Sod Poodles Weekly: Amarillo set to host Midland after splitting series with NW Arkansas
The Amarillo Sod Poodles split their six-game series against Northwest Arkansas on the road last week in a half dozen high-scoring contests.
Amarillo now owns an 11-10 overall record and will now face the Midland RockHounds — the affiliate of the Oakland Athletics — for the second time this season. The two teams kicked off the new 2022 season with a three-game series early last month in Amarillo where the RockHounds picked up two wins and the two teams combined for 52 runs.
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Midland enters the new week coming off of a 2-4 homestand against the Frisco RoughRiders. The RockHounds have just four combined wins over the past two weeks after winning six of their first nine games of the season.
The Athletics' top-rated prospects that are currently playing in Midland are third basemen Zack Gelof (No. 3) and Jordan Diaz (No. 13) as well as the right-handed pitcher trio of J.T. Ginn (No. 7), Ryan Cusick (No. 8), and Colin Peluse (No. 12).
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Gelof was the A's second-round pick (No. 60 overall) back in the 2021 MLB Draft. He is 30-for-90 (.333) with two home runs, 11 runs scored, and 11 RBI through 19 games played this season. The Soddies will most likely see Ginn (0-1, 4.26 ERA), Cusick (1-1, 5.40 ERA), and Peluse (3-0, 2.74 ERA) on the mound at some point this week.
Midland (10-11) is in third-place in the Texas League South Division, while the Sod Poodles are sitting second.
Amarillo is 5-4 at home so far this season while the RockHounds have compiled a 4-5 record on the road.
For results from the contests, visit www.amarillo.com/sports.
This week's series
Opponent: Midland RockHounds
Schedule: 7:05 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 1:05 p.m. Sunday
Where: Hodgetown Stadium, Amarillo
Records: Sod Poodles 11-10; RockHounds 10-11
What to know: Midland is second in the Texas League in team batting average (.290) with Amarillo ahead of them and leading the league (.303). The Sod Poodles are second in home runs (29) with the RockHounds behind them in fifth (24). Midland is second in runs scored (138) with the Soddies sitting comfortably at the top of the league leaderboards in first place (159). The RockHound pitching staff ranks near the bottom of the league and are ninth in team ERA (5.97) with the Soddies rotation behind them in last-place (6.90).
SOD POODLES SEASON LEADERS
HITTING
• Average: Leandro Cedeno .379; Corbin Carroll .347; Juan Centeno .339
• Doubles: Jancarlos Cintron 6; Dominic Canzone, Corbin Carroll, Leandro Cedeno, Eduardo Diaz 5
• Triples: Eduardo Diaz 2; Corbin Carroll, Dominic Fletcher, Ti'Quan Forbes 1
• HR: Leandro Cedeno 6; Corbin Carroll, Juan Centeno 4
• RBI: Leandro Cedeno, Dominic Fletcher 20; Juan Centeno 16
• Runs: Corbin Carroll 19; Eduardo Diaz, Dominic Fletcher, Ti'Quan Forbes 15
PITCHING
• ERA: Drey Jameson 2.41; Brandon Pfaadt 4.19; Bryce Jarvis 5.21
• Innings pitched: Brandon Pfaadt 19 1/3; Bryce Jarvis 19; Drey Jameson 18 2/3
• Wins: Jeff Bain, Drey Jameson, Blake Workman 2
• Saves: Junior Garcia 3; Blake Rogers, Blake Workman 1
• Strikeouts: Brandon Pfaadt 29; Drey Jameson 23; Slade Cecconi 20
• Walks: Brett de Geus 10; Bryce Jarvis 9; Kenny Hernandez 7
Sod Poodles Roster moves
April 27: LHP Cam Booser placed on Amarillo IL
April 28: RHP Drey Jameson promoted to Triple-A Reno
April 28: LHP Kenny Hernandez transferred to High-A Hillsboro
April 28: RHP Deyni Olivero promoted to Amarillo from High-A Hillsboro
April 28: RHP Ty Tice reinstated from Amarillo IL
Looking back
TUESDAY, APRIL 26
SOD POODLES 6, NATURALS 5
Top performers
Sod Poodles: Juan Centeno 2-3, 3 RBI; Ti'Quan Forbes 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI; Drey Jameson 6 IP, 3 H, 9 SO
Naturals: Robbie Glendinning 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI; Sebastian Rivero 1-4, 2 RBI; Drew Parrish 6 IP, 1 H, 6 SO
Highlights: The two teams combined for nine runs in the 11th inning of an extra-innings contest to open the week. Both starting pitchers played lights-out through six innings and bats started getting going late. Amarillo pitcher Junior Garcia (1-0, 4.05 ERA) earned his first win of the season after stepping in for the ninth and 10th innings.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27
NATURALS 12, SOD POODLES 6
Top performers
Sod Poodles: Nick Dalesandro 2-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB; Ti'Quan Forbes 2-3, 3 R, 1 BB; Brett de Geus 2 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 SO
Naturals: Sebastian Rivero 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI; Seuly Matias 3-4, 1 HR, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB; Jonah Dipoto 1 1/3 IP, 1 SO
Highlights: Northwest Arkansas exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning to put themselves up 9-3 heading into the fifth. They would never lose the lead and tacked on three more runs in the sixth for a strong victory over the Soddies. Slade Cecconi (0-1) lost his first game of the season after allowing six earned runs on six hits in three innings of work.
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THURSDAY, APRIL 28
SOD POODLES 9, NATURALS 5
Top performers
Sod Poodles: Eduardo Diaz 3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI; Ti'Quan Forbes 3-3, 1 HR, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB; Keegan Curtis 1 IP
Naturals: Michael Massey 1-4, 2 RBI; Tucker Bradley 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB; Holden Capps 2/3 IP
Highlights: Amarillo used a Juan Centeno double and an Eduardo Diaz triple to notch five runs in the top of the ninth to take the win from Northwest Arkansas. The Soddie pitching trio of Justin Lewis, Jeff Bain, and Keegan Curtis (1-1) combined to throw 3 1/3 hitless innings in relief.
FRIDAY, APRIL 29
NATURALS 8, SOD POODLES 7
Sod Poodles: Drew Stankiewicz 3-4, 1 R, 3 RBI; Juan Centeno 3-5, 3 R, 2 BB; Kai-Wei Lin 2 IP, 2 H, 2 SO
Naturals: John Rave 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI; Nate Eaton 3-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI; Walter Pennington 2 1/3 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
Highlights: The Naturals held off a late surge by the Sod Poodles to grab the Friday night win. Northwest Arkansas had held an 8-3 lead before the Soddies scored four combined runs in the eighth and ninth innings to give the Naturals a scare in a game where the two teams had a collective 32 hits.
SATURDAY, APRIL 30
SOD POODLES 7, NATURALS 5
Top performers
Sod Poodles: Leandro Cedeno 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI; Andy Yerzy 1-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI; Blake Workman 2 IP, 1 H, 3 SO
Naturals: Ryan Grotjohn 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI; Michael Massey 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI; Zack Phillips 2 IP, 1 H
Highlights: Amarillo launched three total home runs and did not allow a run by the Naturals following the third inning of a solid win to get back on track Saturday night. Starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt (1-1) earned his first victory on the bump this season after six innings of work.
SUNDAY, MAY 1
NATURALS 9, SOD POODLES 5
Top performers
Sod Poodles: Leandro Cedeno 2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI; Jorge Barrosa 2-2, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB; Brett de Geus 2 IP, 1 H, 1 SO
Missions: Michael Massey 2-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB; Robbie Glendinning 2-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB; Drew Parrish 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 SO
Highlights: Three separate Naturals players homered en route to driving in seven runs to close out the week. The Soddies got into an early 5-2 hole following the first three innings that they were unable to come back from. Amarillo's Leandro Cedeno hit his sixth home run of the season in the loss.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo Sod Poodles set to host Midland RockHounds after splitting series with NW Arkansas
