It was a roller coaster of emotions out of the gate at Ron Tonkin Field on Saturday, and one that the Eugene Emeralds fell on the short side of. They lost 8-5 to the Hillsboro Hops, their second straight loss, bumping them out of first place in the High-A West. They still lead the series 3-2.

The Emeralds struck immediately in the top of the first thanks to the efforts of Will Wilson. He singled, stole second and eventually scored after two wild pitches from rehabbing major leaguer Taylor Widener.

Giants No. 18 prospect Kai-Wei Teng, who came in with a 2.35 ERA in his last three starts, got the rock for Eugene.

Walks have been an issue at times for Teng this year, and he walked back-to-back hitters with one out in the first. A pop fly that fell into no man’s land then tied the game at one apiece.

Things went from bad to ugly for Teng, as he gave up a three-run homer that put the Hops on top 4-1 with the blink of an eye.

The Emeralds responded with a hit parade in the second. Carter Aldrete drove in a run with a single, and Brett Auerbach followed with another single — the Emeralds’ fourth straight baserunner to get them back within a run. It was Auerbach’s first hit since being promoted from Low-A San Jose.

Wilson drove one to the gap that hopped over the fence for a ground-rule double that tied the game. Had it stayed in the park, it likely would have given the Emeralds the lead, but nonetheless the Emeralds headed to the bottom of the second all knotted up at four.

Teng gave up a leadoff double in the bottom of the second, and the runner came around to score on a wild pitch and a passed ball. Another hit gave Hillsboro a 6-4 lead, as 10 runs were scored in the first two innings.

Teng was pulled after pitching just those two innings. Jasier Herrera replaced him, allowing two more runs in the third on a series of hits to extend the Emeralds’ deficit to 8-4

The Emeralds’ offense quieted down. They threatened in the fifth after Armani Smith led off the frame with a double, but a double play spoiled the inning.

Herrera settled down, pitching three solid innings. Both offenses fell silent after the early offensive explosion.

The Emeralds received back-to-back singles from Logan Wyatt and Tyler Fitzgerald in the eighth, but another double play killed the momentum. However, with two outs, Franklin Labour came through with an RBI triple to strike some life into a lifeless Eugene squad.

Solomon Bates pitched three scoreless innings in relief to keep the Emeralds in the game. They couldn’t build on their comeback attempt though, and fell 8-5 for their second consecutive loss.

The Everett AquaSox won on Friday, so they overtake the Emeralds for first place in the High-A West by a half-game. The Emeralds (33-19), still up in the series 3-2, will look to clinch the series over the Hops (21-30) on Sunday at 7:05 p.m.