Hops Take A Losing Walk Down Robson Street
VANCOUVER, B.C.- On a night where fireworks were exploding all over Vancouver, the Hillsboro Hops could not light the fuse on another late-inning comeback.
The Hops (6-6 2nd half, 17-33 overall) fell to the Canadians 8-2 Saturday to even their series at two games apiece. Over 5,000 fans stuck around for a postgame fireworks show as larger explosions took place nearer downtown at Vancouver's Celebration Of Light festival.
With starting pitcher Jose Martinez sidelined after leaving his last start early with shoulder tightness, Blake Forslund (1-1) made his first start for the Hops after five relief appearances. Forslund battled location issues early on, giving up three runs in the first two innings before settling in to retire seven straight batters heading into the fifth inning.
Meanwhile, Vancouver (6-6, 28-22) starting pitcher Tom Robson (1-0), a native of nearby Ladner, B.C., made his home debut a memorable one. Robson surrendered a run in the first inning after Hops' outfielder Brian Billigen belted a double off the wall in right, later scoring on a double play grounder. Robson just got stronger as the game went along. After giving up a pair of hits in a scoreless second inning, the former 4th-round draft pick retired 11 straight batters, recording four of his final five outs with strikeouts in his second start since being promoted from Bluefield in the Appalachian League.
The Canadians added three runs in the fifth and pulled away with two more runs in the seventh inning. Chaz Frank went 2-for-2 with a double, triple, two runs scored and an RBI. L.B. Dantzler returned to the lineup two days after taking an Aaron Blair fastball off the foot to go 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Andy Fermin added two hits, two runs and two RBI in four plate appearances.
Canadians relievers Matt Dermody and Justin James combined to strike out eight Hops batters in the final three innings as the three Canadians pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts and just one base on balls.
Hillsboro's Randy McCurry, playing second base for the fourth time in five games, went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. George Roberts added a double for the Hops, who outhit the Canadians 9-to-7 but saw Vancouver take advantage of five walks and two errors to take a 5-4 edge in the season series.
The teams meet for the final time in the regular season at 1:05 p.m. Sunday. Hear all the live action on Fox Sports Radio 620 and foxsportsradio620.com beginning with the pregame show at 12:35 p.m. Fox Sports Radio will also air the Northwest League All-Star Game on Tuesday, with coverage beginning at 6:35 p.m. Four Hops players-outfielders Yogey Perez-Ramos and Zach Esquerra and relief pitchers Will Locante and Daniel Gibson-have been selected to play on the South Division squad.