Aldrete Elevates Ems to Another One-Run Victory
June 27, 2021 - Northwest League (NWL)
Eugene Emeralds News Release
EUGENE, OR - A brief 48-hour hiatus from the win column ended on Saturday night as the Eugene Emeralds (29-17) stayed alone in first place behind a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canadians (26-21) on Saturday evening at PK Park.
THE DETAILS:
Winning Pitcher: Chris Wright (2-0, 2.38 ERA): 1.2 IP | 0 H | 0 R | 1 BB | 2 K
Losing Pitcher: Adrian Hernandez (2-1, 0.77 ERA): 1.2 IP | 2 H | 1 R | 1 ER | 0 BB | 2 K
Save: N/A
HR(s): Eugene: N/A | Vancouver: N/A
HOW IT HAPPENED: Eugene tallied the first run of the game in the second inning when, after an Armani Smith worked a walk then stole second, a passed ball by C's catcher Phil Clarke on what was ball four to Franklin Labour allowed Smith to scamper to third to put runners on the corners with no outs. Jacob Gonzalez followed by drawing the third walk of the inning to load the bases, and two batters later Carter Aldrete smacked a single to left that scored both Smith and Labour to put the Ems up first, 2-0.
Vancouver, as was the case two nights prior, showed a knack for responding quickly. The C's used small ball to net their first run of the night as a Phil Clarke walk, a Rafael Lantigua fielder's choice, a stolen base, a soft flyout to center field, and a Ryan Gold single to right all culminated in a Canadians run coming across to score, cutting Eugene's lead to 2-1 in the third.
Eugene's lead was back up to two in the fourth thanks to a two-out rally. After a Labour lineout and a Jacob Gonzalez strikeout, Heath Quinn laced a double to center field, and Carter Aldrete followed by muscling a low-and-outside pitch deep to right field where DJ Neal was unable to make the grab, briefly getting his glove on the ball before he crashed into the short right field fence and the ball ricocheted out of his glove and to the PK Park turf to allow Quinn to score and make it 3-1, Ems.
But yet again, Vancouver wasted little time cutting it back to a one-run game. Rafael Lantigua led off the fifth by finding himself on second after reaching on a throwing error from Jacob Gonzalez, and after a DJ Neal flyout allowed him to advance to third, Lantigua came home to score on a Luis De Los Santos RBI single that made it 3-2.
The C's finally leveled the score in the seventh when Rafael Lantigua, who had helped chase Ems starter Conner Nurse after singling with one out in the inning, came in to score on a Luis De Los Santos double that snuck just barely inside the third base bag to tie the game at 3-3.
Vancouver was never able to pull ahead, though, as the Emeralds regained the lead for good in the eighth. In an 0-2 hole to lead off the inning, Will Wilson roped a double over the head of Neal in left to put the potential go-ahead run in scoring position right out of the chute. After a wild pitch from Adrian Hernandez allowed Wilson to advance to third, Logan Wyatt worked an eight-pitch at-bat and laced a hard grounder to the right side, but it was right at C's first baseman Ryan Gold who fielded it and took it to the bag himself for the first out.
Armani Smith stepped up in the ensuing at-bat and sent a grounder to the right side as well, this one though more of the chopper-variety and provided a window for Wilson who had wisely stayed put in the prior at-bat during Wyatt's groundout. This time, though, Wilson was off and running and Gold appeared nowhere near prepared to throw home, firing well wide of Canadians catcher Phil Clarke and thereby allowing Wilson to score easily and put Eugene back in front, 4-3.
Emeralds closer Chris Wright, who had entered in the prior inning, worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth by setting the next three batters down in order to seal the win and snap Eugene's mini two-game skid
PEAK PERFORMERS:
Conner Nurse - RHP: The Emeralds starter was unlucky to get the win on Saturday night, but it was certainly one of his best - if not THE best - outing of his 2021 campaign thus far. The Florida boy fired a season-high 6.1 innings with just four hits allowed, three runs, two earned runs, two walks and a season-high six strikeouts.
Carter Aldrete - 2B: Working his way back into the infield rotation after missing some time due to injury, Aldrete accounted for 75% of the Emeralds offense on Saturday night, driving in 3 runs while going 2-for-3 at the plate.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Eugene Emeralds and Vancouver Canadians face off again on Sunday afternoon at PK Park. First pitch between the Ems and C's is scheduled for 1:05pm PST at PK Park.
You can listen live to all the action with the voice of the Emeralds Matt Dompe on the call via 95.3FM The Score, via MiLB.com or on the MiLB app, and you can also watch all the action live on MiLB.tv.
Tickets to Emeralds home games are available at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or by calling (541) 342-5367.
Stay up to date with the Emeralds by following the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Eugene Emeralds are the High-A West affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants. The Eugene Emeralds are dedicated to providing the best in family entertainment and won the Larry MacPhail Award in 2018, awarded to the club with the top promotional efforts in all of Minor League Baseball. For more information, please visit our website at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or call the Emeralds front office at 541-342-5367.
Northwest League Stories from June 27, 2021
- Two Homers Not Enough in Loss - Vancouver Canadians
- Emeralds First to Thirty Wins in High-A West - Eugene Emeralds
- Foul Ending...Indians Scorch 4 HR's for Series Split - Hillsboro Hops
- AquaSox Leapfrog the Dust Devils for Third Consecutive Win, 9-6 - Everett AquaSox
- Hops Streak Melts from Scorching Spokane Sticks - Hillsboro Hops
- C's Falter Late, Fall to Emeralds - Vancouver Canadians
- 9th-Inning Lead Slips Away - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Aldrete Elevates Ems to Another One-Run Victory - Eugene Emeralds
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