Amarillo Blanks RockHounds to Move Into First Place
MIDLAND, TX (May 26, 2026) -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (24-21) defeated the Midland RockHounds (24-22), 2-0, on Tuesday night at Momentum Bank Ballpark. Athletics No. 4 prospect Wei-En Lin lost a pitcher’s duel to Ashton Izzi and the Sod Poodles, who needed just one swing of the bat from
MIDLAND, TX (May 26, 2026) -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (24-21) defeated the Midland RockHounds (24-22), 2-0, on Tuesday night at Momentum Bank Ballpark. Athletics No. 4 prospect Wei-En Lin lost a pitcher’s duel to Ashton Izzi and the Sod Poodles, who needed just one swing of the bat from Manuel Pena to move into first place in the Texas League South.
Coming off an outing of seven shutout innings in his last game against Amarillo on May 2, Lin was just as successful to start, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Jansel Luis finally got the Soddies into the hit column with a two-out single, bringing Pena to the plate.
Having hit a warning-track flyout in his previous at-bat in the fourth, the confines of Momentum Bank Ballpark could not contain the charge Pena put into a knee-high, first-pitch fastball as a go-ahead, two-run home run landed beyond the left-center field wall.
Manuel Pena has Nineteen Home Runs.
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) May 27, 2026
It is May 26th...#EmbraceTheAnimal pic.twitter.com/I7USzOis9l
On the other side, Izzi was everything the doctor ordered for Amarillo in a crucial series opener. The Diamondbacks No. 18 prospect turned in the best start of the season by an Amarillo pitcher, shutting out the RockHounds on four hits and a walk in just the fourth instance of a Sod Poodle completing six frames on the mound in 2026.
Amarillo called upon Jonatan Bernal to enter in relief in the bottom of the seventh inning, and rode the right-hander for the final three frames. After issuing a walk to the first batter he faced, Bernal was dominant for the rest of his nine-out save.
Bernal did not allow another baserunner for the rest of the game and struck out a season-high six batters, fanning the last five RockHounds for his first save of the year. The Sod Poodles moved 0.5 games in front of Midland, securing at least a share of first place in the division ahead of Wednesday’s game.
"First Place, Amarillo Sod Poodles" has a nice ring to it 😏#EmbraceTheAnimal pic.twitter.com/eKDbxX0i9F
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) May 27, 2026
POSTGAME NOTES
HOUSE OF PENA: Manuel Pena’s go-ahead two-run shot in the top of the sixth inning was his 10th homer in the month of May, setting a new franchise record for home runs in a calendar month...Pena broke his own record that he set after hitting nine long balls in April of this year.
BERN NOTICE: Jonatan Bernal is now responsible for the two most recent nine-out saves for the Sod Poodles, last achieving the feat on August 21 last season....tonight’s performance was the only hitless save of at least three innings in franchise history.