Early Lead Walks Away Again as Hops Drop 4th Straight
Published on June 19, 2021 under Northwest League (NWL)
Hillsboro Hops News Release
A painful week for Hops pitchers, particularly the pen, continued Friday night with Hillsboro's fourth consecutive loss to Eugene.
Diego Rincones drove in seven runs with a grand slam and a bases-loaded double and Hops pitchers combined to issue 11 free passes in a 10-7 defeat at P.K. Park.
The Hops have squandered leads in each of the last three games to suffer their second four-game losing streak of the season. Hillsboro has not dropped five straight games since the inaugural season in 2013, the only year they have not reached the postseason.
For the second consecutive night, a big inning gave the Hops a sizable early lead. After the Ems plated a run in the second inning, the Hops responded with a five-run third, cappped by a three-run Ricky Martinez double.
But Eugene loaded the bases on a single and two walks before Hops' starting pitcher Slade Cecconi (0-3) hit Tyler Fitzgerald with a pitch to force in a run to make it 5-2. After loading the bases in back-to-back innings and only scoring twice, the Emeralds hit the jackpot in the fourth. An infield hit and throwing error putJacob Gonzalez on second and Brandon Martorano was hit by a pitch. A passed ball put runners at second and third before Cecconi retired back-to-back batters. However, his fifth walk of the night put Sean Roby aboard and loaded the bases and Cecconi was lifted for reliever Kyler Stout, who promptly fell behind Rincones 3-0. After the 20-year-old Venezuelan two-time minor league All-Star fouled off back-to-back pitches, he belted a 3-2 offering over the left center field fence for his fifth home run of the season to put the Ems up 6-5.
A leadoff error in the fifth inning opened the door to another four-run Emerald outburst. Martorano singled and Will Wilson walked as the Emeralds loaded the bases for the fourth consecutive inning before a bases-loaded walk to Roby and a bases-clearing double to Rincones ended Stout's rough night after three hits and three walks in an inning pitched. Only one of the five runs he allowed was earned.
Eugene starting pitcher Seth Corry struggled with his control through three rocky innings, walking four with three hit batters, but used seven strikeouts to get out of jams in the first and second innings before surrendering the big inning in the third. Taylor Rashi (3-0) came out the bullpen and mowed down nine straight batters before Buddy Kennedy took him deep to lead off the seventh to make it 10-6. The Hops scored another run in the eighth when Axel Andueza hit a leadoff double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Tristin English sacrifice fly. Hillsboro got two more runners on to bring the tying run to the plate with one out, but John Timmins fanned Reece Hampton and Buddy Kennedy back-to-back to end the threat before Tyler Schimpf pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the save.
Rincones finished the night 3-for-4 at the plate with a season-best seven runs batted in. Wilson, Roby and Martorano each scored two runs and @Logan Wyatt reached base four times on three walks and a single, scoring one run. For the Hops, Kennedy extended his hitting streak to eight games, going 1-3 with two runs and two walks and his fifth home run, tied with Andy Yerzy for team lead. Andueza doubled twice with an RBI and two runs scored and Martinez had two hits.
The Hops send Drey Jameson, a 2019 first-round draft pick, to the hill Saturday to try to reverse their fortunes. Eugene counters with Aaron Phillips, a fourth-year pro out of St. Bonaventure. The game will air live on Rip City Radio 620 AM beginning with pre-game coverage at 6:50 p.m.
Northwest League Stories from June 19, 2021
- AquaSox Bounce Back, 9-2 - Everett AquaSox
- Early Lead Walks Away Again as Hops Drop 4th Straight - Hillsboro Hops
- Offense Sputters as Everett Evens Series - Vancouver Canadians
- Rincones Rocks Hops with 7-RBI Night - Eugene Emeralds
- Slow Start Dooms Dust Devils - Tri-City Dust Devils
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