Amarillo Takes Control of Series, Beat Midland 6-4

Amarillo, Texas (September 2, 2023) – Amarillo took the series lead on Saturday night over the RockHounds after winning 6-4. The Sod Poodles saw the RockHounds take a lead in the fifth inning before scoring the game's final four runs. Amarillo holds a three-game lead over the RockHounds in the South Division in the second half of the season with just 13 games remaining in the regular season.

After two scoreless innings to start the game for Yu-Min Lin, Deyvison De Los Santos got the scoring started with his 17th home run of the season. The D-backs' no. 5-rated prospect turned on a breaking ball and sent it 416 ft over the left-center field wall to put Amarillo up 1-0. Following another scoreless inning in the top of the third by Lin, Camden Duzenack extended Amarillo's lead to 2-0 with a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the third.

With hitless innings in the second and third, Lin saw a leadoff double hit off him to straight away center field. The very next Midland batter knotted things up at two a piece with a two-run home run. Lin then retired three of the next four he faced to limit the damage to just two runs. Following a three-up-three-down bottom of the fourth Midland was able to take their first lead of the game in the fifth. A leadoff single was moved into scoring position on a sac bunt before an Amarillo error placed runners on second and third. A ground out allowed the go-ahead runner to score and the second Amarillo blunder of the inning pushed Midland's lead to two runs at 4-2 by the time the inning came to an end. Lin's night came to an end with Taylor Rashi taking over on the mound and pitching Amarillo's way out of the inning with a ground ball.

Juan Centeno started the Sod Poodles' fifth inning with a double. Two batters later Duzenack moved Centeno to third with a single. Caleb Roberts brought Amarillo within a run as he hit into a productive ground out that scored Centeno. Rashi worked a perfect top of the sixth to keep Amarillo's momentum rolling. After each of the first two batters were sent back to the Amarillo dugout, De Los Santos added his second extra-base hit of the game, this time a two-out triple. Nefy Castillo drew a walk behind him and then stole second base with Centeno still at the plate to place a pair of Sod Poodles in scoring position. The veteran came through with a clutch two-RBI single to score both and push Amarillo back in front.

Now working with a lead, Rashi once again worked a clean inning as he retired all three of the RockHounds that he faced in the top of the seventh. Amarillo was held to the same fate in the home half as the game moved to the top of the eighth with Amarillo holding a one-run advantage at 5-4. Rashi's night came to a close with Christian Montes De Oca taking over for the top of the eighth. Consecutive singles for Midland put the potential tying run aboard with no outs in the inning. A lineout double play helped the Sod Poodles to put a stop to some of the Midland momentum. Montes De Oca then earned his first strikeout to leave a runner aboard.

Friday night's hero, Seth Beer added an insurance run with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth to give Amarillo a two-run cushion. The next three Amarillo batters were retired to send Montes De Oca back to work for the top of the ninth. A leadoff walk was the only baserunner the RockHounds were able to get with Montes De Oca getting each of the next three out to secure the save and the Saturday night win for Amarillo.

The Sod Poodles will now go for the series win on Sunday as the final series of the year against Midland comes to an end. First pitch in the series finale is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

NOTES:

DEYVI(SEE YOU LATER)SON: After turning in a three-hit night on Friday, Deyvison De Los Santos swatted a home run to start his Saturday. The D-backs' no. 5-rated prospect is up to 17 home runs on the season, now solo third on the team in 2023. Since returning to Amarillo's active roster on July 14th, De Los Santos ranks T-3rd in the Texas League in home runs with 10, along with fellow teammate Neyfy Castillo. Both sit two behind Ivan Melendez for the Texas League lead during the span. De Los Santos also sits in a tie for the most extra-base hits (22). He is third in total bases (96), fourth in SLG (.600), T-5th in hits (52), and 7th in AVG (.325) over his last 39 games. De Los Santos finished Saturday's game 2-for-4 with the home run, a triple, two runs scored, and a RBI.

DUZE CRUISE AROUND THE BASES: Camden Duzenack took his eight round trip in an Amarillo uniform with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the third inning. Duzenack finished the game 2-for-4, his 21st multi-hit game in 55 games played for Amarillo. He raised his season AVG to .328 with hits in 18 of the 24 games he has played at HODGETOWN this year. He has homered twice over his last six games after hitting one in the series finale last Sunday in San Antonio.

TWO IS BETTER THAN JUAN: Juan Centeno turned in his 18th multi-hit game this year after finishing the game 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBI. Centeno has hit safely in 14 of his last 17 games, hitting .300 during the stretch with four multi-hit efforts. During his stretch dating back to July 16th, Centeno has hit five doubles, including one on Saturday night, has five RBI, has drawn nine walks, and scored eight times.

BERTS & BASES: Caleb Roberts was one of four player with a multi-hit effort on Saturday, finishing the game 2-for-4 with a RBI. Roberts is 5-for-9 with a couple of home runs, and five RBI over his last two games. Roberts currently ranks T-4th in the Texas League in 2023 with his 45 XBH along with A.J. Vukovich and is second in the league with his eight triples. The former North Carolina Tar Heel also ranks 4th in OPS (.919) and SLG (.537) among all qualified Texas Leaguers this year. It was Roberts 29th multi-hit game of the year.

SCORCHING HOT BEER: Seth Beer has homered in consecutive games for the first time this year with Amarillo after a solo shot in the eighth inning. Beer has exploded for four home runs in the series after hitting three in the win on Friday night.For the week, Beer is now hitting 8-for-15 (.533) with four homers, a double, seven RBI, seven runs scored, a walk, hit by pitch, and just three strikeouts. This comes after a dominant August that saw him hit .318 in 22 games. Over his last 34 games since coming back from the All-Star break, Beer is hitting .298 (39-for-131) with nine doubles, seven of his season's 12 home runs, 22 RBI, 11 walks, and 27 runs scored. Beer is riding a team-high six-game hit streak currently and has hit safely in 22 of his last 34.

TAYLOR GANG: Taylor Rashi earned his second win for Amarillo after working 2.1 IP without allowing a baserunner and striking out three batters on Saturday night. Rashi lowered his ERA through his first five games in Amarillo to 1.23 and has now worked four straight games without a run allowed over his last 6.1 IP with 10 strikeouts and a walk allowed. Over his last 6.1 IP, the right-hander has surrendered just one hit - coming back on August 19 in his second appearance with Amarillo.