It was superhero night at PK Park as the Eugene Emeralds came from behind to beat the Spokane Indians 5-4. In a matchup that read on the scoreboard as Heroes vs. Villains, the bullpen was the villain for the Emeralds. By the end of the night, the offense would play the role as the hero.
For his second start in a row Jose Paulino, in his second season with the Eugene Emeralds, had a strong outing. Against the Boise Hawks on June 19, Paulino pitched five innings, giving up zero runs on five hits with five strike outs in a no decision. The Emeralds would turn things over to a bullpen that surrendered four runs ultimately leading to a loss. The bullpen would again spoil a strong outing by Paulino.
“He’s been unlucky,” Eugene Emeralds Manager Jesus Feliciano said.  “Two outings and he’s been great. Ten innings and just one earned run.”
He finished tonight’s game with two hits and five strikeouts in five innings of work. Jose Paulino completed four innings of one hit baseball before a throwing error put a runner on base in the fifth inning. Immediately following, Paulino gave up a base hit that led to a run scoring on a throwing error.
Spokane Indians starting pitcher Nick Green started off solid with three shutout innings, but in the fourth inning, he would run into trouble. Green took a weakly hit ball and launched it clear over the first baseman head and ricocheted off the wall and into the outfield that would bring in the first run of the game. On the throwing error, the runner advanced to third base. Green would immediately throw a wild pitch the next play that made the game 2-0. This seemed to rattle Green who struggled through the rest of his outing. He would be relieved from the game to start the bottom of the sixth trailing 3-1.
The Emeralds brought in Enrique De Los Rio in relief in the sixth. It was a rough outing for Rio giving up two hits, two earned runs, walking two hitters in 2/3 inning. With two on and one out, the throw to the plate was off the mark and two runs came home on the error giving the Indians a 4-3 lead. The Emeralds needed to call to the bullpen again, bringing in Alex Santana who got out of the inning and pitched a shut-out in the seventh and eighth inning, striking out three while only surrendering one hit.
Playing role of the hero, shortstop Andruw Monasterio would save the game for the Emeralds offense with an RBI double in the seventh inning.
The Emeralds look to clinch the series in game four of this five-game series Sunday night at 5:01 pm at PK Park.