The Eugene Emeralds won their third straight game to start the season on Thursday, beating the Spokane Indians 8-4 in 10 innings at Avista Stadium. Seth Corry, the Giants’ No. 5 prospect, struggled with his control and the Emeralds trailed for the majority of the game, but a late comeback and an offensive explosion in the 10th fueled the victory.
The Emeralds faced starting pitcher David Hill, who missed the 2017 and 2019 seasons due to injury. Patrick Bailey struck out in his first at-bat for the third straight game, and the Emeralds went down in order to start things off.
Corry started on the mound for the Emeralds. The left-hander posted a 1.76 ERA and 12.6 K/9 in Class-A Augusta in 2019. He walked the first batter he faced, and the runner stole second and came around on a single to give the Indians an early 1-0 lead.
The Emeralds battled back in the second. After a leadoff single by Logan Wyatt, Diego Rincones stayed hot with an RBI double that tied the game at one apiece. Ismael Munguia singled to put runners on the corners, chasing Hill after just 1 1/3 innings pitched. Munguia was picked off first base to end the frame.
The Indians continued to rally off Corry in the bottom of the second. A walk and three hits brought in three runs to push Spokane out to a 4-1 lead.
Corry walked two batters in the third and was promptly replaced by Jasier Herrera after only 2 1/3 innings pitched. He walked five batters in his outing and threw only 35 of his 67 pitches for strikes.
Herrera induced a double play to hold the Emeralds’ deficit at 4-1. He ended up pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit while striking out four.
Meanwhile, the Emeralds were quieted down by Indians lefty Nick Bush, who pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings against them. Brandon Martorano doubled in the fifth for his first hit as an Emerald, but the team couldn’t drive him in.
Riley Pint, the fourth overall pick in 2016 who has struggled mightily with walks in his career, entered for Spokane in the seventh inning. There was action in the Indians’ bullpen after just two pitches from Pint, but some questionable calls from the umpire helped him set down the Emeralds in order.
The Emeralds finally got a rally going in the eighth. Hunter Bishop, who had been just 1-for-10 to start the season, hit an RBI double to cut the deficit to 4-2. A wild pitch allowed Will Wilson to score to make it 4-3, and back-to-back walks loaded the bases with one out.
Rincones and Munguia both struck out to leave the ducks on the pond, while multiple Emeralds voiced their frustration with the umpire’s calls.
Down 4-3 in the ninth, Simon Whiteman got on base with a one-out single. After stealing second, he advanced to third on an error, and Bailey brought him in with a single to tie the game at four apiece.
Martorano, in his first start at catcher, threw out his second runner of the game in the bottom of the ninth to bring free baseball to Spokane.
Starting the top of the 10th with a runner on second, Wyatt gave the Emeralds the lead with a single on the first pitch of the inning. Back-to-back homers from Rincones and Munguia then extended the cushion to 8-4 in a sudden onslaught of offense.
Ryan Walker got the final three outs to secure Eugene’s third straight victory to begin the season. The bullpen combined to throw 7 2/3 scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts.
The Emeralds (3-0) clinch the series split and will look to secure the win on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
