The Eugene Emeralds extended their losing streak to four games after a 9-2 loss to the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Friday night at PK Park.
The Eugene bullpen gave up seven runs in the decisive eighth inning.
“It got out of hand in a hurry,” Emeralds manager Gary Van Tol said.
Van Tol said his pitchers were rusty after the three-day all star break earlier this week.
“Sometimes it can help you, sometimes it can hurt you,” Van Tol said. “Those guys in the bullpen who had that long wait, they’ve got to shake some cobwebs. You’ve got to find a way to stay sharp. No excuses, though, that’s just part of the deal.”
Eugene catcher Ian Rice scored the game’s first run on Alex Bautista’s two-out base hit in the second inning. Rice led off the inning with a single.
Eugene starting pitcher Jose Paulino held the Volcanoes scoreless until the long ball victimized him in the sixth inning. Giants seventh-round draft pick Jose Vizcaino Jr. followed Miguel Gomez’s one-out double with a towering home run to left, putting Salem-Keizer ahead 2-1. Paulino left the game with a no decision after six.
The Emeralds missed a few scoring opportunities while trailing late in the game. Alex Bautista struck out looking in the bottom of the sixth and stranded the bases loaded. The next inning, Frandy De La Rosa walked with two outs but was gunned down attempting to advance to third on Andrew Ely’s flare single to center.
“We’re trying to teach our guys to be aggressive,” Van Tol said. “Frandy felt he could make it to third. That was his decision, but you don’t want to make the first or third out at third base, especially with the middle of the order coming up.”
The Emeralds fell apart in the eighth inning. Tanner Griggs pegged Ronnie Jebavy to start the inning. Jebavy stole second and third, then scored on Jared Cheek’s wild pitch. Cheek conceded a series of bloop singles and a two-run double to John Riley. Trey Masek relieved Cheek and got out of the inning, but not before two more RBI base hits. The seven-run frame ended with the bases loaded on a backhanded 4-3 put out by De La Rosa.
“A few bounces don’t go your way, a couple calls are borderline, a couple balls that weren’t hit real hard fall in,” Van Tol said. “That’s where the wheels come off.”
Blake Headley tacked on a two-out RBI-double in the eighth, but Salem-Keizer held its comfortable lead.
The Emeralds (4-4, 21-25) have struggled against the Volcanoes (6-2, 26-20) this season. Eugene won the first of a three-game series on July 23, then lost the next two. The Volcanoes clinched the series tonight after their gritty 3-2 win last night. They’ll square off again on Saturday at 7:05 p.m..
Although runs have come at a premium lately, Van Tol said his players must trust the routine while others will be key to boosting the offensive production.
“I don’t sense at all that there’s any panic from our standpoint as a staff,” Van Tol said. “All it’s going to take is a guy like Donnie Dewees to spark us, and then we’ll move the chains.”
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