New Look Dust Devils Fall to Hops in Opener
PASCO – A Tri-City Dust Devils (17-20 2H, 52-51) lineup imbued with new and youthful energy found a trio of hits and a pair of runs, but not enough to get by the Hillsboro Hops (16-21 2H, 48-55) in a 7-2 win for the visitors Tuesday night at Gesa Stadium.
PASCO – A Tri-City Dust Devils (17-20 2H, 52-51) lineup imbued with new and youthful energy found a trio of hits and a pair of runs, but not enough to get by the Hillsboro Hops (16-21 2H, 48-55) in a 7-2 win for the visitors Tuesday night at Gesa Stadium.
Between Sunday’s win at Eugene and Tuesday night’s first pitch 19 roster moves took place, with seven players joining Tri-City from Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and an eighth coming from a trade with the Chicago Cubs. Four players moved on to Double-A Rocket City, and five were released by the parent club Los Angeles Angels.
All the movement gave the lineup a different look with CF Hayden Alvarez, LF Kevyn Castillo and SS Kendrey Maduro playing their first game as Dust Devils. Whether new or veteran Tri-City hitters, though, righty Hillsboro starter Junior Ciprian (1-0) made it difficult, not giving up a hit until Alvarez singled through the left side with two outs in the 6th for his first High-A hit. Though the Hops hurler walked five in six innings, he held the home nine scoreless in getting the win.
Tri-City starter Zach Redner (3-3) posted two scoreless innings but gave up a pair of runs in a three-hit 3rd inning burst that gave Hillsboro a 2-0 lead. The righty then struggled with control in the 4th, walking the first three batters he faced. A sacrifice fly, a fielder’s choice and a double later all three had scored, pushing the Hops’ advantage to 5-0. Redner went 3.1 innings, giving up the five runs on four hits, walking five and striking out three.
A two-run bottom of the 8th would give the Dust Devils some life, aiding by a pair of Hillsboro throwing errors. DH Adrian Placencia laid down a bunt single, with a wild throw giving him time to get to second, and 2B Capri Ortiz reached on the second error. C Peter Burns took advantage of the situation with runners and second and third with no outs, getting Placencia in on an RBI groundout. RF Jorge Ruiz’s RBI single brought Ortiz in, making it at the time a 6-2 game. The Hops added a run in the 9th and then set down the home side in order to finish the game out.
DUST DEVILS NOTES
-Ruiz’s single extended his hit streak to 11 games. The lefty leadoff man had a 13-game hit streak earlier in the second half and looks to set a new high bar in upcoming games. 1B Ryan Nicholson walked in his first plate appearance, making it now 16 games in a row that he has reached base.
-Lefty Francis Texido threw 2.2 scoreless innings of relief behind Redner, scorelessly bridging the middle of the game. The bullpen has suited the southpaw well, with Texido going 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA since shifting into a relief role.
-Reliever Jaren Warwick, also coming from Rancho Cucamonga, made his Dust Devils debut by giving up only an unearned run in 1.2 innings. The Houston area native, who finished his collegiate career at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, comes to the Columbia Basin in his second full season as a professional.
-The game in Pasco proved the closest game in the Northwest League Tuesday night: the Eugene Emeralds trounced the Spokane Indians 13-1 at Avista Stadium while the Everett AquaSox shut out the Vancouver Canadians 13-0 at Everett Memorial Stadium. Tri-City remains three games out of first place in the Second Half playoff chase with 29 games remaining.
ANOTHER DEBUT
Tri-City and Hillsboro square off in game two of their six-game series at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday night at Gesa Stadium. Right-hander Dylan Jordan (6-3, 3.71 ERA in 17 starts at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga) makes his High-A debut for the Dust Devils, while righty Jacob Steinmetz makes his first start in 2026 for the Hops.
Free broadcast coverage on the MiLB app and dustdevilsbaseball.com will begin each night with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 6:45 p.m. Fans can also watch the game for free on Bally Sports Live (Tri-City broadcast), and via subscription on MLB.tv and the MiLB app.
For tickets to the set with the Hops, as well as all 2026 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.