In the first inning, Geraldo Perdomo was off to the races leading the Hillsboro Hops to a spirited lead before they noticed the other horse never left the gate.  The starting pitching of Matt Mercer not only kept the gate shut on the Tri-City Dust Devils, but, with the help of the rest of the staff, kept it locked.  The final score was a seemingly close  3-0 but it was still out of reach.

Hops Pitching Whirl Dust Devils

The Dust Devils bats managed four hits (all singles).  Shortstop Xavier Edwards started off the bottom of the first with an infield single to second baseman LT Tolbert.  The promising start never made it past second base.  Along with the four hits and two walks, the Dust Devils stranded all six base runners on base.

Four more pitchers followed in Mercer’s footsteps and kept home plate free from home team cleats.  Ryan Miller came on for one inning and retired the side with three ground-outs.  Trevor McKenna (H, 5) covered the better part of two innings.  Wesley Rodrigues (W, 4-1) faced six batters for the win.  And Chester Pimentel came on for the save in the ninth blanking all efforts in front of him, including getting six outs with only five batters.  His secret was an inherited runner caught in a double play.

Geraldo Perdomo Victory Race Around Bases

The fun began in the first inning.  With one out, Geraldo Perdomo singled up the middle.  Creating his own opportunities, Geraldo stole second and third on different plays setting himself in place.  He did not have long to wait as a wild pitch by starter Sam Keating (L, 3-5) was all Perdomo needed to score the game’s first run.  It turned out to be the winning run.

The offense added two more runs.  Joey Rose sent a solo shot across the left field fence with two outs to make it 2-0.  The final run didn’t come until the final inning.  In the top of the ninth and two outs, the Hops loaded the bases.  Jorge Perez stepped up to the plate with a chance to blow it wide open.  Before Perez could capitalize, another wild pitch sent Francis Martinez hustling from third to score the game’s final run.

Standings

Due to the win, the Hillsboro Hops (8-6) maintain their one game deficit behind the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (9-5) for the division lead.  In contrast, the loss kept the Tri-City Dust Devils (5-9) three games behind the Vancouver Canadians (8-6) in the Northern Division.

Both teams return Friday night to Gesa Stadium for another game of the five game series with the Hops leading 1-0.  Jackson Goddard (0-3) will take the mound for the Hops.  On Goddard’s last start on 8/4, Jackson went three innings allowing one earned run with two walks.  Facing the visitor will be Omar Cruz (1-1).  His last visit to the mound on 8/1 lasted four innings and produced four hits and five strike outs.

Daniel Palka

Finally, former Hops are getting noticed.  As a result, in the latest issue of the USA Today Sports Weekly (August 8-14) on page seven, you will find a picture of former 2013 Hops Daniel Palka on top of the page.  Even more, the brief paragraph calls Daniel “a pleasant surprise for the White Sox”.  Furthermore, read about Daniel and other former Hops rising to the top in my article of Hops Alumni in the Major Leagues

Boxscore

By

Greg Stoker

@GDstoker