Ems Complete Sweep On Homer-Filled Father’s Day

Sweep, complete. Backed by four homers from four different players, the Eugene Emeralds (26-15) finished off a six-game sweep of the Hillsboro Hops (16-24) by a final score of 7-5 on Sunday evening at PK Park.

THE DETAILS:

• Winning Pitcher: John Timmins (2-0, 4.00 ERA): 1.0 IP | 0 H | 0 R | 1 BB | 2 K

• Losing Pitcher: Nick Snyder (1-3, 6.28 ERA): 0.2 IP | 2 H | 4 R | 4 ER | 3 BB | 2 K

• Save: Chris Wright (3): 1.0 IP | 1 H | 0 R | 1 BB | 2 K

• HR(s): Eugene: Franklin Labour (6), Armani Smith (1), Brandon Martorano (2), Will Wilson (8) | Hillsboro: Andy Yerzy (6), Tristin Engligh (1)

HOW IT HAPPENED: Looking to secure just the second six-game sweep in the High-A West this season, the Emeralds took the diamond on Sunday as Los Monarcas de Eugene as part of Minor League Baseball’s Copa de la Diversión initiative.

Hillsboro struck first for just the second time this series when Andy Yerzy teed off with an opposite field blast in the top of the second, a solo shot that caromed off the roof in right to put the visitors up early, 1-0.

The early lead for the visitors lasted only a matter of minutes, though, as Eugene’s Franklin Labor mashed an absolute no-doubter up-and-over the scoreboard in left field in the bottom of the inning, a solo homer that tied the game at 1-1 and was his third four-bagger in the past four games.

In the fourth, Tristin English joined the home run derby with his first homer of the season, the third solo homer of the day between both sides, to put the Hops back in front, 2-1. Later in the fourth, with Andy Yerzy on third after drawing a walk and advancing two bases thanks to two Hillsboro groundouts, Tra Holmes brought him home with an RBI single to score the first run of the day that didn’t come via a homer, stretching Hillsboro’s lead to 3-1.

Yet again, though, the Emeralds would instantly respond. In the home half of the fourth, Armani Smith stepped up and quickly left the yard, lasering a solo homer to left that exited PK Park in a hurry, his first home run as an Emerald.

That was all the offense either side could muster until the seventh, though, when the Emeralds finally retook the lead – a lead that they would not surrender.

Hillsboro’s Nick Snyder entered aiming to put his most recent appearance in the rear-view mirror after allowing four runs without retiring a single Emeralds batter on Thursday. Snyder was indeed able to record an out this time around – two, in fact – but yet again he put up a crooked number in the ‘runs allowed’ category.

After issuing back-to-back walks to Tyler Fitzgerald and Labour to start the inning, Snyder secured back-to-back strikeouts to put him one out away from pitching a scoreless frame and maintaining Hillsboro’s 3-2 lead. Emeralds catcher Brandon Martorano had no such plans, though, mashing a three-run homer the opposite way on an 0-1 count to put the Emeralds back in front, 5-3, with just his second round-tripper of the season.

Will Wilson added to the Eugene lead in the ensuing at-bat with his eighth homer of the season and Eugene’s fourth overall home run of the day, going back-to-back with Martorano to make it 6-3 after seven innings.

The Hops got one back in the eighth when a passed ball by Martorano allowed Spencer Brickhouse to score, but Eugene responded once more in the bottom half thanks to a Heath Quinn RBI single that scored Armani Smith on what was Quinn’s first RBI since joining the Emeralds during the week prior.

Hillsboro tacked on one more in the ninth thanks to a Buddy Kennedy RBI single, but it was too little, too late against closer Chris Wright who picked up a pair of strikeouts to secure a 7-5 win and seal the six-game sweep for the Emeralds, just the second six-game sweep in the High-A West this season.

Eugene starter Conner Nurse worked 5.0 innings while allowing three earned runs and tallying five strikeouts. Travis Perry and John Timmins both worked a scoreless inning apiece out of the ‘pen with each also striking out a pair of Hops batters.

PEAK PERFORMERS:

• Franklin Labour – CF: Making his first start of the season in center field, Labour once again looked like the slugger that terrorized the Northwest League in 2019. Franklin finished the day 1-for-2 with two walks, two runs scored and a solo homer.

• Armani Smith – RF: Back-to-back quality days at the plate for the recent addition from San Jose. Smith went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and the solo homer on Sunday.

• Brandon Martorano – C: B-Mart was big time on Sunday, coming through with the go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh while going 1-for-2 with two walks and throwing out a would-be base runner at second.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Emeralds enjoy an off day on Monday before starting a six-game series on Tuesday against the Vancouver Canadians. First pitch between the Ems and C’s is scheduled for 7:05pm PST at PK Park.

You can listen live to all the action with the voice of the Emeralds Matt Dompe on the call via 95.3FM The Score, via MiLB.com or on the MiLB app, and you can also watch all the action live on MiLB.tv.

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