to score in the top of the 10th. With Ryan Bliss automatically placed on second base to begin the frame, Lawlar deposited a 92 mph heater just fair along the right-field line to walk off with the victory, sprinting around the first- and second-base bags as he rode the emotion of the comeback-capping hit with his teammates.

Both of Lawlar’s clutch hits came with two strikes in the count and were taken to the opposite field. Watching those two at-bats alone, you’d never guess that the 2021 sixth overall pick began the game 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

“I try to treat every at-bat as its own, so I go up there with the same mindset,” he said. “Act like it’s a clean slate, 0-for-0 that day. I think that’s what allows me to have success at the plate.”

man, what a mood. 💪 pic.twitter.com/lzFFqblbPG

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) April 27, 2023

The occasion marked Lawlar’s second multihit performance of the young season and gave him a 2023-high five total bases on the night. After Wednesday, he sports a .232/.353/.482 slash line with four homers through 15 games in the Texas League this season after starting as the circuit’s third-youngest player on an Opening Day roster. (The two younger than him were De Los Santos and Frisco center fielder Evan Carter, both of whom played Wednesday too.)

“It gives me a base to trust my approach even more,” said Lawlar, a Texas native. “Whenever I’m struggling, I can go back to that moment and use it as a positive reinforcement.”

Lawlar wouldn’t have been able to play the hitting hero if not for a stellar relief outing by right-hander Blake Workman, who tossed 3 1/3 innings of no-hit ball to earn the win.

Asked whether he can remember being a part of such an epic comeback before, Lawlar gave it a moment’s thought before laughing and realizing he may not have to remember too far back.

“I mean, last night,” he said.

Amarillo and Frisco match up Thursday night in MLB Pipeline’s Game of the Month from HODGETOWN. The game will be streamed live for free on MLB.com and the MLB Pipeline homepage, and will also be available on MLB.TV and MiLB.TV. Check out the @MiLB and @MLBPipeline social feeds for more coverage of what promises to be another riveting matchup. in the Texas Panhandle.