Dylan Rock Show Sends Hops To 2nd Straight L

It was a duel of tough lefties on the mound Wednesday night, but a low-scoring affair went to the Great White North after the Hops' season record dropped south of .500

Dylan Rock scored a run and drove in a run and that accounted for all of the scoring in a 2-0 Vancouver victory over Hillsboro (2-3) at Nat Bailey Stadium.

The defending Northwest League champion Canadians (2-3) have won the first two games of the six-game series after losing all three in their first series of the season.

Kendry Rojas (1-0) made his high-A debut for Vancouver, tossing five scoreless innings. The tenth-ranked Toronto Blue Jays prospect according to MLB Pipeline limited Hillsboro to just one clean single in the first and a borderline infield hit in the second, walking one and hitting one while striking out four.

Rock staked his squad to the lead in the third inning when his sharply hit leadoff single bounced past left fielder Brett Johnson for an error. Hillsboro lefty Spencer Giesting (0-1)--a veteran of 24 starts in 2023--retired the next two batters, but light-hitting second baseman Estiven Machado broke the scoreless tie. Machado hit a sharp grounder past the diving shortstop Juan Corniel to give Vancouver a 1-0 advantage.

The Hops threatened looked ready to respond in the fourth when Christian Cerda drew a leadoff walk and David Martin scorched a grounder to the right side. But first baseman Brennan Orf made a fine diving snag to rob Martin of a potential extra-base hit. Cerda would stall at second after Kevin Sim flied out to shallow center and Gavin Conticello bounced out to Orf.

Hillsboro would put just one runner on base the rest of the way as three Vancouver relievers combined to retire 15 of the final 16 batters, the lone blemish a Brett Johnson leadoff single in the eighth. Johnson wouldn't move as Chay Yeager set down the next three batters on six pitches and Anders Tolhurst tossed a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout for the save.

Giesting lasted four innings in his 2024 debut, allowing just two hits and one unearned run, while striking out five with two walks. Vancouver plated an insurance run in the sixth on Rock's two-out RBI double, a ball that could have been caught at the warning track.

The Canadians outhit the Hops 6-to-3 in by far the quickest game of the season for Hillsboro (2:14).

The teams get back on the field Thursday for the final night game of the series. Thursday's game will not air on radio. A live stream will be provided. Check the Hops website for details. The remaining three games of the series will be 1:05 p.m. starts.