Coming off a slow-moving pitcher’s duel in Tuesday’s contest, the Emeralds (18-10) hoped to get the bats going and score some runs on Wednesday night.
That would not be the case in this game. Eugene struggled mightily at the plate, hitting just five times in the 6-1 loss.
The Emeralds couldn’t figure out Tri-City (11-17) starter RHP Walbert Urena, and once they strung some hits together, it was too little, too late.
Eugene starter RHP Manuel Mercedes’ day reflected that of the team’s offense — a disaster.
In his 4.0 IP, Mercedes surrendered seven hits and earned five of the Dust Devils’ six runs.
This contest started fast — as Tri-City’s Ben Gobbel crushed a fastball to deep left center and well beyond the wall for a one-run bomb in the top of the first to make it 1-0, Dust Devils.
Mercedes struggled to find rhythm and the next batter, Jadiel Sanchez, drilled a double off the right field wall. After walking Shane Matheny, Mercedes gave up a deep double to Kevin Bruggeman, which drove in both Sanchez and Matheny.
Eugene’s struggles showed no signs of stopping.
In the first at-bat of the top of the second, First Baseman Jack Payton mishandled an easy flip to Mercedes covering the bag.
That runner, Werner Blakely, got all the way to third with two outs, and Gobbel stepped up to the moment to drive in his second RBI in the same amount of at-bats.
Subsequently, Urena sat down another three batters in a row, which brought Mercedes back into the fire with little rest.
After a walk and a fielding error, a Cam Williams’ ground-rule double drove in one run and brought another potential run to third.
Caleb Ketchup drove that run home after a fielder’s choice RBI on a failed double-play attempt first. It was 6-0 after three innings for Eugene.
The Ems secured their first hit since the fourth inning on Tuesday in the bottom of the third — which came from Zach Morgan.
Eugene was mere inches away from a two-run blast, but Blakely was able to rob it just before it left the park.
The fourth would be Mercedes’ only at that point without a Dust Devils’ run, but it would not signify anything spectacular for the Emerald’s offense.
At the top of the fifth, Eugene decided to make the game’s first pitching change and brought in lefty Seth Corry in relief of Mercedes.
Corry walked the first batter, plunked the second and after a double steal, both runners were in scoring position. However, Corry figured out the Dust Devils, and secured three-straight punch-outs to close the top of the fifth.
The Emeralds put together their first string of hits in the bottom of the sixth, as Turner Hill and Quinn McDaniel opened the inning with back-to-back hits. Both would end up in scoring position on an Urena wild pitch.
That brought Justin Wishkoski to the dish with two outs and two RISP. A six-pitch walk ensued for Wishkoski, which loaded the bases for Andrew Kachel.
Kachel fought hard in the at-bat, but grounded out softly to second base, which ended the inning scoreless for Eugene.
Corry’s services were halted as the sixth turned to the seventh, and the Emeralds turned to righty Ben Madison. At the bottom of the frame, Tri-City’s Urena was replaced by righty Jared Southard, who had no trouble sitting the Ems down quickly.
Urena pitched spectacularly on Wednesday night, as he fanned five and allowed just four hits in 6.0 innings. Eugene struggled with his high-90s fastball and couldn’t get anything strong off Urena’s off-speed arsenal.
Urena (1-3) was credited for the win while Mercedes (0-2) took the loss, as all the Tri-City runs were scored on him.
Southard was relieved by righty Carlos Espinosa in the bottom of the eighth. Espinosa didn’t see the same success as the others, as McDaniel pulled a two-out moonshot to left field for the Ems’ first run of the game — their first since the opening inning of Tuesday’s contest.
The contest dwindled down to a lackluster, 6-1, finish after lefty Dylan Phillips delivered the final nails in the coffin for the Emeralds.
The two teams square off for the third game of the series, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.
