The Eugene Emeralds rang in belated New Years celebrations every hour as they took the field at PK Park for Game 2 of their series against the Hillsboro Hops on Wednesday.
The Emeralds beat the Hops 7-4 for their second straight win to start the homestand. Giants No. 18 prospect Kai-Wei Teng returned to the mound, making his first start since May 29 after he was suspended for doctoring his glove with a foreign substance. He continued the Emeralds’ historic strikeout numbers with 10 in five innings, and Franklin Labour put them in front with a three-run homer in the eighth to complete the victory.
Teng hit the ground running, striking out the side in order in the first. He walked the first batter he faced in the second — a recurring issue for him this year — but recorded a strikeout and a double play to get out of it.
The Emeralds had a “three true outcomes” type of second inning. The first two runners reached on a walk and a hit by pitch, but the next two struck out. The Hillsboro starter, former University of Oregon pitcher Ryne Nelson, walked the next two batters to force in a run without having allowed a hit. He was subsequently pulled from the game, spoiling his second homecoming of the year.
The first hit for either team came on a pop-up into no man’s land hit by Diego Rincones in the third inning. The ball looked to be going foul, but the Hops’ right fielder put a glove on it and Rincones reached second, much to the Hillsboro manager’s dismay.
With two outs, Logan Wyatt drew a walk — his ninth consecutive game with a free pass — and Armani Smith, in his second game since being promoted to Eugene, made it 2-0 with an RBI single. Tyler Fitzgerald followed with another single to make it 3-0.
Teng gave up his first two hits of the night in the fourth, with a single and a homer that got the Hops within a run. He struck out the side though, punching out 10 in five innings. He did issue three walks, and threw only 45 of his 85 pitches for strikes.
Travis Perry came in for the sixth and allowed a home run to the first batter he faced, knotting the score at three apiece. After a single and a walk, the Hops took a 4-3 lead on a groundout.
The Eugene offense was shut down by Hillsboro reliever Mitchell Stumpo, who retired all nine Emeralds he faced with five strikeouts.
With Stumpo out of the game, the first two Emeralds walked in the eighth, and Simon Fitzgerald drove in the tying run with a single. Labour then hit a tank, crushing the ball over the left field fence to put the Emeralds in front, 7-4.
Tyler Schimpf shut the door in the ninth to secure the 7-4 win. The Emeralds collected 13 strikeouts on the night, helping to hold their 12.0 K/9 season mark intact.
With the Everett AquaSox losing, the Emeralds (22-15) move within a half-game of first place in the High-A West. They’ll play Game 3 of the series on Thursday at 7:05 p.m.
