Strong Bullpen Effort Holds Off Tulsa in Soddies Win

TULSA, OK (August 22, 2026) -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (27-23, 63-55) defeated the Tulsa Drillers (29-21, 75-44), 7-6, on Saturday night at ONEOK Field. After an early four-run lead was erased, the Soddies stayed resilient and got a big lift from the bullpen to earn the victory.

Amarillo got off to a quick start as Cristofer Torin’s one out single in the opening frame led to a run when Alberto Barriga brought him home on a bloop single to center. Now with two runners aboard and Angel Ortiz at the dish, the designated hitter blasted a 2-0 pitch to deep right field, clearing the bullpen for a three-run homer that capped the four-run Sod Poodles first inning.

Tulsa’s first batter of the game got the Drillers on the board as Taylor Young belted a solo homer in the bottom of the first. The momentum for the hosts carried over into the second after each of the first three Tulsa batters reached base safely to load the bases for Chris Newell. The Drillers’ center fielder crushed a first pitch breaking ball for a grand slam to quickly put the hosts in front, 5-4.

The Soddies earned the lead right back in the third, using a Torin ground-rule double to kick off the rally. Jansel Luis came up to the plate with one away in the inning and singled up the middle to bring in the tying run with ease. Luis stole second and moved up 90 feet on Barriga’s second hit of the night, allowing the third baseman to sprint home on a wild pitch in the next at-bat to score the go-ahead run for Amarillo.

After already having taken over for the Soddies on the mound in the second, Tayler Montiel worked a scoreless inning in both the third and fourth to keep the one-run Amarillo lead intact.

As Josh Grosz and Sawyer Hawks continued to keep things locked down on the hill for the Sod Poodles in relief, Avery Owusu-Asiedu added a run via a solo shot in the top of the eighth to make it a 7-5 ballgame. The insurance run proved important as Jake Gelof led off the home half with a solo homer of his own to bring it back to a one-run contest.

AOA CANNOT BE STOPPED!#SoddiesSummer pic.twitter.com/zF8cyPO0Ce

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) August 23, 2026

Carlos Rey finished off the last two innings of work for Amarillo out of the bullpen however to earn his fifth save of the year. The lefty recorded two strikeouts along the way to finish off the 7-6 Sod Poodles win.

POSTGAME NOTES

LUIS YOURSELF: Checking in with a multi-hit game this evening was Jansel Luis as the third baseman went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI...he has hit safely in 10 of his most recent 12 games (8/8-c) and is batting .352 (19x54) with eight XBH, 11 RBI and a 1.023 OPS in that timeframe...he currently ranks 4th in the Texas League in hits this year and is pacing for 137 by season’s end which would rank as the 4th most in a season in Sod Poodles history.

GRAN TORIN-O: Continuing to swing a hot stick this month is Cristofer Torin after a two-hit effort on Saturday night in Tulsa...over 15 games this month, he is batting .355 (22x62) with 16 runs scored and a .919 OPS.