“It’s a roller coaster for him…he’s trying to be perfect,” Eugene Emeralds manager Dennis Pelfrey said of left-handed pitcher and Giants No. 5 prospect Seth Corry on Thursday. “The kid has the ability to be one of the best pitchers to ever play this game.”
Corry entered Thursday’s game against the Vancouver Canadians with a ghastly 34 walks in 31 2/3 innings, despite his talent and high prospect status. While he made some small strides in that department, he gave up six runs on Thursday. The bullpen imploded and the offense couldn’t complete a late comeback as the Emeralds’ eight-game winning streak was snapped with a 13-9 loss.
They still lead the series 2-1, and have a half-game lead for first place in the High-A West.
In the first inning, Corry’s control wasn’t perfect, but he struck out two in a perfect frame after falling behind all three batters. Most importantly, he didn’t walk anyone.
Tyler Fitzgerald got the scoring going right away for the Emeralds. After getting bumped up to the leadoff spot for Thursday’s game, he led off the bottom of the first with a solo shot.
Will Wilson nearly duplicated him, hitting one to the same spot as Fitzgerald, but hitting the top of the wall for a double. Sean Roby followed with another hard-hit double, and the Emeralds led 2-0 before an out was recorded.
Corry struck out his third batter out of the four he’d faced, but then issued a four-pitch walk. A double down the right field line then brought a run home to cut the lead in half. On the next pitch, left fielder Armani Smith lost a ball in the sun that fell for a single, tying the game at two apiece.
Corry bounced back, striking out all three batters he faced in the third, finishing off with a sharp curve to catch the batter looking.
The Emeralds retook the lead in the third. After Roby walked and Smith singled, Patrick Bailey put them in front with a much-needed RBI double. Another run came in on a groundout and the Emeralds led 4-2.
Corry issued another four-pitch walk to start the fourth. With two outs and the runner on second, a ball got just under the glove of center fielder Franklin Labour, getting the Canadians back within a run, 4-3. Corry hit a batter, but recorded a strikeout to hold the Emeralds’ one-run lead.
Brandon Martorano led off the bottom of the fourth with a double, and Fitzgerald singled him home with his second RBI of the game to make it 5-3.
After Corry hit his second batter of the game and 11th of the season with two outs in the fifth inning, he gave up a towering three-run homer. Just like that, the Emeralds trailed for the first time all game, 6-5.
Corry was pulled from the game right there, so he wound up going 4 2/3 innings, giving up six runs on five hits and two walks while striking out nine. It wasn’t a great outing, but it was a small step in the right direction control-wise. His walk rate for the season is now down to less than a batter per inning, with 36 in 36 1/3.
Eugene reliever Bryce Tucker imploded in the seventh. After loading the bases with no outs, he walked in two runs and was subsequently pulled. Ryan Walker replaced him and gave up a sacrifice fly, a walk and a double that brought in four more runs. Things officially got ugly as the Canadians put up a six-spot and batted around, extending their lead to 12-5.
Solomon Bates gave up another run in the eighth as Vancouver recorded three singles off him.
Labour led off the bottom of the eighth with a hustle triple, and the Emeralds rallied for four runs to cut the deficit to 13-9 as the game approached the four-hour mark. With two runners in scoring position, Bailey hit one on the nose, but right to the center fielder to end the inning.
The Emeralds did not have another four-run inning in them, as they fell 13-9 in a game that lasted four hours and 10 minutes.
With the Everett AquaSox winning, the Emeralds’ lead for first place in the High-A West is down to just a half-game. Up in the series 2-1, they’ll look to rebound against the Canadians on Friday at 7:05 p.m.
