After taking the first five games of the series, the Eugene Emeralds lost 6-2 to the Tri-City Dust Devils on Sunday. The offense, which put up 20 runs on Friday, quieted down for the second straight game. On the mound, Ryan Murphy made his second consecutive strong start for Eugene.
The Emeralds welcomed first baseman Logan Wyatt back to the roster, after he went down with what appeared to be a tweaked hamstring on July 6. He’s posted a .405 OBP with the Emeralds this year. He also hit .242/.286/.394 in 10 rehab games with the ACL Giants Orange before returning to the Eugene roster.
However, Wyatt was not in the starting lineup on Sunday.
Murphy took the mound for Eugene, after a successful debut on Tuesday in which he pitched 5 1/3 innings with no earned runs and nine strikeouts. He picked up where he left off, striking out the first five batters he faced.
The Emeralds faced Angels 2021 first-round pick Sam Bachman in his first professional appearance. The first batter he faced was none other than Giants top prospect Marco Luciano, who hit a bullet that shortstop Livan Soto made a fantastic play on.
Tyler Fitzgerald then hit an infield single on a ball that first baseman Kenyon Yovan couldn’t quite scoop up, but Armani Smith hit into an inning-ending double play.
Bachman struck out two batters in a perfect second inning, and his day came to an end there. He threw 24 pitches, 18 for strikes.
Murphy, meanwhile, didn’t allow a baserunner until issuing a lead-off walk in the fourth. He then allowed an infield single, and shortstop Fitzgerald threw the ball into the dugout, allowing the runners to advance to second and third. The first run of the game came home on a sacrifice fly.
Another run came in on a groundout, and the Dust Devils led 2-0. It was the fifth run Murphy has allowed in his first two starts as an Emerald; interestingly, all five have been unearned.
The Angels, who drafted 20 pitchers in 20 rounds in July’s MLB draft, went from their first-round pick to their sixth-round pick, sending Jake Smith out to the mound for his professional debut for Tri-City.
Smith picked up where Bachman left off, mowing through the Emeralds’ order in two hitless innings.
Tri-City continued the trend in the fifth inning, going to their 14th-round pick Eric Torres. Just like the two others, it was Torres’ professional debut. Also just like the others, he breezed through the Emeralds’ hitters, striking out two in a perfect frame.
Nick Avila replaced Murphy after five innings and gave up a solo homer to the first batter he faced. A single, a double and a sacrifice fly brought in another run, extending the Dust Devils’ lead to 4-0. With a runner on third and one out, Avila limited the damage with back-to-back strikeouts — including Yovan’s eighth strikeout in his last eight at-bats.
Yovan appeared to hit his hand on a swing during that at-bat, grimacing in pain and having the trainer attend to him for a few minutes. He finished the at-bat, but was taken out afterwards, with fellow Duck alum Kyle Kasser sliding over to play first in his place.
This was the last game Yovan and Kasser will play at PK Park this season — and possibly ever if they get promoted to Double-A.
The Dust Devils tacked on in the seventh with a two-run triple against Solomon Bates.
The Emeralds finally got something going in the bottom of the eighth. With two on and two outs, Smith drove one to the right-center field gap for a two-run double.
The offense couldn’t get anything going in the ninth as they fell 6-2. They still took five out of six from the Dust Devils this week.
The Emeralds now find themselves four games behind the Everett AquaSox for first place in the High-A West. Up next, they’ll go back on the road to take on the Hillsboro Hops. First pitch of Game 1 is set for Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.
