With an all-time high Eugene temperature of 109 degrees, the Emeralds took the field for a Sunday afternoon game in a nearly empty PK Park. It was eerily quiet for most of the game, with everyone doing their best in the uncomfortable conditions. Saturday night’s starting pitcher Conner Nurse was generously supplying the umpires with water and towels between innings.
The ceremonial first pitch was even thrown with a water balloon instead of a baseball.
Tyler Fitzgerald and Sean Roby each homered as the Emeralds powered past the Vancouver Canadians, 7-2. Catcher Ricardo Genoves had an impressive High-A debut, while the bullpen was lights out in the victory. They won their second straight, clinching a 4-2 series victory and maintaining their position for first place in the High-A West.
Genoves, the Giants’ No. 28 prospect, made his Emeralds debut behind the plate, after he was recently promoted from Low-A San Jose. He walked on four pitches in his first High-A plate appearance in the second inning, and Roby doubled him in to give the Emeralds a 1-0 lead.
With two outs, Tyler Flores singled in Roby to make it 2-0. The very small contingent of fans at PK Park cheered as loud as they could.
After pitching six strong innings in Game 1 of the series, Giants No. 18 prospect Kai-Wei Teng started Game 6. He picked up where he left off, pitching two quick, scoreless innings.
A familiar foe nearly bit Teng in the third, with two walks and a hit batsman, but a liner right to the second baseman Fitzgerald helped Teng hold the 2-0 lead.
Fitzgerald added to the scoring in the bottom of the third, hitting his seventh homer of the year to make it 3-0. Genoves drew his second walk in as many plate appearances, and Roby broke it open with a two-run homer to gift the Emeralds a 5-0 advantage.
Vancouver joined the home run party in the fourth, as Sebastian Espino obliterated a ball over the scoreboard to make it 5-1. Two batters later, Teng allowed another blast to left field that made it 5-2, the fourth homer of the game as the ball was flying out of PK Park.
An error by Fitzgerald prolonged the inning, but Teng recorded his third strikeout to strand runners on the corners.
Teng allowed a one-out double in the fifth, and after Vancouver scratched out an infield hit, Teng was pulled. He pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three. It took him 90 pitches to get through that.
With the tying runs on base for the second straight inning, Travis Perry recorded the final two outs to avoid any damage.
A two-out RBI single from Genoves in the sixth extended the Emeralds’ lead to 7-2. It was his first High-A hit, as he got on base four times and caught a runner stealing in his debut.
Perry, Ryan Walker, Taylor Rashi and Tyler Schimpf combined to pitch 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief to secure the easy, yet hot victory.
The first-place Emeralds (30-17) win the series over the Canadians 4-2, and will now go back on the road to face the Hillsboro Hops. Game 1 will start on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.
