For the first time since early June, the Eugene Emeralds are in first place.
They took the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader 3-1 over the rival Everett AquaSox, bringing them even with the Frogs atop the High-A West. They’ve won four out of the first five games of the seven-game series, securing their first series win over Everett this season.
Kai-Wei Teng pitched a complete game with 11 strikeouts, only surrendering a run in the seventh inning, while Brett Auerbach fueled the offense with his hustle. The Emeralds could still fall back into second place with a loss in the second game of the doubleheader –– or they could take sole possession of first with a win.
For the second straight day, Auerbach led off the Emeralds’ half of the first with a home run. But this time, he did it without hitting it over the fence.
He just missed a conventional home run, as the ball bounced off the very top of the fence and bounced back into play. The center fielder fell down and did an awkward flip as he attempted to retrieve the ball while Auerbach hustled around third. The AquaSox had a chance to throw him out, but the throw was high, and Auerbach slid in with an inside-the-park home run.
Teng allowed nothing but a first-inning single through the first three innings, striking out five batters in the process.
Auerbach continued to show a ton of hustle, hitting an infield single off the pitcher’s glove in the third inning. He even stole second base, then ran hard to score on Armani Smith’s two-out single.
In the fourth, Teng hit a batter in between a pair of strikeouts. He then allowed a double that would have easily scored the run, but the ball bounced over the wall for a ground rule double. Teng induced a groundout to escape with the 2-0 lead intact.
The first three Emeralds singled in the bottom of the fourth, but the next three struck out, wasting what should have been an easy scoring chance.
Teng, who has struggled with control at times this season, didn’t issue his first free pass until one out in the fifth. He recorded an inning-ending double play, making it through five fantastic innings on just 67 pitches.
With two outs in the top of the fifth, Jairo Pomares worked out of a 0-2 hole to draw a full count and single up the middle, putting runners on the corners. Marco Luciano — on his poster giveaway night — then hit an inside-out single into right field to extend the Emeralds’ lead to 3-0.
Teng cruised through the sixth inning, striking out 10 and only allowing two hits while keeping the AquaSox off the board.
He came back out for the seventh inning looking to finish off the shutout. He recorded his 11th strikeout, but then gave up a homer to left field that finally got Everett on the board.
After a brief visit to the mound from pitching coach Alain Quijano, Teng settled down to get the final two outs and secure the 3-1 victory. It was perhaps the strongest performance of Teng’s season thus far. He was wiping hitters away with his 82 mph slider, and he never let his control get away from him.
The Emeralds will be back in action roughly 40 minutes after the completion of the first game, looking to take hold of first place. They’ll then play the series finale on Sunday at 5:05 p.m.
