The Eugene Emeralds took the fourth game in their five game series with a 4-1 win against the Spokane Indians Sunday evening at PK Park. They now lead the Indians 3-1 in the series.
Behind starting pitcher Manuel Rondon, the Emeralds’ defense kept the Indians to only one run despite them accumulating seven hits throughout the game.
Offensively, the Emeralds put in work in the first, third and seventh inning, earning four total runs — enough to get the win. Eugene finished with six hits and one error.
Though there was only one run to show for it, the seventh inning of offense was particularly electric for Eugene. With two outs and Wladimir Galindo on first, a stolen base began a wave of momentum for the Emeralds. A walk followed, and Ricardo Marcano’s then hit a double to bring Galindo home for an insurance run.
Minacci had a clean inning in the top of the seventh, when the Indians were attempting to rally, with two strikeouts and a groundout. He was relieved in the eighth inning by Mark Malave, who allowed no runs.
In the top of the ninth, the Indians achieved one more hit and got a man on first, but also hit three groundouts to conclude the game.
The Emeralds are now 7 -3, and lead the Northwest League South, with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes close behind at 6-4. Meanwhile, the Indians are at the bottom of the Northwest League North with four wins and six losses. While it is still incredibly early in the season, the emeralds are off to one of their best starts in recent memory. The regular season ends on September fifth.
Six different players had hits for Eugene, and Kevonte Mitchell went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in the third inning. The Emeralds’ pitching staff now has a league-best ERA of 2.08.
The last game of the series is tomorrow night at 7:05pm at PK Park.
Follow Alexa Chedid on Twitter @alexachedid18