Dust Devils Win, Complete Best Half-Season in High-A Era

Published on June 19, 2026 under Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release

PASCO - Finishing a better half of the Northwest League schedule than any previous High-A iteration of the franchise, the Tri-City Dust Devils (35-31) put up double digit runs in an 11-4 win over the First Half champion Eugene Emeralds (42-24) Thursday night at Gesa Stadium.

The teams each scored in the 2nd inning, with the speed of CF Capri Ortiz on full display. Reaching base on a throwing error by Eugene starter Luis De La Torre (1-5) on a soft grounder, Ortiz then moved to second on a walk drawn by C Peter Burns to put two on with no one out. Not long after the speedster stole third, putting pressure on De La Torre. The southpaw then missed with a wild pitch, and Ortiz sprinted home to score for a 1-1 tie.

An inning later Tri-City trailed 2-1, but they would not stay behind for long. SS David Mershon drew a leadoff walk and stole second, and RF Randy De Jesus's infield single put runners on the corners with one out. LF Aaron Graeber came up and scorched a grounder to left for an RBI single that tied the game at 2-2. Ortiz then grounded the next pitch fair inside the third base bag and down to the left field corner, scoring both De Jesus and Graeber for a 4-2 lead. Ortiz then pulled off another steal of third and scored on a second wild pitch, making it 5-2 to the Dust Devils through three innings.

De Jesus brought the game further toward the Tri-City win column in the 4th, after 3B Jake Munroe doubled and DH Matt Coutney walked with one out. The righty smacked a De La Torre pitch to center over the fence for a three-run homer, with his league-leading 12th longball of the year stretching the lead to 8-2. De Jesus scored again in the 6th when Graeber chopped an RBI double down the first base and right field line to move the lead to 9-4. 8th inning RBI singles by Coutney and De Jesus closed out the night offensively.

Dust Devils starter Lucas Knowles (5-1) slogged through five innings to get the win, giving up four runs on seven hits and striking out five. The bullpen pitched scorelessly for the second straight night, with both Jose Atencio and Zachary Redner each throwing two scoreless innings.

Manager Dann Bilardello's squad finished 35-31 for the First Half, its best record in a half since the Northwest League became a High-A classified, full-season league. The record ended up good for second place in the half behind Eugene, with Everett finishing in third.

WE'RE IN FIRST PLACE

Tri-City clashes with Eugene in game four of their six-game series at 7:05 p.m. Friday night at Gesa Stadium. The second drone show of the year, presented by Gesa Credit Union, will take the skies past the outfield wall postgame.

Right-hander Yeferson Vargas (3-5, 6.61 ERA) gets the start for the Dust Devils, with righty Hunter Dryden (1-3, 5.00 ERA) going for the Emeralds.

Free broadcast coverage on the MiLB app and dustdevilsbaseball.com will begin with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 6:45 p.m. Fans can also watch the games for free on Bally Sports Live, and via subscription on MLB.tv and the MiLB app.

Promotions still to come in the six-game set include a 25th Season Hat Giveaway on Saturday, June 20, and a Father's Day celebration with postgame fireworks on Sunday, June 21. For tickets to the Eugene series, as well as all 2026 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.

Tri-City Dust Devils outfielder Randy De Jesus rounds the bases

Northwest League Stories from June 19, 2026

• Dust Devils Win, Complete Best Half-Season in High-A Era - Tri-City Dust Devils
• Top Prospect Breaks Out, Hops Blow out Frogs - Hillsboro Hops
• Tenacious C's End First Half in Style with 13-9 Win - Vancouver Canadians
• AquaSox Fall To Hops In First-Half Finale - Everett AquaSox
• Indians Come up Short in 13-9 Slugfest - Spokane Indians
• Emeralds Drop First Half Finale - Eugene Emeralds

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