Tri-City Walks Off Hillsboro to Open Series
PASCO – 2B Adrian Placencia played the hero Tuesday night for the Tri-City Dust Devils (28-36), ending an 0-for-25 slump by pounding a grounder inside the first-base bag and down the right field line for a walk-off double that gave the home nine a 3-2 win over the Hillsboro Hops
PASCO – 2B Adrian Placencia played the hero Tuesday night for the Tri-City Dust Devils (28-36), ending an 0-for-25 slump by pounding a grounder inside the first-base bag and down the right field line for a walk-off double that gave the home nine a 3-2 win over the Hillsboro Hops (33-31) at Gesa Stadium.
Lefty reliever Dylan Phillips (2-1) came in with two outs in the top of the 9th in a 2-2 tie, inheriting a potential go-ahead run at third. Phillips induced a groundball up the middle, where SS Arol Vera grabbed it and threw to first to get the out and keep the game tied. 1B Ryan Nicholson then led off the bottom of the 9th by drawing a walk from Hillsboro reliever Joangel Rodriguez (0-1). 3B Matt Coutney then singled behind him, putting Nicholson as the potential winning run at second with no one out. Placencia initially squared to lay down a sacrifice bunt, attempting twice but sending two foul before the game-winning hit that ended the Dust Devils’ three-game losing streak.
Tri-City’s first two runs came in on a two-run home run by RF Randy De Jesus with two outs in the bottom of the 4th. The slugging righty hit a high and deep fly to left in his first at-bat that the wind knocked down on the warning track for a flyout. He responded by taking it lower his second go, piercing the southerly breeze for his tenth home run of the season. Hops SS Cristofer Torin had brought in the first run of the game an inning before on a sacrifice fly.
DUST DEVILS NOTES
-Starter Chris Cortez left the game in line to get both his second professional win and his second win over Hillsboro in 2025, going five-plus innings and giving up a run on four hits. The righty, who throws pitches with incredible movement, walked five Hops and struck out six in another solid outing. Reliever Jake Smith threw two scoreless and hitless frames, and Najer Victor rallied to keep the game tied after a wild pitch allowed the tying run to score in the 8th.
-Randy De Jesus (2-for-3, 2-R HR) and Matt Coutney (2-for-3, BB) put together multi-hit games for the Dust Devils, with Ryan Nicholson singling in the 1st inning.
-The Tri-City win eliminated Hillsboro from the Northwest League First Half playoff race, leaving only Vancouver and Everett in the chase. The Canadians won their 11th straight game by downing Eugene 12-8 at PK Park, staying one game ahead of the AquaSox following their 5-1 win at Spokane. Everett holds the tiebreaker between the clubs, with Vancouver’s magic number to clinch a playoff stop now at two.
JUST ANOTHER WEENIE WEDNESDAY
Tri-City and Hillsboro meet for game two of their six-game series at 7:05 p.m. tonight at Gesa Stadium, where it’s Weenie Wednesday presented by Vern’s Food Service. $2.50 hot dogs can be enjoyed all game long at the main concession stands on the first and third base sides.
Right-hander Ryan Johnson (1-2, 2.96 ERA), coming off his first professional win as a starting pitcher, toes the slab for the Dust Devils. Righty Casey Anderson (3-5, 6.00 ERA) gets the nod for the Hops.
Free broadcast coverage (video in the MiLB Zone of Bally Sports Live, audio at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB app) begins with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 6:45 p.m.
For tickets to tonight’s game, and for all 2025 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.