Dust Devils Down Emeralds
August 27, 2021 - Northwest League (NWL)
Eugene Emeralds News Release
PASCO, WA - The Eugene Emeralds' (57-43) slump to start this week's series continued Thursday night as the Ems were soundly defeated by the Tri-City Dust Devils (40-59) by a final of 10-2 at Gesa Stadium.
THE DETAILS:
Winning Pitcher: Dylan King (2-4, 7.90 ERA): 4.0 IP | 4 H | 2 R | 2 ER | 0 BB | 9 K
Losing Pitcher: Blake Rivera (0-1, 9.00 ERA): 2.0 IP | 3 H | 3 R | 2 ER | 1 BB | 1 K
Save: N/A
HR(s): Eugene: N/A | Tri-City: N/A
HOW IT HAPPENED: Fresh off a pair of back-to-back narrow, frustrating losses to start the series in Pasco, the Emeralds entered the evening with excitement as RHP Blake Rivera was set to make his High-A debut while RHP Nick Morreale, who had started the season in the Emeralds starting rotation before being placed on the IL in May, was set to make his return in a relief capacity.
However, Rivera received a rude welcome to the Northwest from the Tri-City Dust Devils who plated a pair of runs right out of the gate to take the early lead, the first time this week that the Dust Devils offense had struck first.
The first inning started with TC leadoff man Jeremy Arocho singling softly to left on just the second pitch from Rivera, and after Arocho stole second and then third base, the speedy table setter came in to score when Kyren Paris reached on a fielding error by Carter Aldrete to put Tri-City up early, 1-0. After Paris stole second and then advanced to third on a groundout, the highly touted 19-year-old came in to score on a wild pitch from Rivera that make it 2-0 after just one inning.
Arocho was heard from again an inning later when he delivered an RBI single that scored Griffin Mazur to make it 3-0, and Braxton Martinez put the Dust Devils up 4-0 in the third when he doubled to left on a fly ball that Ems left fielder Armani Smith seemingly lost in the fading sunlight to allow Jordyn Adams to score from second.
Tri-City scored for the fourth consecutive inning to start the game when Arocho, yet again, delivered an RBI single, this time bringing home a pair of runs in the form of Griffin Mazur and Francisco Del Valle to put TC up by six, and it became 7-0 in the fifth when Griffin Mazur turned from run-scorer to run-producer when he doubled over the head of Ems center fielder Ismael Munguia to score Kyle Kasser.
The Dust Devils were held scoreless for the first time in the sixth, and the Emeralds offense finally started to kick into gear in the seventh when Jairo Pomares laced a double down the right field line that allowed Sean Roby to score from first, thanks in-part to a throwing error by Dust Devils right fielder Francisco Del Valle. Eugene soon thereafter plated their second run on a Marco Luciano groundout that allowed Pomares to score from third to trim Tri-City's lead to 7-2.
That was as close as the Ems could get, though, as the Dust Devils added a run in the bottom of the seventh on an Adrian Rondon RBI single, and they plated two more in the bottom of the eighth behind an RBI single from Kenyon Yovan and a bases loaded walk drawn by Griffin Mazur that, in the end, resulted in a 10-2 defeat for the Emeralds.
Rivera finished the game with 2.0 innings pitched with three hits, three runs (two earned), one walk and one strikeout. Meanwhile, Morreale similarly had his ups-and-downs as he lasted 1.2 innings with two hits, three runs (all earned), three walks and three strikeouts.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Eugene Emeralds continue their six-game series in Pasco, Washington against the Tri-City Dust Devils on Friday. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 7:05pm PST.
You can catch all the action with road broadcaster Alex Stimson on the call via 95.3FM The Score, MiLB.com or on the MiLB app.
Tickets to Emeralds home games are available at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or by calling (541) 342-5367.
Northwest League Stories from August 27, 2021
- Hillsboro Hops Partner with Intel to Support STEM Education in Oregon as Part of Strikeouts for STEM Program - Hillsboro Hops
- Doubleheader Alert: Friday, August 27 - Everett AquaSox
- Tenacious Team Win Ends C's Losing Skid - Vancouver Canadians
- Hops Fall Shy 8-6 Despite Late Inning Comeback - Hillsboro Hops
- Dust Devils Down Emeralds - Eugene Emeralds
- Spokane Snags 11th Win in 12 Games, 4-2 - Everett AquaSox
- Dust Devils Dominate Emeralds - Tri-City Dust Devils
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