Swanda Sharp, Gregorio Homers Again in Tri-City's Third Straight Win
Published on April 27, 2023 under Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release
Tri-City Dust Devils' John Swanda in action
(Tri-City Dust Devils)
Starter John Swanda went seven strong innings and 3B Osmy Gregorio blasted a homer for the second straight night, pushing the Tri-City Dust Devils (7-9) to a 6-3 win over the Hillsboro Hops (6-11) Wednesday night at Ron Tonkin Field.
Swanda (1-0) threw 72 pitches in his start, 56 of them strikes. Pitching efficiently to contact and striking out four Hillsboro batters, he gave up two runs on four hits and issued no free passes via walk or hit batter. The righty retired the first 11 Hops in order.
Like Tuesday night, the game was a pitcher's duel early on. Hillsboro's Avery Short went toe-to-toe with Swanda, hanging zeroes on the scoreboard until the 5th inning when the Dust Devils opened the scoring. SS Adrian Placencia followed a Gregorio single and a C Myles Emmerson walk with a two-run double, lined inside the third base bag and down the left field line.
Both Gregorio and Emmerson, who made his Tri-City debut in the game, scored for a 2-0 lead. Placencia went 3-5 on the night, his first three-hit game as a Dust Devil.
Hillsboro tied the game with two in the bottom of the 5th inning, but Tri-City came back with three runs in the top of the 6th. LF Joe Stewart singled to left with one out and 1B Gabe Matthews came to the plate and mashed a double to the wall on a hop, scoring Stewart to give the visitors the lead back at 3-2.
Then it was Gregorio's turn, taking a 1-1 pitch from Hillsboro reliever Eric Mendez (0-1) off the scoreboard in deep left center field for his second homer in 24 hours. The 2-run shot gave Tri-City a 5-2 advantage, with Gregorio matching his 2022 season home run total in just his 15th game of 2023.
The Dust Devils added a run in the 7th. 2B Arol Vera reached on a swinging bunt, with the wide throw drawn by a hustling Vera ruled an error. A wild pitch moved him into scoring position and RF Alexander Ramirez followed with an infield single, his second hit of the game moving Vera to third. Stewart then hit a grounder to deep short, deep enough to score Vera for a 6-2 lead.
The bullpen got the win safely home from there. Robinson Piña struck out the side for a perfect 8th inning. Kelvin Caceres pitched the 9th and, despite giving up a run via a bunt single, two wild pitches and a passed ball, got the final three outs for Tri-City's third straight win, handing the Hops their tenth straight loss.
Tri-City set a new season-high bar with 12 hits, eclipsing the 11 hits in Sunday's shutout of Spokane. Placencia's three hits led the way, and Gregorio, Ramirez and Stewart each having multi-hit nights.
The Dust Devils will try to extend their winning streak in an early game three of the six-game series with Hillsboro, scheduled for an 11:05 a.m. first pitch at Ron Tonkin Field. RHP Connor Van Scoyoc (0-1, 2.70) will start for Tri-City, and RHP Dylan Ray (0-1, 4.50) for the Hops.
Broadcast coverage begins with the pregame show at 10:45 a.m., both here and at the MiLB First Pitch app.
The Dust Devils return home for a two-week homestand beginning Tuesday, May 9th, against the Eugene Emeralds. It's another Coca-Cola Tuesday, with 21 oz. Coke products for $2 all night.
Tickets for the upcoming homestand are on sale, with special ticket rates are 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).
Images from this story
 Tri-City Dust Devils' John Swanda in action |
Northwest League Stories from April 27, 2023
- Dust Devils Drop Day Game to Hops - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Ray Strikes out Nine as Hops Break Streak - Hillsboro Hops
- Sox Stretch Streak, Six Straight - Everett AquaSox
- Emeralds Drop Game 2 Against the Vancouver Canadians - Eugene Emeralds
- Dallas Sets Tone in Skid-Snapping Win - Vancouver Canadians
- Swanda Sharp, Gregorio Homers Again in Tri-City's Third Straight Win - Tri-City Dust Devils
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.
