The Eugene Emeralds are headed to the postseason in their first season as a San Francisco Giants affiliate.
After Tuesday’s game was canceled due to COVID-19 contract tracing, the Emeralds began their series with the Tri-City Dust Devils on Wednesday at Gesa Stadium. It was Tri-City’s first game since Sept. 3.
Eugene began the night a half game ahead of Spokane for first place in the High-A West heading into the last week of the regular season. They needed to win this game to clinch a spot in the two-team playoff, and they did just that, leisurely strolling by with a 6-0 victory over Tri-City. The Emeralds hardly had to break a sweat, as their pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts in a dominant all-around team performance.
Seth Corry started on the mound with his innings once again being limited. He gave up a single to his first batter but struck out the next two. His control — which has been better since he returned from his developmental assignment — became iffy again as he walked former Oregon Duck Kenyon Yovan.
He gave up another hit and a walk in the second inning, but each time, he escaped with no damage done.
He ended up pitching 2 1/3 innings, giving up no runs on two hits and two walks while striking out five. He threw 45 pitches, 25 of which were strikes.
The Emeralds struck first in the bottom of the second. Marco Luciano doubled, and a fielding error allowed the first run of the game to score.
They kept on chipping away, scoring one run in each of the next two innings as well. Brett Auerbach singled home a run in the third and another came home on a wild pitch in the fourth to make it 3-0.
After manufacturing runs early in the game, the Emeralds broke out with some power later on. Jairo Pomares hit a solo homer in the sixth, while Auerbach hit a two-run homer in the seventh.
The bullpen kept the shutout intact behind Corry. Travis Perry pitched 2/3 of an inning, while Blake Rivera and Conner Nurse pitched two innings each. Nurse has been in a groove as primarily a starting pitcher, so he was likely used in relief given how little time is left in the season.
The electric bullpen duo of Austin Reich and Chris Wright handled the eighth and ninth with ease.
With the Emeralds having secured a postseason position, it means that the Everett AquaSox are officially eliminated, which is remarkable considering they led the High-A West for most of the year. The two-team playoff will be between Eugene and Spokane — the question now is just which of the two will be the champion of the High-A West.
The Emeralds have four more regular season games scheduled, starting with Thursday’s 7:05 p.m. matchup with the Dust Devils.
