Defensive Miscues And Seventh Inning Struggles See Ems Give One Away

What appeared at one time to be an eventual convincing win instead ultimately ended in frustrating defeat as the Eugene Emeralds (40-29) dropped Friday night’s affair against the Hillsboro Hops (30-38) by a final of 10-9 at PK Park.

THE DETAILS:

• Winning Pitcher: Kai-Wei Lin (1-0, 5.24 ERA): 1.0 IP | 0 H | 0 R | 0 BB | 2 K

• Losing Pitcher: Jasier Herrera (1-1, 5.11 ERA): 2.2 IP | 3 H | 2 R | 2 ER | 0 BB | 1 K

• Save: Yaramil Hiraldo (5)

• HR(s): Eugene: Roby (8), Fitzgerald (11) | Hillsboro: N/A

HOW IT HAPPENED: Friday marked the first time in four contests this week that the Emeralds struck first, and they did so right out of the chute in the first inning.

Ismael Munguia led off the bottom of the first by doubling off the short wall in right on the first pitch fired by Hillsboro starter Justin Vernia, and Munguia came home two batters later when Tyler Fitzgerald blooped a single to center field that scored the speedy Munguia and put the Emeralds up first, 1-0.

It became 3-0 one batter later when Sean Roby belted his eighth homer of the season, a 399-foot blast to left that put the Hops in a three-run hole after just one inning of play.

The Hops got one back in the ensuing inning starting with what was ‘technically’ ruled as a double by Eduardo Diaz who blooped a pop fly down the first base line that was misplayed by Ricardo Genovés who was making a rare start at first. Diaz was brought home to score one batter later on a ground-rule double by Reece Hampton that made it 3-1, and it almost became 3-2 two batters later after a wild sequence.

With Hampton still on second and one out, Nick Dalesandro skied a fly ball to right field that left Ems outfielder Franklin Labour twisting and turning aiming to make the play. The ball off of Dalesandro’s bat ricocheted in-and-out of Labour’s glove before falling to the PK Park turf where Labour struggled at first to get a handle on it, but Labour was able to recover just in time to relay the ball into the infield and ultimate nab Hampton at home plate to keep the score 3-1.

The Ems restored their three-run advantage in the bottom of the inning, and they added another for good measure, too.

Tyler Flores led off the inning with a double to right field on a full count, and Carter Aldrete drove him home moments later with a single to left that saw Flores score from second thanks to an aggressive green light from Emeralds manager and third base coach Dennis Pelfrey. Aldrete, who advanced to second on the throw home and then later moved to third on a Nick Dalesandro passed ball, came in to score two batters later on another first-pitch base knock by Ismael Munguia that made it 5-1.

The early-inning seesaw battle continued in the top of the third when Hillsboro cut their deficit in half with a pair of runs. Back-to-back singles by Axel Andueza and Jorge Barrosa led off the inning for the Hops at the plate, and after a slow-rolling groundout by Blaze Alexander advanced both runners ninety feet, they were both brought home on an Eduardo Diaz single to see Eugene’s lead trimmed to 5-3.

Bats for both sides went quiet in the fourth, but Eugene’s offense was heard from again in the fifth when they put up another crooked number.

Sean Roby led off the inning being hit by a pitch, and Ricardo Genovés followed in the next at-bat with a five-pitch walk to put runners at first and second. Franklin Labour followed with a double to the right-center field gap to score Roby and move Genovés to third, and both baserunners were brought home one batter later when Tyler Flores singled to center to plate the second and third Emeralds runs of the inning and push Eugene’s lead up to 8-3.

It stayed a comfortable margin for the Emeralds until the seventh when a five-run margin turned into a two-run deficit behind a seven-run outburst by the Hops.

Eugene left-hander Bryce Tucker entered out of the bullpen to start the seventh, but the southpaw was only able to muster a single out while allowing four singles and one double before being lifted with the Hops trailing 8-6 and with runners on first and third. In came Jasier Herrera out of the bullpen, but back-to-back infield singles saw the Hops tie the game at 8-8 before Roman Ruiz stepped up with two runners on and slapped a single to right field that brought home both base runners and put the Hops in front for the first time in the game, 10-8.

The Emeralds offense was held quiet until the ninth when Tyler Fitzgerald cut the deficit in half with a no-doubt solo shot to left to lead off the inning, his team-leading eleventh homer of the season, but the Ems went quietly thereafter as Hillsboro closer Yaramil Hiraldo got a groundout and back-to-back strikeouts to seal a 10-9 win for the visitors.

Friday’s game marked the fourth straight game to open the series that was decided by one run, with each team notching two wins this far.

Eugene’s bullpen suffered just their third loss of the season, still the fewest losses for a bullpen in all of Minor League Baseball, but Friday marked the second time in just over a week that the Emeralds ‘pen saw a large margin dissipate in just one inning after what was a ten-run eighth inning by Spokane last Thursday that turned a seven-run Eugene lead into a three-run deficit.

Emeralds starting pitcher Seth Corry lasted 4.0 innings with three strikeouts while allowing seven hits, three earned runs and three walks.

PEAK PERFORMERS:

• Tyler Fitzgerald – 2B: One of the steadiest contributors for the Emeralds all season long, Fitzy finished Friday night 2-for-5 at the plate with a solo homer, two RBIs and two runs scored.

• Carter Aldrete – 3B: Aldrete flashed the leather at third Friday night while also going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI, a run scored, and a walk.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Eugene Emeralds and Hillsboro Hops continue their six-game series at PK Park on Saturday evening. First pitch on Saturday between the Emeralds and Hops is slated for 7:05pm PST.

You can catch all the action on Friday with Matt Dompe on the call via MiLB.tv, 95.3FM The Score, MiLB.com or on the MiLB app.

Tickets to Emeralds home games are available at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or by calling (541) 342-5367.

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