AMARILLO, TX (June 2, 2026) -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (26-25) fell to the Tulsa Drillers (33-19), 13-9, on Tuesday night at HODGETOWN. Despite a hot start from the Amarillo sticks, the hosts drop the series opener in a game that featured heavy offensive output from both sides.
Making his first start of the year for the Soddies was Jonatan Bernal who entered play with extraordinary numbers this year out of Amarillo’s bullpen. The righty worked around a one-out walk in the first to post a scoreless frame and get his night off to a good start.
After each of the first two Sod Poodles collected base knocks to open the home first, Demetrio Crisantes stepped up to the dish, making his Double-A debut. The second baseman came through with a double down the left field line on a 1-2 pitch to plate a pair of runs and give Amarillo the early advantage.
Amarillo continued to rally in the first with Ben McLaughlin contributing an RBI single and Gavin Conticello shooting a fastball the other way for a two-out knock that brought home the fourth Soddies run of the inning.
Taylor Young tagged one to right field on the first pitch he had seen in a regular season game all year to put the Drillers on the board in the top of the second. Tulsa continued to chip away at the Amarillo lead after Elijah Hainline walked to open the fourth, stole second base, then later scored on Jake Gelof’s single up the middle to make it a 4-2 ballgame.
The visitors equalized and eventually took the lead just an inning later, using a walk, a catcher’s interference, and a sacrifice bunt combined with a throwing error to score the first of seven Tulsa runs in the inning. The Dodgers’ top-ranked prospect Josue De Paula singled to tie the game and Mike Sirota doubled to put the Drillers in front. The seven-run scoring spree was highlighted by a Zyhir Hope three-run blast to right-center.
Both squads traded homers as McLaughlin launched a two-run shot to bring Amarillo within three in the home fifth, but Hope doubled the Tulsa advantage in the top of the sixth with his second three-run homer of the night. Amarillo kept fighting however, posting a two-run sixth inning on a Jansel Luis bases-loaded walk and a Druw Jones run-scoring single that deflected off the pitcher.
A bright spot in the final innings was Manuel Pena slugging his Minor League Baseball-leading 21st home run of the season, a solo shot to left in the eighth inning, but Tulsa added another tally to cap the scoring and tag Amarillo with the 13-9 defeat on Tuesday night.
POSTGAME NOTES
LUIS YOURSELF: Extending his hit streak to 12 games this evening was Jansel Luis...the 12-game stretch now stands alone as the longest stretch by a Sod Poodle this season...over the span, he is batting .375 (18x48) with 10 runs, four XBH, eight RBI and a .986 OPS.
NICE DEMET YOU: Checking in with his first career hit as a Sod Poodle tonight was Demetrio Crisantes...he is the first batter in club history to record 2+ RBI and 2+ BB in their Soddies debut.