Will Robertson dashed home when he saw the chance.  Hillsboro Hops starting pitcher Marcos Tineo (L, 0-1) let loose with a wild pitch opening the door.  The Vancouver Canadians take a one-run lead and hold on for the win.

The previous runner, Spencer Horwitz, tried to score from third on an attempted sacrifice fly but was thrown out at home by Hops right fielder Reece Hampton.  Robertson moved to third on that play.  With the game tied 2-2 since the second inning and now in the seventh, the last thing Will Robertson wanted was a second straight missed opportunity.

Power to Start

The first four runs of the game came early and easily.  In the first inning alone, the Hops Jorge Barrosa led off with a double and came home on the next batter, Eduardo Diaz’, home run for  2-0 lead.  In the bottom of the inning, the Canadians Luis De Los Santos led off with a triple and scored on the next batter, Tanner Morris, RBI single.  Add on Davis Schneider’s lead-off solo home run in the second and you have a 2-2 tied game that stands for five more innings.

Of course, the credit goes to the pitching.  Marcos Tineo settled down and retired the next 15 Vancouver batters after Schneider’s home run in the second.  Tineo locked down the Canadians until his final inning in the seventh.  There, Tineo started losing some of his control.

Will Robinson Single

Marcos Tineo walked Spencer Horwitz to lead off the seventh.  Will Robertson followed with his single.  Luckily for the Hops, a double play eliminated Horwitz when he tried to score the go ahead run.  With two outs and Philip Clarke at the plate, the Canadians’ third out looked within reach.

Instead, Tineo uncorked a wild pitch and Roberts scored the go ahead run.  After Clarke finished his plate appearance with a double on Tineo’s 88th pitch, Marcos was done for the night.  In stepped Mailon Arroyo who blanked Vancouver the rest of the way. 

Hops Held Scoreless After First Inning

One run spread out over seven innings actually looks pretty good.  Unless the Canadians countered with a shut-out going the rest of the way.  After Eduardo Diaz’ first inning home run, the Vancouver pitching staff retired 27 of the last 35 batters.  The exceptions were six walks, Andy Yerzy’s single in the sixth and Axel Andueza’s single in the ninth.

Starting pitcher Adam Kloffenstein recovered after the home run and retired 17 of the next 21 batters, including eleven in a row.  Recording 91 pitches on the night, he left the mound with the score tied 2-2. 

Will McAffer Earns Win on Will Robertson Score

Will McAffer (W, 1-3) relieved for one and a third innings, walking one and striking out three.  McAffer was the pitcher of record when the Canadians scored the go ahead run.

Hagen Danner (H, 1) , listed as a catcher on the roster, walked two batters with two outs but otherwise escaped the inning without a blemish.  Finally, Cobi Johnson (S, 2) closed the ninth allowing only Andueza’s lead-off single.

Standings

The win helped the Vancouver Canadians (37-43) gain a game (15.5) on Everett who lost tonight,  They also increased their lead over the fifth place Hillsboro Hops (35-44) to one and a half games.  The Hops remain 16 games out of first.

Both teams meet again for Game#3 on Thursday night at 7:05 PM on Ron Tonkin Field.  You can listen to the game on 620 AM radio.

Who is Marcos Tineo?

New fans may not recognize the name but Marcos Tineo pitched for the Hops once before: 2019.  In fact, Maros was the home opening day starter for the Hops in 2019.  Spending the whole season with the Hops, Marcos established himself as a strikeout pitcher averaging one K per inning.  However, starting this season with the Visalia Rawhide, he has upped his average to 1.32 per inning.  Tineo will give up the long ball and occasional wild pitch to his detriment.

Who is Will Robertson?

will made his pro debut with Vancouver back in 2019 and has been a Canadian ever since.  With a short exception of a rehab assignment in the Florida Coast league that lasted four games.  One of Will’s strengths has been scoring runs as you saw in tonight’s game.  Most importantly, for his pro career, Robertson is scoring a run in half the games he plays.  So expect more from this young man who was drafted in the fourth round in 2019.

Box Score

By

Greg Stoker

@GDStoker