Going into the eighth inning with a seven-run lead should usually warrant a win in baseball.
This was the situation that the Eugene Emeralds found themselves in on Thursday night against the Spokane Indians in Spokane, WA. They used the home run ball in the first six innings to take an 11-4 advantage, but a catastrophic eighth inning from the bullpen yielded 10 Spokane runs.
Eugene dropped the game 14-11. If the season comes down to just a few games, Thursday’s loss will be viewed as one of if not the biggest wasted opportunity.
The Emeralds wasted no time to get on the board. A fielder’s choice and a pair of walks quickly loaded the bases with just one out for Heath Quinn, who singled home the first run of the game. The next batter, Carter Aldrete, sent a grand slam over the right-center fence to give Eugene an early 5-0 lead — the Emeralds’ second grand slam in the last two nights.
The Emeralds sent eight of nine of their starters to the plate in the first forcing Spokane starter Mitchell Kilkenny to go just one inning.
The Indians got one of those runs back in the second off of Eugene starter Kai-Wei Teng. A single and a walk set up first and second for Jack Blomgren, who muscled a single to left to cut the deficit to 5-1.
The Emeralds got that run back and a lot more in the third. A pair of two-run home runs from Quinn and Ismael Munguia grew the lead to 9-1. Quinn has homered four times in the last three games.
Teng sent down the side in order in both the third and fourth inning, but as soon as the San Francisco Giants’ No. 18 prospect appeared to be settled in, the Indians got to him in the fifth.
A walk and a pair of singles cut the lead to 9-2, and ended Teng’s day. He went just 4 1/3 innings of work while striking out six and surrendering four hits in an effort that was highly plagued by pitch count.
John Russell was inserted into the game and was immediately faced with a first and second, one out scenario. He issued a single and a pair of walks but still wiggled out of the inning with a five-run lead. Both the runs issued by Russell were charged to Teng’s ERA.
The Emeralds got two of those runs back in the next half inning on their fourth home run of the day. This time it was Tyler Fitzgareld’s turn, as his two-run laser to left ballooned the Emeralds’ lead to 11-4.
Russell ended up settling in nicely with scoreless sixth and seventh innings in relief, taking his ERA down nearly half a run.
The eighth inning was a different story however.
Bryce Tucker got the ball in an appearance that he’d soon like to forget. He walked three batters and gave up a double while only picking up one out in relief.
With the score now 11-5, Taylor Rashi replaced Tucker on the bump but was met with a worse fate. He walked four batters and gave up a single while picking up no outs in relief. Miraculously, the Indians were now knocking on the door as the score was 11-10.
In a span of just one inning the Emeralds turned a big lead into a “walking on eggshells” type of situation.
The third pitcher of the inning, Ryan Walker, was inserted into a bases loaded, one out scenario. The first batter he faced, Daniel Cope, put the nail in the coffin with a bases clearing double to center. Cope scored just two batters off another double.
Spokane sent 15 players to the plate and benefitted from seven walks in the eighth inning to take a 14-11 lead.
The Emeralds loaded the bases in the ninth, but Munguia grounded out to give Eugene their first loss of the series. It was just the third loss of the season charged to the Emeralds’ bullpen, the lowest in Minor League Baseball.
After a four-hour offensive bombardment, the Indians improve to 29-34 while the Emeralds fall to 36-26. The Emeralds still lead the series 2-1.
The two teams will face off again Friday night in Spokane with first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m.
