Amarillo Sod Poodles split series in San Antonio before needed break

---

Finishing a rugged stretch to start the second half of the Texas League schedule, the Amarillo Sod Poodles got some much-needed good news Sunday afternoon.

Completing a brutal gauntlet of playing 15 of their last 18 games on the road, the Soddies came out of their series at the San Antonio Missions even to end the trip. They did just enough offensively to survive a 4-2 win which earned them a series split on the road heading into a four-day break this week.

The Sod Poodles finished the first quarter of the second half of TL play 6-12. A four-day break begins Monday, with the Soddies returning home to Hodgetown on Friday at 7:05 p.m. for a three-game series against Springfield, beginning a run of nine home games in 10 days.

They’ll get to enjoy Sunday’s game for a few days before returning to action. The Sod Poodles got the upper hand immediately in the final game of the series, as Ivan Melendez hit a two-run triple in the top of the first to drive home Caleb Roberts and A.J. Vukovich for a 2-0 lead.

Melendez also drove in what proved to be the difference in the sixth on a single to left to score Vukovich again and a 3-0 lead.

San Antonio scored runs in the sixth and seventh to cut the lead to 3-2, but the Sod Poodles got some insurance on Jancarlos Cintron’s sacrifice fly to score Melendez. Mitchell Stumpo pitched the ninth for the save while Jamison Hill threw two innings of relief for the win.

The Soddies won 8-1 on Wednesday and 9-3 on Thursday. Wednesday, Dylan File threw seven innings, giving up five hits and one run while striking out 10, as Roberts, Vukovich and Tim Tawa all hit home runs.

Thursday, right-hander Billy Corcoran returned to the win column, going 6 1/3 innings for the win. The Sod Poodles put the game away with five runs in the top of the ninth, as Cintron, Tawa and Andrew Pintar all drove in two runs apiece.

After that, though, runs were tough to come by for the Sod Poodles in the final three games of the series. They lost 1-0 Friday (spoiling a solid starting pitching effort by Dylan Ray, who threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings) and 5-3 on Saturday before picking up Sunday’s win and the series split.

A former Sod Poodle continued to impress on his climb up the ladder toward the big leagues. Deyvison De Los Santos, who started the season in Amarillo, has since been promoted to the parent club Arizona Diamondbacks Triple A affiliate Reno Aces, and was selected to play for the National League in the All-Star Futures game in Arlington on Saturday.

De Los Santos, who’s hitting .331 with 27 homers and 82 RBIs in Amarillo and Reno this season, drove in a run on an RBI groundout to cap the scoring in the National League’s 6-1 win over the American League.