Dust Devils Doubled Up Again by Hops

HILLSBORO – The Tri-City Dust Devils (25-32 2H, 60-63) and Hillsboro Hops (27-30 2H, 59-64) returned to their less wild regulation ball Thursday night, while the score returned to Tuesday night in a 4-2 win for the home team at Hops Ballpark.

Neither team scored in the first four innings, with strong early performances from both Yeferson Vargas (3-11) of Tri-City and High-A debutant Dean Livingston of Hillsboro. The Dust Devils first broke through in the top of the 5^th, beginning with 2B Capri Ortiz lining a ball to left with one out. Hops LF Yerald Nin attempted a sliding catch, but the ball hit the turf in front of him and bounced over, giving Ortiz time to sprint for a triple. C Alberto Rios then came to the plate and hit a hard grounder with a drawn-in infield that deflected off 3B Yassel Soler’s glove into shallow left for an RBI single. Though a hustling Nin got to the ball and threw Rios out at second in his attempt at a double, the visitors led 1-0.

The bottom of the 6^th proved to be Vargas’s undoing, with the righty perhaps running out of steam late in his outing. He walked the bases loaded with no one out, putting the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at second. RF Jakey Josepha then doubled to the gap in right-center, plating two for a 2-1 Hillsboro lead. 1B Kenny Castillo added a sac fly and DH Chris Katz a second double, and the Hops led 4-1 by the time the inning ended.

Tri-City added a run off reliever Kyle Ayers (6-7), a piggybacked starter covering the final four innings, in the top of the 8^th. Rios walked to get it started, advancing to second on a groundout. SS Kendrey Maduro came up with two out and launched a ball to center off the wall for an RBI triple, scoring Rios and making it 4-2. The Dust Devils would get the potential tying runs in scoring position in the 9^th but could not get them home.

DUST DEVILS NOTES

-Thanks to Capri Ortiz and Kendrey Maduro, Tri-City had their third multi-triple game of the season. The last came August 2 at Eugene, when Jorge Ruiz tripled twice by himself in a Dust Devils win. The other came April 30 at home against Everett, with Ortiz and Dust Devil alum Caleb Bartolero in another victory for the club.

-Francis Texido and Jaren Warwick combined for three innings of scoreless relief with Texido, though allowing two of his inherited runners from Yeferson Vargas to score, getting three outs in the 6^th. Warwick threw two scoreless frames to cover the 7^th and 8^th innings.

-The Vancouver Canadians’ 8-1 win over the Spokane Indians at Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium pushed them seven games clear of Tri-City with nine games remaining in the Second Half. Everett walked off Eugene 12-10 at Everett Memorial Stadium to keep pace in the race. Though the math has grown more daunting, there remains a chance for the Dust Devils. They must gain at least one game this weekend and then sweep the Canadians at home next week, getting other results to go their way in the final week and a half.

THE WEEKEND WARRIORS

Tri-City and Hillsboro play game four of their six-game series at 6:35 p.m. Friday night at Hops Ballpark. Right-hander Peyton Olejnik (5-7, 4.50 ERA), who holds a 3-0 record against Hillsboro in 2026, toes the slab for the Dust Devils. The Hops will counter with righty Junior Ciprian (1-1, 5.16 ERA), who shut down Tri-City three weeks ago (6 IP, 0 R, 1H) for his so far lone High-A win.

Free broadcast coverage on the MiLB app and dustdevilsbaseball.com begins Friday night with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 6:15 p.m. Fans can also watch the game for free on Bally Sports Live (Hillsboro broadcast), and via subscription on MLB.tv and the MiLB app.

Tri-City will return to host the Vancouver Canadians for the final home series of the 2026 regular season September 1-6. For tickets to the Vancouver series, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.