Time Runs Out on Hops

BOX SCORE

VANCOUVER, B.C. --- Vancouver scored four runs in the bottom of the third on Wednesday night at Nat Bailey Stadium, and made them stand up in a 4-2 win over the Hillsboro Hops. DH Jarrod Watkins singled home two for Hillsboro in the top of the fourth to cut the lead in half, but the Hops couldn’t muster a hit the remainder of the game. Then, in the ninth inning, Watkins was left standing at home plate, having struck out on a pitch clock violation to end the game.

Hops catcher Caleb Roberts led off the ninth inning with a walk, bringing up Neyfy Castillo, representing the tying run. Castillo scorched a hard grounder back up the middle, but right at the second baseman Francisco Fajardo, who started an easy 4-3 double play. Watkins came up against Justin Kelly and worked the count to 2-2. The new pitch clock rules state that the batter has to be in the batter’s box and alert to the pitcher by the nine-second mark on the clock, and plate umpire Sean Sparling ruled on the next pitch that Watkins was not. The penalty? A strike. In this case, strike three; game over.

Vancouver plated their first run on a first-and-third double steal. Fajardo and Steward Berroa singled to start the third inning, and with runners at the corners and one out, Berroa broke for second. When Roberts threw to second, Fajardo scampered home. Then, with two out, Damiano Palmegiani belted a two-run home run to left-center to make it 3-0. Riley Tirotta followed with a walk, and Garrett Spain tripled him home to increase the lead to 4-0.

Hillsboro answered in top of the fourth. Ryan Bliss walked, A.J. Vukovich had an infield single, and the runners moved up a base on Castillo’s ground out. Watkins then hit a seeing-eye ground ball off the glove of the diving Fajardo, scoring two.

Hillsboro would not get another hit, nor would they get another runner into scoring position, the rest of the night. Canadians starter Sem Robberse (4-4), making his fourth start against the Hops this year, got the win, allowing just two runs on four hits over six innings. Naswell Paulino worked a perfect seventh, Mark Simon pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, and Kelly worked the ninth to pick up his first save. Hops starter Luke Albright, who had pitched seven shutout innings against Eugene in his last start, pitched four-plus innings, allowing seven hits and four runs, all earned. He took the loss to fall to 5-5.

Berroa stole four bases, matching the most ever by a Hops opposing player in a single game. (Carlos Herrera of Boise had stolen four bases in one game against the Hops back in 2015.)

Hillsboro (8-9) has fallen 2-1/2 games behind first-place Vancouver (10-6) in the second-half playoff race.

The third game of the six-game series will be Thursday night at 7:05PM, with airtime at 6:50 on Rip City Radio 620AM and www.RipCityRadio.com.