NWL1 Eugene Emeralds

Eugene Emeralds Series Notes - Hillsboro August 28-30

Published on August 28, 2015 under Northwest League (NWL1)
Eugene Emeralds News Release


EUGENE EMERALDS (18-11, 1st NWL South) vs. HILLSBORO HOPS (16-13, 2nd NWL South)

Aug. 28-30, 2015 | PK Park (4,000)

Probable Starters

FRIDAY: EUG Morrison (1-1, 1.13)/Twomey (1-0, 1.53) vs. HIL Troy Marks (0-1, 4.37)

Morrison Recently: 8/22 at S-K (ND, 2.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) & 8/16 vs. EVE (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)

Morrison Notes: On Aug. 16 vs. Everett, was part of four-pitcher tandem to throw Eugene's first no-hitter since 1968

Twomey Recently: 8/22 vs. at S-K (ND, 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K) & 8/16 vs. EVE (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K)

Twomey Notes: Also part of no-hitter vs. Everett, no earned runs allowed in last four appearances (10.2 IP)

Marks Recently: 8/23 vs. TRI (ND, 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) & 8/19 at S-K (ND, 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K)

Marks Notes: Has pitched at five different levels this year, including three app. and one start at AAA Reno (3.60 ERA)

SATURDAY: EUG Miller (1-1, 5.56)/Bloomquist (0-0, 1.32) vs. HIL Carlos Hernandez (4-3, 2.70)

Miller Recently: 8/23 vs. SPO (ND, 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) & 8/17 at BOI (ND, 1.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K)

Miller Notes: Last start was longest of the season, has not faced Hillsboro this season

Bloomquist Recently: 8/23 vs. SPO (ND, 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) & 8/17 at BOI (ND, 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)

Bloomquist Notes: Just two earned runs allowed this season in 13.2 innings with Eugene (six appearances, three starts)

Hernandez Recently: 8/24 vs. TRI (L, 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) & 8/19 at S-K (L, 4.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K)

Hernandez Notes: Two of his three shortest starts and two with most ERs allowed this year have come in his last two

SUNDAY: EUG LHP Carson Sands (2-4, 4.28) vs. HIL Cody Reed (5-3, 3.28)

Sands Recently: 8/24 vs. SPO (ND, 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) & 8/18 at BOI (L, 2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K)

Sands Notes: Last start was shortened to just three innings as the lights went out and play resumed next day

Reed Recently: 8/25 vs. TRI (W, 5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) & 8/20 vs. BOI (L, 0.1 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K)

Reed Notes: Reed has had an up-and-down last four starts, giving up four earned runs on Aug. 10, none on Aug. 15, four more on Aug. 20 and zero again on Aug. 25.

Last Time vs. Hillsboro: Eugene is 3-3 against Hillsboro this season. The Emeralds won 2-of-3 in Hillsboro from July 1-3 but dropped 2-of-3 at home against the Hops from July 15-17. Eugene won three of the first four meetings with the Hops before dropping the last two games in shutout fashion. On Aug. 17 Cody Reed, who will start Sunday for Hillsboro, allowed just one hit over seven innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. Donnie Dewees went 1-for-12 in the second series while Eloy Jimenez went 2-for-12.

Playoff Chase: Entering Friday's series opener with Hillsboro, the Emeralds (18-11) have a two-game lead over the Hops in the Northwest League South Division second-half standings. Hillsboro clinched the division title in the first half of the season. To get into the playoffs, the Emeralds need to hang on to its lead or, if Hillsboro were to clinch the second half title as well, have a better overall record on the season than Salem. Eugene (35-32) currently has a one-game edge on Salem (34-33) overall.

Second-Half Surge: The Emeralds are coming off a series win over Spokane, winning four straight games after dropping the opener of a five-game series. The Emeralds have won three straight series, taking 2-of-3 at Boise and then winning 2-of-3 at Salem before the Spokane series.

No-Hitter: On Aug. 16 in a 3-0 win over Everett, the Eugene Emeralds, while sporting Civic Stadium tribute uniforms, did something they never did at their old home - toss a no-hitter. The Emeralds saw four pitchers - Preston Morrison, Kyle Twomey, Luis Hernandez and Trey Masek - combine for their first no-hitter since 1968, when the team played at Bethel Park. Eugene moved into Civic Stadium the following year. Morrison, in his first season out of TCU, was perfect in his three inning start with four strikeouts before giving way to Twomey (1-0), who earned the win. Twomey issued a walk in the fourth but that was the only Everett baserunner to reach in three innings against the rookie from USC. Luis Hernandez entered for the Emeralds in the seventh, retiring the side. Everett had its best opportunity to score in the eighth, as Hernandez issued two walks. But, with runners at first and third, a sharp liner to third was snagged by Blake Headley to end the inning. Masek, a fifth-round pick by the Cubs in 2013 out of Texas Tech, picked up the save, tossing a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Overall, the four pitchers struck out 12 batters, issued three walks and the Eugene defense made one error. They needed just 116 pitches to post the no-hitter, with Masek picking up the save after an eight-pitch ninth inning.

Emeralds Heating Up: In the month of August, Donnie Dewees is hitting .292 with 21 runs scored in 24 games. He had an 18-game hitting streak end on Aug. 26. Eloy Jimenez is hitting .300 in the same stretch with three doubles and four homers. He's drive in a team-high 17 runs in August. After being sent down from South Bend on July 27, infielder Andrew Ely has a hit in all but eight of his 28 games with the Emeralds while hitting .321 with 10 doubles, two triples and one home run. Overall, Eugene is hitting .268 as a team in August as opposed to .252 overall this season. On the mound, Friday starter Preston Morrison has allowed just one run in 8.1 innings pitched in August with 11 strikeouts and one walk. Kyle Twomey, who is scheduled to take over for Morrison after a couple innings on Friday, has not allowed an earned run this month with seven strikeouts in 8.2 innings. Collectively, Eugene has a 3.29 ERA in the month of August.

League Rankings: Second baseman Frandy De La Rosa leads the Northwest League with 249 at-bats and 19 doubles while ranking third with 69 hits...Outfielder Donnie Dewees ranks fifth in the NWL with 39 runs scored...RHP Oscar De La Cruz ranks sixth in the NWL with a 2.96 ERA while ranking fourth with 67.0 innings pitched. He is second in the league with 69 strikeouts, ranking ahead of teammates Pedro Araujo (fourth, 58 strikeouts) and Jose Paulino (sixth, 55 strikeouts).

Organizational Rankings: With a minimum of 0.8 IP per game, Oscar De La Cruz ranks sixth in the Cubs' farm system with his 2.96 ERA. Eloy Jimenez is also sixth with a .282 batting average (minimum 2.7 plate appearances per game).

Games to Remember (newest to oldest): Against Spokane on Aug. 26, RHP Oscar De La Cruz tallied a career-high 13 strikeouts while allowing just one unearned run and one hit over seven innings in a 4-1 win...Eloy Jimenez homered twice and drove in three runs as the Emeralds defeated Spokane, 5-1, in the first game of a doubleheader on Aug. 25. It was the first time an Emerald hit two home runs in a game since 2012. He also homered in the second game...Ian Rice was just a triple shy of the cycle in a 15-8 win over Boise on Aug. 11. Rice went 3-for-6 with three runs and four RBIs as he doubled in the first, homered in the third and singled in the fifth. It was his first professional home run...On Aug. 8 against Salem-Keizer, Oscar De La Cruz, Craig Brooks and Pedro Araujo combined for a six-hit shutout in a 1-0 win. De La Cruz allowed four hits in six innings with seven strikeouts while Brooks tossed two perfect innings with three strikeouts and Araujo picked up the save in the ninth. No walks were issued by any of the three pitchers...Blake Headley and Adonis Paula hit back-to-back doubles in the top of the 11th as the Emeralds won, 4-3, at Vancouver on July 18...Matt Rose hit his first professional home run, a three-run blast in the fourth inning in a 10-4 win at Tri-City on July 9...Ian Happ drew a walk and scored the game-tying run in the ninth inning at Hillsboro on July 3 before hitting a solo homer in the 11th to give the Emeralds a 2-1 win...Donnie Dewees went 3-for-5 with three doubles and four RBIs in a 9-4 win over Tri-City on June 30...Justin Marra hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth against Tri-City on June 29 in a 5-4 win.

Seven Straight Hits: Eugene tallied seven consecutive hits on June 15 against Hillsboro. The Ems started the fifth inning with a double by Blake Headley, followed by six straight singles. Headley later came up to bat again in the inning and singled, Eugene's last of eight total hits in the big fifth inning. Eugene scored seven runs in the frame and beat the Hops, 8-4.

Prospect Rankings: In the most recent update of the Cubs' prospect rankings by mlbpipeline.com, the Emeralds feature five of the Cubs' top-25 prospects. The Emeralds' top prospect is OF Donnie Dewees. The second round pick in this year's draft was not ranked at the start of the season but is No. 8 now. OF Eloy Jimenez is ranked No. 13 with left-handers Justin Steele (No. 15) and Carson Sands (No. 17) just behind him. RHP Oscar De La Cruz is the newest player on the list, checking in at No. 23.

Jimenez Second Youngest in NWL: Despite his considerable talent, Eloy Jimenez is currently (as of Aug. 28) the second youngest player in the Northwest League at 18 years, nine months and one day old (Born Nov. 27, 1996). Spokane's Yeyson Yrizarri (Feb. 2, 1997) is the youngest. Both were named to the Northwest League All-Star team this year.

Radio & Social Media Info: All Emeralds games for the 2015 season will be aired live on 95.3 FM The Score. Fans can also listen online (with a link on the box score) or via TuneIn. You can find the Emeralds at facebook.com/eugeneemeraldsfanpage, Instagram.com/eugeneemeralds, Twitter.com/EugeneEmeralds.

Check out the Eugene Emeralds Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Northwest League Stories from August 28, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central