By: Joe Krasnowski
EUGENE, OR – You can’t win them all.
Hours after a historic combined no-hitter, it was Vancouver’s turn to dominate the mound. The Canadians (6-5) kept a previously explosive Ems offense at bay, limiting Eugene to just two runs and six hits in the 7-2 loss.
Eugene (9-2) scored once in the first and again in the third but mustered just two knocks in the sixth inning and beyond. Four different Eugene pitchers combined to strike out 14 in the loss.
Quite the contrast from the night before, Dasan Brown led off with an infield single for Vancouver. Ryan McCarty drew a walk but a strikeout from starter Jack Choate followed by a poor baserunning induced double-play ended the inning.
Quinn McDaniel singled, stole third, and was driven in by an Onil Perez single that gave Eugene a 1-0 lead in the first.
After Choate and C’s starter Kevin Miranda traded scoreless frames, Vancouver knotted the score in the top of the third. Brown singled, advanced to second, and was driven in by a Jace Bohrofen single.
The knock would bring in Choate’s lone earned run on the night. The southpaw didn’t have his best stuff but battled through four innings of one-run ball. He worked in the low 90’s with his heater, struck out four, and walked a pair in his third start of the young season.
Perez doubled off the wall, bringing in Scott Bandura as Eugene snatched the lead back in the bottom of the third.
Miranda’s day was done with two outs in the fourth. He exited with Alex Suarez — who roped a double to left in his season debut — in scoring position, but reliever Alex Amalfi induced a line-out to end the threat.
Julio Rodriguez entered in relief of Choate and fired a scoreless fifth. His day was cut short in favor of Nick Morreale as a pair of singles in the top of the sixth put two runners on. Morreale quickly evaded the threat, striking out both batters he faced in the inning.
Amalfi — who entered with a 7.36 ERA on the year — began to struggle with his command in his second inning of work. A walk followed by a Garrett Frechette single put runners on first and second with no outs.
The right-hander began to settle down after a much-needed mound visit. He retired the next pair of batters before being relieved by Anders Tolhurst who finished the inning.
Eugene went 1-13 with runners in scoring position, striking out eight times.
The missed opportunities finally burnt Eugene in the seventh.
Vancouver loaded the bases with no outs and scratched a pair of runs across via a walk and double-play.
Orf stepped to the dish and put the game — where Vancouver’s pitching was the story — out of reach.
His two-run blast came on a center-cut Morreale (0-1) change-up that was deposited into the bullpen in right field.
Eugene’s relievers allowed six runs in the loss as Vancouver punished the Ems on an off night.
Morreale entered with 5.1 scoreless innings pitched, his third outing of the year was less than stellar. He was tagged with the loss and allowed four runs — all earned — in his inning and tw0-thirds.
Tolhurst — the winning pitcher — continued to deal. He fired a scoreless seventh keeping a lively Eugene crowd on mute. The right-hander worked in the mid-to-high 90’s and flashed a devastating slider which he threw in all counts.
Vancouver loaded the bases in the eighth but only scratched across one run via a Jeff Wehler sac-fly.
Justin Kelly entered in the eighth and mowed down the Ems in order. Vancouver’s bullpen struck out at night where Eugene’s offense was uncharacteristically slow.
Rafael Ohashi entered in the ninth and got the save; he faced the minimum in his lone inning of work.
Eugene’s loss snaps an eight-game winning streak and matches the longest losing streak (1) of the season.
Hayden Wynja (7.71 ERA, 7.0 IP ) will toe the rubber in game three for the Ems against Geison Urbaez (0.00 ERA 4 IP), first pitch is set for 7:05 Friday night.
The Eugene Emeralds are the High-A affiliate of Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants. The Eugene Emeralds are dedicated to providing the best in family entertainment and creating a fun, safe environment for everyone to enjoy watching a baseball game. For more information, please visit our website at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or call the Emeralds front office at 541-342-5367. • Emeraldsbaseball.com • Facebook.com/EugeneEmeraldsfanpage • Twitter.com/EugeneEmeralds
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