Tri-City Runs It Back, Shuts Out Eugene for Second Straight Night
August 3, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release
Tri-City Dust Devils' Sammy Natera, Jr. on the mound
(Tri-City Dust Devils)
The song remained the same for the Tri-City Dust Devils (15-17 2H, 49-49) Wednesday night, getting another brilliant starting pitching performance and holding the Eugene Emeralds (15-17 2H, 49-49) off the scoreboard in a 5-0 shutout win at Gesa Stadium.
The team's third straight shutout win was fueled by starter Sammy Natera, Jr. (2-6), who went seven innings and struck out a career-high 11 Eugene batters in his longest professional start. The lefty from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico gave up four hits and gave out no free passes via walk or hit-by-pitch, allowing only one runner to get into scoring position. He also struck out four in a row in a stretch covering parts of the 3rd and 4th innings and retired the final eight Emeralds he faced.
Unlike last night, when Tri-City held on for a 1-0 win and got out of a couple of major threats, the offense put together a bunch of runs to give Natera, Jr., room to operate. The first run came in the top of the 3rd, starting with a leadoff single by CF D'Shawn Knowles. A walk drawn by DH Adrian Placencia put runners at first and second with no one out. After a strikeout and a fielder's choice, Knowles was at third with SS Arol Vera at first. 3B Werner Blakely hit a line drive to center that landed just shy of a sliding Eugene CF Grant McCray, an RBI single that scored Knowles for a 1-0 lead.
The big burst of runs came the following inning, in the bottom of the 4th. 2B Caleb Ketchup singled off Emeralds' starter Eric Silva (1-6) to start things, and LF Steven Rivas reached on a fielder's choice that included a throwing error on an out attempt at second that rolled all the way to foul territory in left field. Ketchup made it to third and Rivas to second. C Myles Emmerson followed with an RBI single to right, plating Ketchup to push the lead to 2-0.
Following a passed ball that moved Emmerson to second, Knowles topped a pitch from lefty reliever Matt Mikulski through the infield and down the left field line for a two-run double, scoring Rivas and Emmerson and doubling the Dust Devils advantage to 4-0. A fly ball and RBI groundout by RF Joe Stewart later, Knowles scored the fifth and final run of the night to cap a four-run 4th inning.
Tri-City relievers Will Christophersen and Dylan Phillips took the pitching baton from Natera, Jr., and got the final six outs, each recording a scoreless inning. Christophersen struck out two in a 1-2-3 8th, and Phillips induced a 4-6-3 double play to get the final outs and conclude the sixth straight shutout at Gesa Stadium. The Dust Devils have won four of the six shutouts.
A night after Tri-City managed a run on five hits, they scored five runs on 12 hits and received multi-hit performances from four Dust Devils: Matt Coutney (2-4), Myles Emmerson (2-4, RBI, R), Caleb Ketchup (2-4, R) and D'Shawn Knowles (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI). The only man in the lineup not to get a hit was Adrian Placencia, but he still helped the cause by reaching base three times (2 BB, HBP).
Tri-City will put both its three-game winning streak and 27 scoreless inning streak on the line as the Viñeros de Tri-City in game three of the six-game series with Eugene at 7:05 p.m. Thursday night at Gesa Stadium. At the ballpark it will be Dollar in Your Dog Night, presented by Big 5 Sporting Goods. Fans purchasing hot dogs at the game could find a carefully placed certificate for a cash prize underneath the foil wrapper. A total of $500 in differing denominations could be found.
The Dust Devils have set right-hander Michael Darrell-Hicks (2-3, 3.00 ERA) to go to the mound for the start, with the Emeralds sending out left-hander Reggie Crawford (0-0, 2.25 ERA). Broadcast coverage begins with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m., both here and at the MiLB First Pitch app.
Tickets for both Thursday's tilt and the full series are on sale now. Also, 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' Sammy Natera, Jr. on the mound |
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