Albright Shines in Double-A Debut for Amarillo
Frisco, Texas (April 7, 2023) – Amarillo (1-1) evened the three-game set against Frisco with a 3-1 victory on Friday night. Amarillo was helped by a strong starting effort from right-hander Luke Albright (1-0) who got all of the run support he would need thanks to a two-RBI triple off
Frisco, Texas (April 7, 2023) – Amarillo (1-1) evened the three-game set against Frisco with a 3-1 victory on Friday night. Amarillo was helped by a strong starting effort from right-hander Luke Albright (1-0) who got all of the run support he would need thanks to a two-RBI triple off the bat of Ryan Bliss.
Making his Double-A debut, Albright was in control throughout his first start of 2023. The righty struck out two in his first inning of work before the lone blemish of his outing came in the bottom of the second. A leadoff triple to Dustin Harris helped plate the first run of the game as the next batter grounded out, scoring Harris.
Amarillo left Roby Enriquez stranded in scoring position after drawing a leadoff walk in the third. A leadoff single in the top of the fourth was quickly erased on a double play as Amarillo would head to the bottom of the fourth trailing by a run.
The Sod Poodles strung together a two-out rally in the top of the fifth. Enriquez singled to center and then swiped second base. Camden Duzenack drew a walk, putting two aboard for Bliss and the top of the Sod Poodles order. Bliss collected his second hit of the game, this time a bases-clearing two-RBI triple to give Amarillo their first lead of the 2023 season. Jordan Lawlar jumped on the first pitch he saw, scoring Bliss for a two-run lead.
Albright struck out the first two RoughRiders he faced in the bottom of the fifth inning before a pair of walks had Frisco threatening. A flyout kept both runners stranded and brought an end to Albright's evening. He exited the ballgame retiring 12-of-14 batters, including 11 straight after the triple in the second.
Left-hander Andrew Saalfrank entered the game in the bottom of the sixth in relief of Albright. Frisco's Evan Carter greeted Saalfrank with a leadoff single ahead of a bounce-back strikeout of big league rehabber Leody Tavares. Saalfrank's second strikeout of the inning helped keep the Riders at bay as two runners were left stranded with the game entering the final three innings.
Three-up-three-down for Amarillo sent Saalfrank right back to work in the seventh. He made quick work of the Riders' bottom portion of the order, retiring three of the four he faced as he worked around a two-out walk. Amarillo was once again held in check, going down in order for the second straight inning.
Fellow southpaw Kyle Backhus came in to relieve his bullpen mate and picked up where he left off in 2022. The New Waverly, Texas native struck out the first batter he faced this season. Backhus and the Sod Poodles escaped the eighth inning without any damage done as Luisangel Acuña was thrown out at third base after trying to stretch a single and error all the way to third.
Two Soddies were left stranded and unable to extend the lead in the top of the ninth as Backhus trotted back out to the mound to try and slam the door on Frisco. Backhus earned his first save and secured Amarillo's first win of the year as he faced the minimum in the bottom of the ninth.
The Sod Poodles will aim to secure the three-game series win in Frisco on Saturday night to open the 2023 campaign. Right-hander Jamison Hill takes the ball for the Sod Poodles for his fifth Double-A start. Opposite Hill will be T.K. Roby, making his Double-A debut as the Texas Rangers no. 12-rated prospect. First pitch for the series finale is slated for 7:05 PM at Riders Field.
Notes:
Alright, Alright, Albright: The Diamondbacks 2021 6th rounder, Luke Albright, turned in a strong beginning to his 2023 season. The right-hander collected the win in his maiden voyage in Double-A, going 5.0 IP with just one hit surrendered while adding seven strikeouts. The one hit, a triple scored as the lone RoughRiders run on the evening. Following the Triple, Albright retired the next 11 straight batters he faced before surrendering back-to-back walks in the fifth inning. The one run allowed was the fewest he had allowed dating back to his start on July 22, 2022 with High-A Hillsboro. The former Kent State Golden Flash has now gone at least 5.0 IP in 21 of his 33 professional starts to begin his career.
Bliss-tering Hot:Second baseman Ryan Bliss picked up right where he left off yesterday, adding another two hits and picking up his first two RBI of the year. His triple in the fifth inning plated the game-winning runs for Amarillo. Bliss is off to a .444 (4-for-9) start through the first two games of the season. It was the first Amarillo triple of the season, and Bliss' fifth professional triple - first since Aug. 25, 2022 at Vancouver (A+). He now leads the club with his four hits and has back-to-back multi-hit games for the seventh time in his career.
Oh baby, a (2-RBI) Triple!
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) April 8, 2023
Pure Bliss pic.twitter.com/N9SUBNDIuN
Bullpen Bullies:After another four innings without an earned run allowed, the Amarillo bullpen carries a 0.00 ERA through the first 8.0 IP of work to begin 2023. Andrew Saalfrank picked up a hold after spinning 2.0 IP of one-hit work with three strikeouts. Kyle Backhus earned his first save in 2023 and is now 4-for-5 in save opportunities since joining Amarillo on August 5, 2022. The Amarillo arm barn has given up just two hits in the last seven combined innings.
Keepin It 200: With the win, Amarillo notched the 200th regular season win in franchise history.
Sorry, Not Sorry: The Sod Poodles brought an end to Frisco's six-game winning streak dating back to the end of the 2022 season. The RoughRiders won their regular-season finale before sweeping their way to the Texas League Championship in 2022. The win also ended a four-game slide for Amarillo against Frisco dating back to September 2 of last season as the Sod Poodles had dropped 10 of the last 13 games against Frisco before Friday night's win.