Alexander Suarez blasts Emeralds past Spokane

Editors Note: The City of Eugene voted against the $15 million bond measure to fund a multi-use facility at the fairgrounds. This story was written in lieu of the unfortunate news.

“This is obviously very discouraging,” Emeralds General Manager Allan Benavides said. “We are going to need to regroup with Lane County and MLB to determine the next steps in light of this news.”

EUGENE, OR — Jeremiah Knackstedt emerged from the first-base dugout, the Emeralds manager back to his buoyant self after a two-week 3-9 stretch of anguish.

He slapped hands, he laughed, he smiled. It felt good to win again — especially at home.

Of late, the Emeralds have been punished by all sorts of troubles, most notably the big inning. Tuesday was a welcomed blip from the norm as the Ems (22-17) rode two homers from Alexander Suarez in their 12-5 win over Spokane

The Emeralds exploded for five runs in the second inning, keyed by a three-run blast by Suarez. It nulled a short-lived tie in which — for the only time Tuesday night — Victor Juarez evaded trouble. And then they turned the keys over to starting pitcher Seth Lonsway, getting a strong three-run, five-inning start from the Ohio-born southpaw.

The five-run explosion in the second, however, proved to be the most important Tuesday. The win pushed the Ems back within a half-game of first place in the Northwest Division

The second-inning onslaught began quickly, with Andrew Kachel and Zach Morgan reaching base via free passes.

The Emeralds jumped all over Juarez after that.

Suarez’s homer was followed by a pair of knocks from Quinn McDaniel and Diego Velasquez, the latter’s double made the lead four.

Then, newcomer Rodolfo Nolasco’s sac-fly added on another, Juarez’s two-inning outing ending with the most crooked of numbers.

The big lead allowed Lonsway to throw 71 mostly stress-free pitches as he struck out four and underpinned his 3.35 ERA.

In his next at-bat, Suarez added on for good measure, hammering his third homer of the season. Suarez’s pair of blasts were more than welcome with the Venezuelan-born outfielder beginning the year 11-50.

From there, Lonsway’s job was easy: fill up the strike zone, limit damage and pitch as deep as possible in a start that included four hits, no walks and few legitimate threats from the Indians (21-15).

No, the second wasn't the only inning with Eugene dominance. A four-run fourth put the game — which was close for a bit following Robby Martin Jr.’s three-run blast — out of reach. Turner Hill turned a baseball and turned the contest on its head, pulling a heater down the first-base line for a three-run double.

Seth Corry and Cam Cotter went the rest of the way for the Ems, both pitchers allowing one run apiece.

Short hops

The Emeralds’ first seven runs scored were all driven in by Venezuelan-born players.

Both of Martin Jr.’s home runs hit off the player development center in right.

Seven of nine Ems tallied base-hits.

An eighth-inning diving grab in left only punctuated Suarez’s career game.