By: Jacob Archer
PASCO, WA — A night after the Emeralds scored a season high 20 runs, they were held to just 2 runs as the Dust Devils took game 2 of the series by a final score of 7-2. The Emeralds move to 27-24 on the season and they will be just 1 game out of 1st place in the Northwest League.
Trevor McDonald got the starting nod today in his debut start for the Emeralds in the 2024 season. He was able to work out of a tough jam in the first inning but ended up giving up 2 runs in the bottom of the second. He hit Jorge Ruiz with the bases loaded to bring home a run and Werner Blakely hit into a groundout to score the 2nd run of the game for Tri-City. McDonald threw 3.1 innings on the mound and gave up 2 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 3 batters.
In the top of the 4th inning the Emeralds were able to even up the game at 2-2. With 2 strikes and 2 outs Alexander Suarez clubbed his team leading 5th home run of the season to score Rodolfo Nolasco on the play. It proved to be the only 2 runs of the games for the Emeralds as their bats were quiet at the plate the rest of the night.
In the bottom of the 4th inning Daniel Blair came in for relief of Trevor McDonald and allowed the first 4 batters he faced to reach base. Kevin Bruggeman drove in the first run of the inning and Matt Coutney followed it up with an RBI-Single for the 2nd run of the frame. Bruggeman ended up scoring on a wild pitch to give the Dust Devils the 5-2 lead after the 4th inning
In the 5th and the 6th inning the Dust Devils were able to add another run in each frame. Jorge Ruiz delivered an RBI-Single and in the 6th inning Matt Coutney hit a sac-fly RBI to score Bruggeman on the play. Bruggeman was able to score from 2nd base on the sac-fly as Quinn McDaniel had to make an incredible play in center field to rob the hit.
Matt Mikulski was a big standout in tonight’s game as he pitched a hitless 7th and 8th inning for the Emeralds. He faced 6 batters and struck out 4 over the 2 innings of work. It was great to see Mikulski dealing on the mound tonight and it has to be a big confidence boost for him moving forward.
The series is now tied up at 1 game a piece. Jack Choate is on the mound for the Emeralds tomorrow with first pitch set for 6:30 P.M.
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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