Dust Devils Hang On for First-Half Finale Win

It took an extra inning and holding back a hard-fought challenge from the Eugene Emeralds (38-25) for the Tri-City Dust Devils (29-34) to come away with a 6-5 win in 10 innings Thursday night at PK Park.

The Dust Devils had a 3-0 lead going to the bottom of the 9th, thanks largely to another outstanding performance in Eugene from starter Robinson Piña. The righty went seven scoreless innings, striking out 13 Emeralds while giving up two hits and walking two.

The 13 Ks tied a 2005 performance by the Yakima Bears’ Angel Rocha for the second-highest strikeouts in a Northwest League game since stats were tracked digitally. Piña set the record in his last outing in Eugene May 27th, striking out 14 in six innings of work.

The Dust Devils’ three runs held up for nearly the duration. Kyren Paris hit his second home run of the season, a two-run shot over the right-center field fence, in the 3rd inning, scoring Jose Guzman for a 2-0 lead. Kyle Lovelace added an insurance run in the 9th inning, blooping a single over a drawn-in infield to plate Mitch Nay for a 3-0 Tri-City lead.

But the Emeralds, coming off a walk-off win Wednesday night, rallied again in the ninth inning to tie the game at 3-3. A line-drive single off reliever Brandon Dufault and into left field got Eugene on the board, knocking Dufault out of the game.

Hayden Seig (2-0) came in, getting an out but giving up a single and a walk to load the bases and put the tying runs in scoring position. Seig induced a groundball to Paris, whose throw went wide of first base, allowing two to score.

Paris atoned for his error in the top of the 10th, singling to center field to plate Jose Guzman and get the Dust Devils the lead back. An error in center field by Eugene’s Luis Matos on the same play allowed D’Shawn Knowles, who had drawn a walk, to come around for a 5-3 lead. Gabe Matthews followed with a sacrifice fly, scoring Paris, who made it to third on the Matos error.

The Emeralds would rally again in the bottom of the 10th, scoring two runs on a fielder’s choice and an RBI groundout, but Dakota Donovan struck out Simon Whiteman looking to finish the win and get his fourth save of the year.

The second half of the Northwest League season begins for Tri-City at 6:35 p.m. Friday night at PK Park with game five of their seven-game set with Eugene. Two southpaws are scheduled to start, with Jose Salvador getting the nod for the Dust Devils, and Nick Swiney to the mound for the Emeralds.

The broadcast, to which you can listen at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB app, begins with the King Beverage Budweiser Pregame Show at 6:20 p.m.

Tickets for Tri-City’s next home series, June 28-July 3 against the Hillsboro Hops, and all games are on sale now. Ticket packages are also available and start at just $99, and special ticket rates are available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit dustdevilsbaseball.com or call 509-544-8789.