San Antonio’s Season Comes to an End in Game Three Defeat 

SAN ANTONIO – In a thrilling rubber-match for the Texas League South Division title, the Amarillo Sod Poodles bested the San Antonio Missions. The Missions got on the board first, but a four-run outburst by Amarillo in the fourth inning along with a pair of insurance runs proved to be enough for the visitors. San Antonio’s season comes to an end and Amarillo advances to the Championship Series.

Adam Mazur was the starting pitcher for the Missions. The right-hander started off the night strong and struck out the side in the top of the first inning.

Raffi Vizcaino was the starting pitcher for the Sod Poodles. The right-hander recorded the loss on Tuesday in Amarillo. He allowed a two-out walk to Graham Pauley in the bottom of the first inning. The other three batters all flew out.

Amarillo picked up their first hit in the top of the second inning. After retiring the first two batters, Deyvison De Los Santos hit a line drive off the foot of Mazur and reached on an infield single. The right-hander struck out Kristian Robinson to end the inning. He struck out five batters through the first two frames.

The Missions ended the shutout with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Marcos Castanon began the frame with a single and moved to second base on a wild pitch. Michael De La Cruz grounded out and Castanon advanced 90 feet. Cole Cummings flew out for the second out. A balk from Vizcaino allowed Castanon to score.

Amarillo had a runner on base for the second consecutive inning. Mazur sat down the first two batters before issuing a walk to Camden Duzenack. Tim Tawa grounded into a force out to end the inning.

The Sod Poodles captured the lead in the top of the fourth inning. With one out in the inning, A.J. Vukovich singled to center field and stole second base. Seth Beer drove him in with a double to left field. De Los Santos drove in Beer with a double to left field. Robinson drew a walk to put two runners on base. Juan Centeno drove in De Los Santos with an RBI sacrifice bunt. Jancarlos Cintron drove in a run with a triple to right field. Amarillo took a 4-1 lead.

Conor Grammes took the mound for Amarillo in the bottom of the fourth inning. Pauley welcomed him to the game with a double off the left field wall. Nathan Martorella grounded out and Pauley moved to third base. Castanon drove in Pauley with a ground ball to second base. The Missions trailed 4-2.

Austin Krob took the mound for San Antonio in the top of the fifth inning. The southpaw played collegiately at TCU and was a part of the 2020 San Antonio Flying Chanclas team that participated in the Texas Collegiate League. He retired all three batters in his first inning of work.

San Antonio had a chance to score in the bottom of the fifth inning. Cummings drew a walk to start the frame. Homer Bush Jr. put down a sacrifice bunt and Cummings moved up a base. Connor Hollis reached base on a fielding error and Cummings advanced to third base. Ripken Reyes flew out for the second out. Carlos Meza took over on the mound for Grammes. Jakob Marsee drove in Cummings with a single to right field. Pauley drew a walk to load the bases. Martorella struck out swinging to end the frame. San Antonio cut the deficit to 4-3.

The Sod Poodles added an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning. Krob hit Beer with a pitch to start the frame. A wild pitch allowed him to move into scoring position. Robinson drove him in with a single to right field. Amarillo improved their lead to 5-3.

Following Krob, Jason Blanchard tossed 1.1 scoreless frames across the seventh and eighth innings. The southpaw allowed one hit in the bottom of the eighth inning before handing the ball off to Lake Bachar. The right-hander allowed a double to De Los Santos which placed two runners in scoring position with two outs. Robinson flew out to end the scoring threat.

In the top of the ninth inning, Bachar returned to the mound for the Missions. Centeno lined out to start the frame. Cintron doubled to right field and stole third base. Duzenack flew out for out number two. Tim Tawa drove in Cintron with a base hit to center field. Amarillo improved their lead to 7-3.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Jake Rashi took the mound for his second inning of work. Castanon gave the Missions some life when he reached on an error. However, Rashi responded with a clean inning after that, sealing the Sod Poodles’ place in the Texas League Championship Series and ending the Missions’ season.

Post-Game Notes

• Final Score: 6-3

• Amarillo wins series 2-1, advances to Texas League Championship Series

• Arkansas defeats Springfield, advances to the Texas League Championship Series

• Adam Mazur (Missions starter): L, 4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

• Raffi Vizcaino (Sod Poodles starter): ND, 3.0 IP, H, ER, BB, K

Prospect Recap

• Robby Snelling (#3 Padres prospect, #60 MLB): DNP

• Jairo Iriarte (#6 Padres prospect): DNP

• Adam Mazur (#7 Padres prospect): L, 4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

• Nathan Martorella (#10 Padres prospect): 0-4, 2 K

• Graham Pauley (#11 Padres prospect): 1-2, R, 2B, 2 BB

• Jakob Marsee (#12 Padres prospect): 0-4, RBI, 2 K

• Homer Bush Jr. (#13 Padres prospect): 0-3

• Ryan Bergert (#16 Padres prospect): DNP

• Marcos Castañon (#23 Padres prospect): 1-3, R, RBI, K

• Yu-Min Lin (#4 D’Backs prospect): DNP

• Deyvison De Los Santos (#5 D’Backs prospect): 3-4, R, 2 2B, RBI

• A.J. Vukovich (#10 D’Backs prospect): 1-5, R, K

• Kristian Robinson (#11 D’Backs prospect): 1-3, R, RBI, BB, K

• Dylan Ray (#19 D’Backs prospect): DNP

• Yilber Diaz (#20 D’Backs prospect): DNP

• J.J. D’Orazio (#25 D’Backs prospect): DNP

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The San Antonio Missions are the Double-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The 2023 season is the 121st professional season for the San Antonio Missions. Postseason tickets are on sale now! Season seat memberships for the 2024 season are available now. Call 210-675-PARK to discuss pricing for season tickets, group tickets and hospitality. The Missions Box Office is cashless. Fans can purchase tickets at the box office using credit cards. For more information, call 210-675-PARK (7275) or visit samissions.com.