Mailon Arroyo came on in the ninth with a one run lead.  Eugene has had a reputation of late of scoring come back wins in the ninth.  On Tuesday, the Hops gave up a two run lead in the ninth to lose.  This time, Arroyo only needed eleven pitches to strike out two and induce a fly to right ending the game.  The Hillsboro Hops defeated the Eugene Emeralds 6-5.

Double Delay

The game started off with a couple of delays.  Starter Ryan Murphy was scheduled to take the mound but strained or injured his lower back during warm ups just before the first pitch.  Reliever John Russell was called out of the bullpen and gave four solid innings to start the game.  However, he pitched five innings total, giving up two runs in the third.  Still, only two runs and lasting five was what Eugene hoped for.

The second delay came in the top of the first.  Jairo Pomares, a solid contributor throughout this series so far, sent a hard hit ball towards the fence.  Center fielder Jorge Barrosa bounced off the wall the previous night to rob Eugene of extra bases.  On this night, Jorge caught the ball, banged against the wall — and broke it.  Further, his glove hit the ground when he fell and popped the ball out of his glove robbing Barrosa of an out.

Both Barrosa and the wall were looked over for any damage.  The wall took the worst of it as the wall now opened at a spot where there was no door.  The wall was secured and the game continued on.  Barrosa stayed in the game

Kyle Backhus Hops Debut

Kyle Backhus made his Hops debut as the starter on the mound tonight.  The young Texan out of Sam Houston State started off with four shutout innings limiting the Ems to only three hits.  The fifth inning was a different story.  After getting a ground out to short, the next four batters all singled, chasing the young man to the showers.  Kyler Stout relieved and finished the inning but couldn’t keep the inherited runners from scoring.

Trio of Gerald Ogando, Denson Hull and Mailon Arroyo Set Up Roadblock

After Stout, Gerald Ogando (W, 1-0), Denson Hull (H, 4) and Mailon Arroyo (S, 4) combined to limit the Ems to just one more run on two hits.  Jasier Herrera (L, 1-2) relieved John Russel for the Ems and gave up four more runs to take the loss.

Strikeouts were meager for the game with only 13 total from both teams.  Hits were more abundant.  13 of 18 batters hit safely at least once and totaled 18 for the game.  Eugene’s Brett Aurbach led all hitters going 3 for 5.  The Ems Ismael Mungia and Jairo Pomares, along with the Hops Leodany Perez, all hit twice.  Pomares’ hits were for extra bases.  A double in the second and a home run in the eighth to draw Eugene within one run.  Tristin English hit the only other extra base hit, an RBI double in the sixth.

Fearless Defense

The defense shined a little more tonight than usual.  Jorge Barrosa not only broke the wall in the first, he also bounced off the wall in the seventh to rob Sean Roby of at least a double and ended the inning.  Just before that, Axel Andueza robbed Armani Smith of at least a double when he imitated Willie Mays with a basket catch running along the stands.

In fact, Axel made several outstanding plays at first base and made them look easy.  He dove to stop the grounder from racing to the outfield and from his knees, underhanded it to Backhus on a 3-1 play in the fourth.  In the third, Andueza recorded two putouts to start the inning.  In both cases, pitcher Backhus covered first.

Standings

The win kept the Hillsboro Hops (47-57) at a game and a half behind fourth place Vancouver who also won tonight.  The Hops increased their lead over sixth place Tri City to five and a half games..

The loss dropped the Eugene Emeralds ((59-47) to a half game behind Evertt and Spokane who are tied for first.

Game#4 is Friday night and there will be fireworks both Friday and Saturday.  Furthermore, game time is 7:05 PM, again for both.  However, if you can’t make it to a game, you can watch it on MiLB.tv, listen on 620 AM radio or follow me on Twitter for half inning updates.  Consequently, you will find my Twitter handle below.

Box Score

By

Greg Stoker

@GDStoker