Patrick Fires Seven Scoreless In 1-0 Shutout Win

San Antonio, Texas (May 27, 2023) – The Amarillo Sod Poodles topped the San Antonio Missions, 1-0, and snapped their four-game skid on Saturday night. Chad Patrick shoved for seven innings of two-hit ball and Juan Centeno drove in the lone Amarillo run to secure the club's first win of the series.

Amarillo found the scoreboard in their first opportunity at the dish. Jordan Lawlar drew a one-out walk and became a scoring threat after swiping his 12th bag of the year. Centeno brought him home with a line drive through the infield and was pushed to third on a Seth Beer two-bagger. Tim Tawa walked to load the bases but the push was halted there with Amarillo up by one.

The Missions got their first runner in scoring position with a one-out double in the third inning. He was able to advance 90 more feet on a groundout but yet another grounder closed the frame before San Antonio was able to capitalize.

Amarillo got a few more runners on after Adrian Del Castillo lead-off the next frame with a single. Neyfy Castillo trailed with a ground ball but legged it out to squander the double play effort. A first and third situation arose from a Roby Enriquez right field poke but he was picked off of first during the next at bat. A fly out ended the inning and left Castillo stranded.

Patrick dealt his fourth scoreless frame to bring the bats back up in the top of the fifth. Camden Duzenack ripped a lead-off knock and Missions first baseman misplayed a Centeno hard-hit ground ball that sailed into right field. Centeno was thrown out after trying to make it to second base on the play but Duzenack was able to trot over to third. Tawa drew a walk but two more outs were collected to strand a pair of Soddies on the base paths.

Amarillo was unable to manufacture a run in the next two frames with Patrick holding the line and coming back out for the seventh. He dealt a clean frame and fanned his sixth batter with the show coming to an end there, amounting to the right hander's first quality start on the campaign. Patrick's final line read 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.

Andrew Saalfrank took over the hill in the bottom of the eighth. The southpaw retired the first five batters he faced but a walk and a wild pitch in the ninth put the tying run on second base with two outs. The ambitious Mission made an effort towards third on a ball in the dirt but Del Castillo gunned him down to end the game and snap Amarillo's four-game skid.

It was just the fourth time in franchise history that Amarillo held their opponent to two hits or less through nine innings and the second time this season.

The Sod Poodles return to Nelson Wolff Stadium tomorrow afternoon for the finale of their six-game set in San Antonio. Deyni Olivero is set to start for Amarillo with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch.

NOTES:

A CEN-SATION: Juan Centeno went 1-for-4 with an RBI single that drove in the lone Amarillo run in the top of the first. The former World Series champion extended his hit streak to four games and has now driven in a run in three of his last four contests dating back to 5/20/23 in Frisco. Centeno's .280 average (28-for-100) is good for the second best on the club among teammates with 25 games played while ranking third in hits. Centeno is batting .348 (8-for-23) with runners in scoring position this season which is good for third on the team (15 G).

*WHAT A CHAD: *Chad Patrick spun his first quality start of the season and turned in 7.0 IP with just two hits and as many walks allowed, fanning six and earning his second straight win in the process. Patrick's seven inning start is the longest of his professional career which spans three seasons (2021-2023). His longest start before tonight's outing was delivered on 8/20/2022 (6.0 IP) while with High-A Hillsboro. The right hander has now fanned at least six batters in all five appearances this month and is wielding an 11.0 K/9 (26.1 IP, 32 K), a 2.66 K:BB (12 BB) and a 2.05 ERA (6 ER) in May. His punchies in May is tied for first in the Texas League with his innings pitched ranking fourth.

FROM THE 6IX: Amarillo was held to just six hits but came out on top in game five. The Sod Poodles have been held to six hits or less 18 times this season, twice in this series alone, and improve to 6-12 in these contests. Additionally, Amarillo outhit San Antonio, 6-2, and are now 15-9 when they achieve this.

SETH CHEERS: Seth Beer turned in a 1-for-2 night at the plate with a double and two walks. Beer's double extended the club's XBH streak to 20 games dating back to 5/5/23. Two of the former Clemson Tiger's first four hits on the club have now gone for extra bags with his double marking his first two-bagger since becoming a Sod Poodle on 5/23/23. The lefty-bat has not drawn multiple walks in a contest since he collected an identical pair of free passes on 3/31/23 with Triple-A Reno.

THE LAW MAN: Jordan Lawlar earned a 1-for-4 night at the dish with a walk while scoring Amarillo's only run. Lawlar extended his on base streak to nine games (5/16-5/27) which is currently the longest active on base streak for the club. The D-backs no. 1 rated prospect also extended his hit streak to five games (5/23-5/27) and is slashing .350/.435/.400 with seven hits, a double, two walks and as many RBI across the stretch.

CAN-SAAL YOUR PLANS: Andrew Saalfrank pumped 2.0 scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts and picked up the first save of his professional career (2019-2023, 3 seasons). Saalfrank has punched out at least one batter in every relief appearance (15 G) this season and hasn't failed to record a punchie since 9/15/2022 in San Antonio. The southpaw has not conceded a hit nor a run in three career relief appearances (4.2 IP) versus the Padres' Double-A Affiliate while fanning six batters across those contests. The Indiana native's 2.82 ERA (22.1 IP, 7 ER) is the lowest among Amarillo relievers this season with his 35 strikeouts following suit. Among Soddies pitchers with five games played this month, his 1.54 ERA (11.2 IP, 2 ER) and his four hits allowed in May are the lowest in those categories.