Amarillo Sod Poodles struggles continue in Midland

A quick trip to Midland could have ended with the Amarillo Sod Poodles taking some much-needed momentum with them during their most grueling stretch of the season Saturday night.

Instead, some of the same old problems kept popping to end one of the toughest weeks of the season.

With a chance to get a road series win against the Midland RockHounds, the Sod Poodles went cold at the plate to end the week. They had only two hits in falling 5-0, capping a week of games against the RockHounds where they lost five of six games at home and on the road.

The loss came one night after the Soddies had their best game at the plate of the week, scoring a run in the top of the sixth Friday to pull out a 7-6 victory. Tim Tawa, Amarillo’s all-time franchise leader in home runs, hit a solo shot to give the Sod Poodles the lead for good.

Conor Grammes picked up the win in relief, while Jhosmer Alvarez, Kyle Amendt and Mitchell Stumpo all threw scoreless innings to preserve the win. Kristian Robinson had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs.

Things had to get better after Thursday’s first game in Midland, which the Sod Poodles lost 24-5. Billy Corcoran, who had been the Soddies best starter for the last six weeks, didn’t make it out of the third inning, as he gave up eight runs on 10 hits.

Jeremy Eierman was the big stick for the RockHounds, who hammered six Sod Poodles pitchers (including infielder Jesus Valdez) for 29 hits. Eierman went 4-for-6 with two homers and seven RBIs, as all the Midland hitters had at least two hits.

Saturday, Soddies left-hander Spencer Giesting suffered his second straight loss after winning his first two decisions for the Sod Poodles, although he pitched respectably, giving up one run in four innings.

Sunday and Monday provide rare back-to-back off days before the Sod Poodles resume their schedule with a six-game series at San Antonio starting Tuesday.