NWL Tri-City Dust Devils

Dust Devils Fall in Pitcher's Duel with Hops

Published on July 28, 2023 under Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release


Tri-City Dust Devils pitcher Sammy Natera, Jr.
Tri-City Dust Devils pitcher Sammy Natera, Jr.
(Tri-City Dust Devils)

The visiting Hillsboro Hops (11-16 2H, 35-58) got the best of a tight pitcher's duel with the Tri-City Dust Devils (11-16 2H, 45-48) Thursday night, shutting out the home side 2-0 at Gesa Stadium to take a two games to one series lead.

The only runs in the game came in the top of the 6th inning when Hillsboro struck for two runs on four hits off Tri-City reliever Jake Smith (2-1). Singles by C Christian Cerda and in-game entry 3B Manuel Peña opened the inning, and one-out hits by RF Kevin Graham and 3B-LF Channy Ortiz scored Cerda and Peña in successive at-bats.

Outside that, the pitchers ruled the night at Gesa Stadium. Hillsboro starter Dylan Ray (6-4), a thorn in the side of the Dust Devils in 2023, again caused problems for the Tri-City offense in allowing only two hits in seven innings of work while striking out eight. The home nine's first hit of the night came in the bottom of the 5th, an opposite-field single to right field by C Caleb Pendleton that ended Ray's nascent no-hit bid. Pendleton, making his High-A debut, went 1 for 3 on the night.

Dust Devils starter Sammy Natera, Jr., had to throw 97 pitches to make it through five innings but did so while keeping the Hops off the scoreboard. The Ciudad Juarez, Mexico native struck out five batters and also gave up only two hits, working around them to keep the game scoreless until the 6th.

The bottom of the 6th proved the closest chance Tri-City had to score on the night. LF Joe Stewart was hit by a pitch with one out to get aboard. CF Joe Redfield then came up with two out and singled the opposite way to left center. Stewart got to third but Redfield ended up caught between first and second, starting a rundown. Stewart broke for home in the midst of the rundown and was tagged out at the plate, ending the inning.

Another opportunity came to the Dust Devils in the 7th when SS Caleb Ketchup was hit by a Ray pitch and moved up to second on a balk. Pendleton hit a high pop-up near in foul ground on the first base side, looking like it would end up out of play. Hillsboro 1B David Martin jumped for it, hoping the netting in front of Dusty's Bullpen, presented by Toyota of Tri-Cities, would break his fall. Martin made an incredible catch to retire Pendleton, bouncing off the netting back and safely back on to the field.

CF D'Shawn Knowles would get the third and final hit of the night in the bottom of the 8th, singling to left with one out. Knowles would get caught trying to steal second, though, extinguishing the threat. The bottom of the 9th would see Tri-City get one more chance when 3B Werner Blakely drew a two-out walk. Powerful 1B Matt Coutney then came up as the potential tying run but Hops reliever Logan Clayton struck him out to end the game and earn the save.

Despite the loss the Dust Devils received strong performances from relievers Willian Suarez and Will Christophersen, the latter also making his Tri-City debut. Suarez got eight outs in seven batters, ending the 6th with a double play and finishing his 2.2 perfect frames with back-to-back strikeouts. Christophersen, an Iowan with a mean slider, struck out two in facing the minimum in the top of the 9th.

The Dust Devils will hand things off to the Columbia River Rooster Tails to turn things around on a hydroplane weekend in the Tri-Cities. Game four of the six-game series, set for a 7:05 p.m. first pitch, sees right-hander Michael Darrell-Hicks (1-3, 3.86 ERA) scheduled to start for Columbia River and righty Jose Cabrera (0-1, 13.50 ERA) slated for Hillsboro.

Broadcast coverage begins with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m., both here and at the MiLB First Pitch app.

It's another Family Feast Night at Gesa Stadium, presented by Tri-Cities Airport. Hot dogs, 12 oz. Coca-Cola products, bags of chips, ice cream sandwiches and Laffy Taffy ropes will all be available to enjoy for $2 each throughout the evening.

Tickets for both Friday night's game and the Rooster Tails weekend are on sale now with special ticket rates available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit dustdevilsbaseball.com, call the team office at (509) 544-8789, or visit the team office (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on game nights, or Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. otherwise).

Check out the Tri-City Dust Devils Statistics

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Tri-City Dust Devils pitcher Sammy Natera, Jr.
Tri-City Dust Devils pitcher Sammy Natera, Jr.
   



Northwest League Stories from July 28, 2023


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