Through Wind and Rain the Soddies Steal a Pair of Wins in Midland

Caleb Roberts - Emma McReynolds Photography

Game one of the series was suspended on Tuesday when it looked like even the rain couldn’t cool off the Sod Poodles start. Jose Cabrera looked sharp even with a wet baseball for most of the game, delivering four innings of two hit shutout baseball. Cabrera would survive a pair of hit batters in the first inning, striking out Junior Perez and Clark Elliott to shut the threat down. 

Rockhounds first baseman Luke Mann gave Midland their only extra base hit against the Amarillo right hander in the fourth and final inning before the game was suspended.

Amarillo would send Cabrera into the break with a nice cushion. The bats came alive in the third and fourth innings, when Kristian Robinson started the party in his return from the IL, tripling to center field. After Caleb Roberts gave Amarillo the lead with a sacrifice fly, Gavin Conticello continued to rake in the cleanup spot (.340/.418/.495/.913 while hitting fourth this season in 26 games) driving in two to extend the Amarillo lead to 3-0. 

The Soddies would one up themselves in the fourth following that three-run third. Jose Fernandez and Christian Cerda would reach before Roberts crushed his third home run in his last 10 games, slicing the ball through the rain into the seats at Momentum Bank Ballpark. Manuel Pena set up LuJames Groover, doubling before the Sod Poodles third baseman drove him in with his second hit of the ball game. That would be the final run of Tuesday night as the game was suspended to be picked up on Wednesday.

Robinson picked up where he left off in his return on Tuesday, doubling for his second extra-base hit of the contest, but Midland reliever Pedro Sanchez worked out of trouble, stranding runners on second and third for Amarillo. 

As good as Jose Cabrera looked the day before Gerardo Gutierrez looked even better. The Sod Poodles right hander turned in his best performance with three scoreless innings of no-hit baseball, striking out five Rockhounds in the process, on 65% of strikes. 

Nate Savino would take the ball for the first time in the eighth inning for Amarillo since being called up on Tuesday. Savino joins the roster as just the second left-hander in the bullpen, along with Philip Abner, giving Colina the option to play the matchup game a little more than he has so far this season. Savino looked as good as his advertised 1.41 ERA in High-A Hillsboro, retiring the first two Rockhounds he faced before striking out Caeden Trinkle on three pitches for his first Double-A strikeout. The ninth wouldn’t be as smooth for the lefty, with two walks and a single would help the Rockhounds find their only run of the ballgame. 

Alec Baker - Photo Credit: Emma McReynolds Photography

Game two got under way at 9:47 in a misty Midland, still slightly fighting the conditions. For the second straight game the Sod Poodles offense flipped the on switch in the third inning. After a run scored on an error from a back pick, and a runner was thrown out at home Manuel Pena doubled for the third consecutive game to score two and give Amarillo a 3-0 lead.

Like Tuesday’s starter Cabrera, Alec Baker would shut down the Rockhounds for the first four innings. Baker worked a career high 5.2 innings, shutting out Midland until Junior Perez launched a sixth inning solo shot that just snuck over the fence in the corner of right field. Baker had four strikeouts, tossing 75% of strikes in his 68 pitch start. Fellow Dallas Baptist Patriot Zane Russell would help close the book on Baker, getting the final out of the inning.

Amarillo would get a couple insurance runs in the sixth on hits off the bats of Jose Fernandez and Ivan Melendez, tacking on two more runs. For the second time in the game the inning could have been even bigger, but the Rockhounds gunned down their second runner at home after Manuel Pena tried to score on a Ryan Waldschmidt double.

Hayden Durke found himself in a little trouble following an error and a walk, but immediately induce a double play. Midland would get a run in on a Drew Swift single before the door was slammed shut on a long day of baseball for the Sod Poodles.

Tommy Troy was replaced by Jean Walters at second base in game two, but did remain in the dugout.

Don't look now but just like that Amarillo is back to .500 early in this second half, with a chance to go over that mark for the first time all season on Thursday. The Sod Poodles will turn to one of the newer faces in Jonatan Bernal, who has recorded a 1-0 record, and a 3.60 ERA (4.26 FIP) in 10 innings of work so far.