The Amarillo Sod Poodles couldn’t have asked for a stronger way to end their final “long” stretch away from Hodgetown this season.
Following winning two out of three at San Antonio to take sole possession of the Texas League South division lead, the Sod Poodles stayed on the road last week for a six-game series at Corpus Christi. They’ll officially be headed back to town on a roll.
The Soddies clinched a series win Sunday, taking an early lead and holding on for a 6-4 victory, giving them their fourth win in six games over the Hooks to take their second straight road series. They did so by winning three straight to close the series.
With another series win, the Sod Poodles (16-10) hold a three-game lead over Midland atop the TL South, and also are at .500 overall for the season at 48-48.
They didn’t waste much time Sunday, taking a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, capped by a two-run single from Caleb Roberts. The Soddies went up 5-0 with two runs in the fifth, which provided just enough cushion for the win.
Jonatan Bernal, who had four starts for the Sod Poodles this year, picked up the win in relief, going 2 1/3 innings. Zane Russell pitched a perfect ninth to earn his third save of the season.
The Sod Poodles showed some toughness in closing the series, winning three straight close games to leave Corpus Christi with the upper hand. They won 4-3 on Friday and 3-2 on Saturday to set up Sunday’s series win.
In both of those games, the Soddies took a slim lead in the middle innings and made it hold up with their bullpen over the final four or five innings.
Friday they broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the fourth on back-to-back RBI singles by Jean Walters and LuJames Groover. The Hooks got a run in the bottom of the fourth off Soddies starter Roman Angelo, but nobody scored again.
Phillip Abner, Russell, new addition Dan Kubiuk and Landon Sims combined to throw five innings of scoreless relief to preserve the win. Russell got the win and Sims picked up his seventh save of the season.
It was a similar script Saturday, as the game was tied 1-1 heading into the fifth before Amarillo’s Tommy Troy broke the tie with a two-run homer. Corpus Christi scored a run off Sod Poodles starter Jimmy Endersby, but the last four innings were scoreless.
Endersby, who was signed by the Sod Poodles major league parent club Arizona Diamondbacks out of the Mexican League, has been a major find for the pitching staff. He now has a 2-2 record with a 2.74 ERA in four starts for the Soddies after picking up the win.
The bullpen had another stellar night to lock up the win, as Abner, Jhosmer Alvarez and Kubiuk combined for four scoreless innings, with Kubiuk picking up his first save as a Sod Poodle.
Kubiuk, who was signed a week earlier, picked up his first win Wednesday in another one-run game, as the Sod Poodles won 8-7. He threw one inning of relief in the win, as the Soddies won in the top of the 10th on an RBI single by Ivan Melendez.
The Sod Poodles will return home to open a six-game series against Wichita on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. at Hodgetown. One familiar face over nearly two seasons will be missing though, as outfielder Kristian Robinson was promoted to Triple-A Reno on Saturday.
Robinson, who was called up the Amarillo late in the Texas League championship season of 2023, was batting .250 with 11 homers and 38 RBIs as the Sod Poodles leadoff hitter for most of this season, and led the team with 24 stolen bases.
In another roster move from earlier in the week, right-hander Casey Anderson was promoted from Class A Hillsboro to Amarillo.