‘The Tanimal’ hits big in RoughRiders’ 10-4 win over Amarillo
Nick Tanielu's two home runs in the fifth and a strong outing from Jack Leiter delivered Frisco back-to-back wins.
FRISCO — Nick Tanielu said it felt like he blacked out in the fifth inning.
The 30-year-old first baseman — now being called “The Tanimal” by his teammates — may not have been fully aware of what happened, but assuredly everyone else at Riders Field on Wednesday night was.
Leading off the order in the fifth, the scoreboard was blank. Just as he did the day before, Tanielu launched a solo homer to left field to start scoring.
Then, Tanielu sat, waited and watched as his teammates piled on run after run. An Evan Carter triple here, a Dustin Harris double there until he was right back in the batter's box. Tanielu sat on two pitches before taking a big swing at a changeup.
The ball landed some 370 feet later for Tanielu’s second homer of the inning.
Tanielu bookended fifth-inning scoring with his home runs in what resulted in a seven-hit, eight-run inning for the Riders. It was more than enough to help deliver a 10-4 victory for Frisco (15-19) over Amarillo (15-20).
“Pretty special,” Tanielu told JR Sports TX. “It was a weird moment where I knew it was happening, but when it happened I was like, blacked out.”
Jack Leiter took the mound on Wednesday with plenty of momentum going his way. He entered the game going 13 straight innings without conceding an earned run. Before the night was done he would get the streak all the way to 18 innings.
The Rangers’ No. 2 overall pick in 2021 is in the midst of the best stretch of his career. Over the last three games he’s thrown 17 IP, 9 H, 4 R 3 ER, 6 BB, 25 K.
Leiter would go six innings, striking out 10 batters — all swinging — walking one and allowing three runs. It was about as dominant as Leiter has been in the first five innings, giving up a single and nothing else.
“Overall feeling good, feels like things are going in the right direction,” Leiter said. “Hopefully we can get on a roll here.”
The evening wasn’t perfect. For the second consecutive game the Riders lost their starting catcher early. Scott Kapers left in the first inning of Tuesday’s game with a hand injury. Cooper Johnson was forced to exit Wednesday’s matchup after getting his chin cut open on a foul ball that knocked his mask loose.
Manager Carlos Cardoza told JR Sports TX that Kapers won’t miss any extended time and he should be back in the lineup in the coming days. Johnson will be available as soon as Thursday.
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Liam Hicks was called upon in both circumstances and helped Tekoah Roby and Leiter deliver some of their best outings of the season.
“It goes right in line with one of our themes of being ready to play,” Cardoza said. “To be able to put two back-to-back outings behind the plate good [and] catching Jack tonight says a lot about him.”
The Sod Poodles broke through in the sixth with a trio of two-out hits, the last of which was a three-run shot to right from Caleb Roberts. Although that final inning will leave a bit of a sour taste, it was another step for Leiter’s sophomore pro season.
The bullpen got through the remainder of the game, with Alex Speas and Antoine Kelly pitching clean innings. Amarillo got to John Matthews in the eighth, tagging a run on a Ryan Bliss double.
Frisco responded in the bottom of the frame with a pair of runs, with Harris taking advantage of an error and Trevor Hauver sneaking an RBI-single.
The Riders’ offense worked big at the end of the night to support the pitching staff. Coming off of being swept by Wichita, Frisco is finding consistency with its first back-to-back wins since April 30 and May 2.
“Last series was tough for everybody,” Tanielu said. “Maybe woke some guys up. But this is a good team.”