There’s been a different hero every night.
It was Ismael Munguia on Wednesday, smashing a three-run homer over the PK Park shed in the seventh inning to propel the Eugene Emeralds to their eighth consecutive victory, 7-5 over the Vancouver Canadians. They took a 2-0 series lead, after sweeping the Hillsboro Hops in Eugene last week. They lead the High-A West by 2.5 games.
Right-hander Taylor Rashi took the hill for Eugene to kick things off, the first start of his professional career. Despite a fastball that sits at just 88 to 89 miles per hour, he’s generated a K/9 of over 12 this year.
He brought his sharpest stuff to the mound, striking out three in three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.
Nick Avila replaced him in the fourth. He gave up a one-out single, and the runner stole two bases to get to third with still only one out. Avila recorded a huge strikeout, but then allowed an opposite-field double to give the Canadians an early 1-0 lead.
Vancouver starter CJ Van Eyk, the Blue Jays’ second-round pick in 2020, set down the first nine Emeralds on just 27 pitches, 21 of which were strikes.
The bottom of the fourth was a different story, as Munguia led off with a double and Will Wilson tied the game with an RBI single.
Van Eyk struck out the next three though, including Patrick Bailey, the first-rounder who’s been struggling mightily. Van Eyk began the fifth with a strikeout as well, but Tyler Fitzgerald then took him deep, putting the Emeralds in front 2-1.
With one out in the sixth, a miscommunication among center fielder Munguia, second baseman Wilson and shortstop Fitzgerald allowed a soft pop-up to fall. It was generously ruled a hit by the official scorer.
The next play, however, was not ruled a hit by the official scorer. Wilson botched a ground ball at second, where he was making his second start of the year after making an error at shortstop Tuesday night. A ground ball then tipped off the glove of the shortstop Fitzgerald for a single, bringing in two runs and putting the Canadians back on top, 3-2.
With two on and two out against Avila in the seventh, the Emeralds failed to turn a double play, which prolonged the inning with manager Dennis Pelfrey quickly coming out to discuss the call. The next batter singled to extend the Canadians’ lead to 5-2.
Van Eyk came out after six innings, much to the delight of the Eugene batters as Armani Smith and Bailey greeted the new pitcher with a single and a walk, respectively. Logan Wyatt then extended his on-base streak to 19 with an RBI single, and a second run came in on an error by the right fielder as the Emeralds got back within a run, 5-4.
With two on, Vancouver made another pitching change, and Muguia greeted this new pitcher with a three-run blast over the shed in right field. With the flip of a switch, the Emeralds led 7-5, putting up a five-spot in the seventh.
The Canadians wouldn’t go down without a fight. They loaded the bases against John Timmins in the eighth, prompting Pelfrey to pull him. But Tyler Schimpf, heaving 96-mile-per-hour fastballs while audibly grunting, struck out back-to-back hitters to keep any runs off the board.
Schimpf stayed in the game for the ninth, shutting the door on the Emeralds’ eighth straight win. The Everett AquaSox lost, so the Emeralds now lead the High-A West by 2.5 games.
They’ll look to keep it rolling in Game 3 on Thursday at 7:05 p.m.
