The Eugene Emeralds beat the Vancouver Canadians 7-4 at Ron Tonkin Field on Saturday. Seth Corry battled control issues but turned in five solid innings, while the middle of the Eugene lineup was productive in the victory. The win clinches the series victory over the Canadians, and gives the Emeralds a 1.5-game lead for first place in the High-A West.
Corry, the Giants’ No. 5 prospect, started for Eugene. Walks have been a severe problem for him this year, and he promptly walked the first batter he faced. The second batter doubled to give the Canadians an early 1-0 lead.
Logan Wyatt continued to slowly break out of his slump with a leadoff single in the second. Two walks loaded the bases, and a fielding error with two outs tied the game. Simon Whiteman followed with a walk that put the Emeralds in front, 2-1.
Corry walked two more in the third, loading the bases for Vancouver, but he induced a double play to escape the jam and hold onto the one-run lead.
The Emeralds initiated a two-out rally in the fifth. Four straight singles brought home three runs, with Tyler Fitzgerald and Franklin Labour driving in runs to make it 5-1.
The Canadians responded as Corry continued to struggle with control. He walked the first two batters in the bottom of the fifth, and a single, a hit batter and a sacrifice fly cut the Emeralds’ lead to 5-3.
A passed ball in the top of the sixth extended the Emeralds’ lead to three. Ryan Walker replaced Corry in the sixth, and gave up a double and a single to cut the lead back to two.
In Corry’s five innings, he gave up three runs on five hits and five walks while striking out three. He threw 92 pitches, just 47 of which were strikes.
After Patrick Bailey drew a leadoff walk in the seventh, Will Wilson collected his seventh hit of the night with an RBI double that made it 7-4.
John Timmins and R.J. Dabovich each pitched a scoreless inning to secure the victory for Eugene. The win puts the Emeralds (19-10) up 4-1 in the six-game series. They’ll play the final game of the series Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
