A late offensive surge combined with pitching errors allowed the Eugene Emeralds to come back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Boise Hawks 8-3.
It was the Emeralds’ first home win of the season in front of a sold-out PK Park crowd.
The Ems (2-5) and their offensive fortunes dramatically flipped in the bottom of the sixth inning when Hawks starting pitcher Javier Palacios was pulled in favor of Logan Cozart.
The Hawks (3-4), trying to protect a 3-0 lead, quickly saw their pitching go south.
Lead-off batter Ho-young Son put the Emeralds on the board when cleanup hitter Justin Marra drove in the RBI single. Then, with two outs, Frandy De La Rosa delivered another RBI single to cut the Hawks’ lead 3-2.
“I think it was just coincidence,” Emeralds manager Gary Van Tol said of the pitching change. “A lot of time at this level, the matchups late in the game, you just gotta be lucky.”
The Emeralds were certainly lucky in the bottom seven following inning, when the Hawks’ pitching became even more erratic.
Cozart’s walk of Adonis Paulus forced Hawks manager Frank Gonzales to bring in reliever Tyler Matzek.
After Varonex Cuevas grounded out, Matzek hit Son with a pitch and one wild pitch later, advanced runners to second and third with one out. The next four batters: Jimenez, Ian Happ, Marra and Tyler Alamo were all walked, suddenly giving the Emeralds three runs in the inning without a single hit.
With the bases still loaded, De La Rosa stepped to the plate and drilled a low pitch to the right field wall. Three baserunners scored, and De La Rosa slid safely into third. De La Rosa finished the game with four RBI’s, blowing the game wide-open for the Emeralds.
“When we got some help with some walks and got the lead, then it was a matter of, ‘let’s get a big knock here and close it out,’” Van Tol said. “What Frandy did, coming in to get that triple, was a huge boost for him. All the guys were fired up for that. That’s what builds confidence going into tomorrow.”
In a no-decision, left-handed pitcher Carson Sands gave up three earned runs over six complete innings. His replacement, Jae-Hoon Ha, kept the Hawks offense at bay and picked up his first win of the season for the Emeralds.
“Pitching was really good,” Van Tol said. “Sands scuffled there a little bit, but came out and finished the sixth. Ha did an outstanding job out of the bullpen and [Alexander] Santana finished it. When guys are doing well, it’s a snowball effect.”
Thursday’s rubber-match with the Hawks at PK Park will begin at 7:05 p.m.
Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner