The Eugene Emeralds saw a glimpse of playoff-level atmosphere in a 3-1 loss to the Hillsboro Hops on Friday. The Emeralds made it look easy winning four of five against Spokane. Friday, however, was a different story.
“This is what the playoffs are going to be like against a good ball club,” Emeralds manager Gary Van Tol said. “It comes down to the little things, and the team that makes the least amount of mistakes is going to factor into the decision.”
With a 1-1 tie going into the top of the eighth, Hillsboro took advantage of some lackadaisical defense from the Emeralds. Alexis Olmeda led off with a single for the Hops and reached second when Frandy De La Rosa missed the catch. The next batter, Galli Cribbs, bunted in an attempt to advance Olmeda to third. Emeralds pitcher Pedro Araujo opted to throw to third, but Olmeda beat the throw.
Cribbs stole second soon after, though the throw from catcher Alberto Mineo appeared to beat Cribbs. Base umpire Jesus Gonzalez saw otherwise.
“(Those calls) can change the game, but when we put ourselves in that situation, it’s tough to lose it,” Van Tol said.
After intentionally walking Dansby Swanson, the 2015 number one overall MLB draft pick, Araujo threw a wild pitch that allowed Olmeda to score the go ahead run. Trevor Mitsui’s sacrifice fly added another run shortly after.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight. No one is going to give it to us,” Van Tol said. “We gotta earn it and unfortunately tonight, we didn’t earn it.”
Starting pitcher Preston Morrison pitched three strong innings for the Emeralds, striking out seven of the nine batters he retired. On a pitch count, Morrison was replaced in the fourth by Kyle Twomey.
“I know those guys want to pitch more,” Van Tol said. “That’s just our philosophy. They’re going three innings. Both of those guys did an outstanding job for us. We know that we’re getting close to six innings out of them and we’ll be in the ballgame.”
Friday’s loss reduced the Emeralds’ first place position in the second half standings. Hillsboro, who won the first half, is only one game back of the Emeralds. Fortunately for them, they have two more chances to turn the series around at home.
“These guys have been asking for this opportunity from the start of the season,” Van Tol said. “They’ve put themselves in this position, and now they need to take the final step and finish things off.”
Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner