Soddies Lose a Seesaw of a Game as Robinson Blasts Off
The Sod Poodles dropped their first extra inning game of 2025, losing a seesaw of a game against the San Antonio Missions 13-11 in 10 innings . After winning the first two games of the series, Wednesday night’s contest saw an unexpected scoring spree with two really good pitchers on the mound. There was at least one run scored in every inning up until the ninth.
Well it turns out Spencer Giesting is human. The Amarillo southpaw struggled for the first time in 2025 against San Antonio on Wednesday. The Missions would jump on Giesting early for 3 straight singles before he could get an out. The Missions would draw first blood when Romeo Sanabria ripped a single to drive in a run and make it 1-0 early. Joshua Mears blasted his first homer of the year in the second inning to double the San Antonio lead after Braden Nett gave them a scoreless first inning.
Amarillo would strike back after recent additions, Ivan Melendez and Manuel Pena picked up hits in their second consecutive games to start their season. They would not be left stranded, as the scolding hot Andy Weber delivered a RBI single bringing them both home. Weber has torched the baseball in the series so far, going 7/11 with 8 RBI since returning from Frisco. As was the theme for last night’s contest, every time the Sod Poodles would throw a punch, San Antonio would swing right back. The swing in this case was a Marcos Castanon single that drove in a run to give San Antonio back the lead almost immediately to make it 3-2 Missions. It didn’t stay like that for long, Sod Poodles catcher Christian Cerda ripped a 104 MPH double to the left field corner. In the 4th Amarillo would land a jab, with a LuJames Groover doubling in a run. Groover has cooled off since the start of the season after injuring his hand on a swing, but the Sod Poodle third basemen knows that this isn’t a game of consistent success, “It’s baseball, sometimes you’re right and a lot of the time you’re wrong I mean It’s a hard game. You just have to try not to let it get to you, you have to accept those failures and what’s going to happen with it.” Groover said pregame on Thursday, “Just stay even keel, not every game is going to be a good game but if I am as consistent as I can be I can let everything else take care of itself.”
The Missions would counter with their best inning against Giesting since the first, logging a pair of doubles form Devin Ortiz and Moises Gomez to cut the lead to 6-4 before knocking out Giesting after pitching: 5 IP / 9 H / 5 R-ER / 1 BB / 4 K on 88 pitches and 59 strikes (67%). Logan Clayton would struggle this outing. The Sod Poodles right-handed reliever would give up 3 earned runs in just one inning pitched and surrendered 5 baserunners in that inning. Mears would leave the yard for the second time on the night. Marcos Castanon would give San Antonio the lead with his third hit of the night, and one of his 4 RBI.
Christian Cerda would answer back and pick up a RBI double (his second of the night) to cut the San Antonio lead. Despite the loss the final innings was the Kristian Robinson show. Robinson injected some life into Hodgetown with his team leading 4th home run so far this season. The Sod Poodles outfielder would try his best to do it again in the tenth, ripping a RBI double off the wall.The Missions would create some distance in the 10th when Jose Acuna tanked a 3-Run shot to give San Antonio a lead that they would not give up again.
Probable Pitchers
Roman Angelo – Right Handed Pitcher
Roman Angelo just missed the Missions in their first series, catching the Springfield Cardinals twice. Fly balls at Hodgetown don’t exactly mix and in his first two starts is perfect evidence of that. Angelo allowed 18 runs in his previous two starts against Springfield and gave up 7 home runs in the process. Something was different about the Diamondbacks #26 prospect in his last start. He was deliberate to the plate and getting ahead early, landing his slider and the changeup was electric. The Sod Poodles right-hander tossed 6.1 innings, while allowing only 1 earned run, striking out 6 with 2 walks against a Roughrider offense that was coming in hot. Undrafted out of Fresno State Angelo brings an arsenal highlight by his fastball, that has gained over 3 MPH (93-94) since starting pro ball, a great changeup that had a 51% whiff rate in 2024, a sinker, cutter, curveball, and a slider that will usually be his third best weapon.
EVT’s Diego Garcia on Jackson Wolf
Ranked as high as the Padres’ No. 16 prospect back in 2023, Jackson Wolf is an arm who has logged plenty of miles and experience since the start of that season. Wolf has been promoted, traded, DFA’d, and re-acquired over the last 24 months. Despite this, the 26-year old left-hander is still an arm that has some potential. Despite being 6-foot-7, the former West Virginia starter doesn’t light up the radar gun as would be expected, instead sitting 89-92 mph on his fastball. However, it isn’t an ordinary 89-92, as Wolf used his long frame to generate elite extension. When tracked at the Triple-A level in 2024, Wolf generated 7.4 feet of extension of the mound. Pair that with his winding delivery that looks like it is in slow-motion, and it is an uncomfortable at-bat for opposing batters. Wolf’s breaking pitches are his major calling card, as his slider and curveball generate whiffs in bunches; in 2024, Wolf’s slider had a 45.2% whiff rate on swings against, while the curve was at a 37% whiff rate. The left-hander has been the definition of rock solid for the Missions this season, as he has tossed 10 scoreless innings in his last two starts, striking out 12 in that span against zero walks. Matter of fact, Wolf has yet to allow a walk this season in four outings. While Wolf has one career Major League outing on his resume (July 22, 2023 vs Detroit), he has yet to return to the Majors since then, and his strong start to the season could see him in line for Major League time yet again. While Wolf’s prospect lustre may have diminished since then, the left-hander is still one of the more intriguing arms in the Padres organization. Wolf last faced Amarillo on Opening Weekend, allowing no runs in a scoreless inning of relief.
