Amarillo Loses Game Five in Extras
San Antonio, Texas (August 26, 2023) – The Sod Poodles dropped their Saturday night contest in San Antonio by a final score of 6-5 in 10 innings. After falling behind in the eighth, the Sod Poodles scored a run in the top of the ninth to force extras but were
San Antonio, Texas (August 26, 2023) – The Sod Poodles dropped their Saturday night contest in San Antonio by a final score of 6-5 in 10 innings. After falling behind in the eighth, the Sod Poodles scored a run in the top of the ninth to force extras but were unable to tack one on in the 10th, with San Antonio getting their second walk-off of the week to take a 3-2 series lead.
Left-hander Will Mabrey got the spot start for Amarillo, just the second start of his professional career. The southpaw carried over the staff's dominance from a night ago, holding the Missions scoreless with just one hit allowed through his three innings to begin the game.
Amarillo scored the first two runs of the night in their second trip to the plate. After Seth Beer was hit by a pitch to begin the inning Deyvison De Los Santos singled to put runners on the corners. Camden Duzenack then continued his productive week with another single to score Beer. A one-out walk loaded the bases for the Sod Poodles with the second consecutive walk issued by Jairo Iriarte giving the Sod Poodles a 2-0 lead. After a strikeout and pitching change, the second straight strikeout of the inning limited the damage to just two runs for Amarillo.
The third and fourth innings were scoreless for each side before Amarillo tacked on more runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Two consecutive one-out singles once again had runners on the corners for Amarillo. With two outs, a wild pitch scored Ivan Melendez from third and extended the lead to three runs. With two outs in the top of the sixth and Tim Tawa standing on first, a hard line drive into right field got under the glove of the Missions' right fielder and allowed Tawa to score all the way from first and left Caleb Roberts standing on third after the two base error. Roberts was left stranded and Amarillo holding a 4-0 lead.
Following two scoreless innings from Grammes, the Missions were able to score their first run over their last 14+ innings with Emailin Montilla on the mound for the Sod Poodles. A leadoff single was followed by a fielding error that had San Antonio runners on first and second. Another single scored a run before a passed ball placed two in scoring position with nobody out in the bottom of the sixth. Back-to-back productive ground outs capped a three-run inning to cut Amarillo's lead to just one run.
The Missions put themselves in front with another two runs coming across in the bottom of the eighth to take a 5-4 lead. Tawa led off the top of the ninth with a double. Roberts walked to follow Tawa aboard and sent A.J. Vukovich to the plate. Entering the top of the 9th, Vukovich was held without a hit in the previous 15 at-bats of the series. The D-backs' no. 10-rated prospect broke that mini-slump with the game-tying RBI single to score Tawa and knot the game at 5-5. A double play and strikeout sent the game to the bottom of the ninth.
After taking over on the mound in the bottom of the eighth with two outs, Jake Rice was back out for the ninth. A fielding error and single had two aboard for San Antonio in the inning with no outs. A sac bunt moved both runners into scoring position and put Rice in a jam with just one away in the inning. The lefty then proceeded to strike out each of the next two batters he faced to send the game to extra innings.
As the designated runner on second base to start the inning, Deyvison De Los Santos was unable to advance from second with each of the three Amarillo batters being retired.
Liam Norris made his Double-A debut for Amarillo as he took over pitching duties in the bottom of the 10th. With a fly-out for his first out of the inning, an intentional walk gave the Sod Poodles a force-out opportunity. However, a deep fly ball single allowed the runner to score from second and gave the Missions their second walk-off win of the week in 10 innings.
Amarillo will go for a series split when the two teams take the field for the conclusion of the series on Sunday from Nelson Wolff Stadium. LHP Yu-Min Lin will take the ball for Amarillo for the second time this week after beginning the series on the bump for the Sod Poodles. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
NOTES:
JUST PRODUZE: Camden Duzenack added his sixth hit of the series, playing in all five games so far this week against the Missions. He finished the game 1-for-4 with a RBI and a walk to make his 6-for-22 with three doubles, a RBI, a walk, and two runs scored so far in San Antonio. In 48 games played with Amarillo, Duzenack is hitting .337.
WALK THIS WAY: Caleb Roberts drew another two walks, giving him back-to-back games with two walks. Roberts leads the team in free pases this year, with 53 on the season. He also had a hit in the game, going 1-for-3 with a single. He leads the team with his .270 AVG on the year.
VUK: A.J. Vukovich collected his first hit of the series with a RBI single in the top of the ninth inning. The D-backs' no. 10-rated prospect stepped to the plate after beginning the series 0-for-15. His RBI now makes him just seven shy of tying the Amarillo single-season RBI record. Leandro Cedeño set the mark with 93 a season ago.
WE WILL CALL YOU CHUCK: Liam Norris made his Double-A debut taking over on the mound for the bottom of the 10th inning. The former 3rd round draft pick was added to the roster prior to the game. He was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 90th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft out of Green Hope HS in Cary N.C. The left-hander was unfortunately on the short end in extras, taking the loss after allowing just one hit and an unearned run coming against him.
WILL YA SHOVE: Will Mabrey spun three scoreless innings in the spot start for Amarillo. The left-hander matched his career-high for innings pitched which he set earlier this month on the road in Tulsa. It was Mabrey's second career start, after earning a spot start earlier this season against Corpus Christi. Mabrey walked off the mound after holding the Missions off the scoreboard for the 12th consecutive inning after last night's 1-0 shutout. He allowed just one hit over his three innings of labor on Saturday night.
RICE-A-RONI AND CHEDDAR CHEESE: Jake Rice made it four straight games without a run against him after going 1.1 IP with one hit and three strikeouts. With another three strikeouts for the game, Rice has struck out 3+ in seven of his last 10 relief appearances.