Drey Day! Jameson Fans 11 As Hops Win Another Thriller
Once again Drey Jameson pitched well enough to win a ballgame and on this night that was enough. The Diamondbacks' first-round draft pick out of Ball State University, making his 20th professional appearance, fanned a career-high 11 batters in six innings and the Hillsboro Hops gave him just enough offense
Once again
The Diamondbacks' first-round draft pick out of Ball State University, making his 20th professional appearance, fanned a career-high 11 batters in six innings and the Hillsboro Hops gave him just enough offense to eke out a 3-2 victory over the Eugene Emeralds at P.K. Park Saturday night. It was Jameson's first professional win after a frustrating 0-4 start to the season.
It was also the fifth consecutive one-run game of the week as the Hops (31-38) took a 3-2 series lead heading into Sunday's finale. Never before have the Hops played five straight games decided by one run.
The only run the hard-throwing Hoosier allowed came on a leadoff home run by Ems catcher
Leading 3-1, there were plenty of tense moments to come as the Emeralds (40-30) put the leadoff runner aboard in the seventh and eighth innings, scoring a run in the eighth and putting the tying run in scoring position with nobody out. But Hillsboro reliever
Coursey went 2-for-3 with a walk,
The Hops outhit the Emeralds for the fifth straight night and will look to pick up another game on the High-A West League's second place team as they try to clinch the series Sunday. Hillsboro currently trails Eugene by 8 1/2 games in the standings in the race for a postseason berth.
Jameson breezed through the first inning on six pitches, but Genoves greeted him rudely in the second. It was the tenth home run of the season for the former Northwest League All-Star catcher, his fourth of the season with the Ems after a half-dozen earlier this season at low-A San Jose. The Emeralds hit four balls hard in the inning, but after Coursey fielded
The Hops put a runner at second base with none out in each of the first two innings, but could not score. Eugene starting pitcher
In the fifth, the Hops broke the tie when Ruiz lined a base hit up the middle, went to second on a walk to , Canzone, then scored on
Aldrete walked off Rodriguez to lead off the seventh, but was thrown out by Yerzy trying to steal. In the eighth,
Lewis made quick work of the Emeralds in the ninth. A starter in 2019 at Visalia, he had struggled out of the pen at AA Amarillo before coming to the Hops, but has now put together three consecutive scoreless, hitless outings.
Blake Walston will take the mound Sunday for the first time since his brilliant Tuesday night performance, when he struck out 11 batters and allowed just two hits and a walk over eight innings in a series-opening 3-2 win. Game time is 5:05 p.m. in Eugene with pregame airtime at 4:50 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 AM.