The Eugene Emeralds (14-12) were soundly defeated by the Tri-City Dust Devils (14-12) 5-0 in the conclusion of a five-game series Monday night, snapping the Emeralds three-game win streak.
Rookie Emeralds pitcher Javier Assad had a rough start to his night, giving up two base hits before walking the bases loaded. Two pitches later, Dust Devils right fielder Luis Asuncion ripped a line drive to the center field wall for a three-run triple. Asuncion would go on to score off of a sacrifice fly from catcher Jalen Washington before Assad managed to strike out the side.
From there, the Emeralds offense was simply unable to overcome Dust Devils pitcher Adrian Morejon. Shortstop Rafael Narea gave the Ems their first hit of the night in the bottoms of the third, courtesy of a line-drive double to right field.  However, the team failed to capitalize on the hit.
Despite the rough first inning, Assad managed to recover. He went on to pitch six innings, giving up only one more run along the way. That run came on Asuncion once again—this time on a grounder. The Emeralds racked up four more hits during the game, but were still held scoreless.
Emeralds manager Jesus Feliciano was not too down about the loss, however.
“We won the series,” Emeralds manager Jesus Feliciano said. “That’s the important thing, you know? Even though they took an early lead, we kept fighting until the end.”
The Emeralds will travel to face the Hillsboro Hops on Wednesday, July 12.
Follow Aaron Alter on Twitter @aaronalter95