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Hillsboro Hurdles Tri-City to Even Series

(Jared Ravich/MLB.com)
April 29, 2023

Starter Caden Dana made a great debut at the High-A level, but the Hillsboro Hops (8-11) quieted the bats of the Tri-City Dust Devils (7-11) and handed the visitors a 7-1 defeat Friday night at Hillsboro’s Ron Tonkin Field. Dana, making his first Dust Devils start with his older brother

Starter Caden Dana made a great debut at the High-A level, but the Hillsboro Hops (8-11) quieted the bats of the Tri-City Dust Devils (7-11) and handed the visitors a 7-1 defeat Friday night at Hillsboro’s Ron Tonkin Field.

Dana, making his first Dust Devils start with his older brother Casey playing third base alongside, struck out the first Hillsboro batter he saw and bookended a groundout with another dismissal to close the first inning. Though the 19-year-old walked three and hit a batter in his outing, he allowed only one run on one hit, a 2nd inning triple by Hops RF Jarrod Watkins that plated 1B Ramses Malave.

Dana ended up striking out four in five innings of work, getting a no-decision but keeping his team in the game. With the start Caden became the third of three Dana brothers to each play for Tri-City. Caden and Casey’s brother Cullen pitched for the team in 2019 as a member of the San Diego Padres organization.

Dana’s teammates tied the game in the 4th inning. SS Arol Vera drew a leadoff walk, stealing second to get into scoring position. CF Joe Stewart came up with two out, legging out a grounder ruled an infield single. Hillsboro’s errant throw attempt to get Stewart out ended up allowing a hustling Vera, who never stopped running, to score from second and tie the game at 1-1.

Both teams kept the other off the scoreboard until the bottom of the 6th, when the Hops laid claim to the game. Malave contributed again, hitting a topspin grounder ruled fair down the left field line for a 2-run double and a 3-1 Hillsboro lead. DH Shane Muntz then came up, mashing a Chase Chaney (2-1) pitch off the net past the right field fence to make it 5-1. The Hops added runs in the 7th and 8th via an RBI groundout and a wild pitch for a 7-1 advantage.

Though the Dust Devils would get two on with two out in the 8th, Hillsboro shut down the attempted rally. Hops pitchers, including reliever Peniel Otaño (1-2), allowed only two Tri-City hits on the night: Stewart’s infield hit and Vera’s 8th inning bloop single to left.

Hillsboro’s win handed the Dust Devils their second straight defeat and evened the series at two games apiece. Game five of the six-gamer takes place late Saturday afternoon, with a 4:05 p.m. first pitch scheduled. Righty Bryce Osmond (0-3, 5.59 ERA) gets the nod for Tri-City, and lefty Yu-Min Lin (0-1, 8.31 ERA) for the Hops.

Broadcast coverage begins with the pregame show at 3:45 p.m., both here and at the MiLB First Pitch app.

Following a six-game series in Everett next week, the Dust Devils return home for a two-week homestand beginning Tuesday, May 9th, against the Eugene Emeralds. It’s another Coca-Cola Tuesday, with 21 oz. Coke products for $2 all night.

Tickets for the upcoming homestand are on sale, with 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, call the team office at (509) 544-8789, or visit the team office (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on game nights, or Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. otherwise).