The Eugene Emeralds took game 2 against the Vancouver Canadians by a final score of 11-4. The Emeralds have now won 3 straight games and have taken the first 2 games of the series against Vancouver. The Emeralds record moves to 57-53 on the season and 23-21 in the 2nd half.
It was an action-packed ballgame all night long as the Emeralds put up 11 runs in the first five innings. It didn’t take long for them to get things rolling for the Emeralds offense tonight. In the bottom of the first inning Carter Howell hit a solo home run for his 3rd home run of the season. In the bottom of the 2nd inning Matt Higgins also joined in with a solo home run of his own. It was Higgins 2nd home run in Eugene and he’s starting to really put it together at the plate.
In the top of the 3rd inning Vancouver was able to even up the ballgame. Jommer Hernandez got a base hit and Devonte Brown ripped a double to right field to give the Canadians their first run of the evening. Cade Doughty followed it up by hitting a single out to left field and Brown came home to score on the play to even up the game at 2-2. Nick Sinacola got the start for the Emeralds, but he left after just 2.2 innings. He got checked out by the Emeralds trainer and stayed in the game. After a couple more pitches Sinacola had to exit the game. He finished the night giving up 5 hits and 2 runs. He walked just 1 batter and struck out 3.
In the bottom of the 3rd inning the Emeralds were able to answer back quickly. Grant McCray and Aeverson Arteaga were on base when Jared Dupere stepped into the box. He hit his 18th double of the season and McCray came home to score on the play and Arteaga was able to advance to 3rd base. Luis Toribio was able to hit a sacrifice fly out to right field to score Arteaga on the play and give the Emeralds the 4-2 lead.
In the bottom of the 4th the Emeralds really opened up the scoring. Onil Perez was on base and Ghordy Santos crushed a no-doubt shot to center field for his 12th home run of the season. Damon Dues was able to get on base and reach 3rd base. Aeverson Arteaga hit a deep sacrifice fly to right field and Dues came home to score on the play and the Emeralds held the 7-2 lead heading into the 5th inning.Things got interesting for both ball clubs in the 5th inning. Vancouver started to chip away into the game. Dasan Brown got a base hit and was able to reach 2nd base. Garrett Spain hit a ground ball to Aeverson Arteaga but he wasn’t able to make the play and Brown came home to score on the error and cut the deficit to 4 runs. Eugene was able to respond quickly in the bottom of the 5th inning. Grant McCray had a bases loaded situation with two outs. He was battling on the plate and was able to single out to center field. Matt Higgins and Onil Perez came home to score on the play and give Eugene the 9-3 lead. Damon Dues reached 3rd base on the play, and was able to come home and score after the Canadians pitcher balked. Carter Howell followed it up with his 13th double of the season out to right field and McCray came home to score on the play and Eugene held the 11-3 lead after the first 5 frames.
In the top of the 6th inning the Canadians scored their fourth and final run of the evening. Jommer Hernandez was on 3rd base and a passed ball got behind the Emeralds catcher and Hernandez came home to score for the Canadians. The Canadians trailed 11-4 after the first 6 innings, and both bullpens were able to keep the game scoreless the rest of the way.
Matt Mikulski pitched 3 innings after Sinacola left the game. He was very solid on the mound and allowed just 2 hits. He gave up 2 runs but just 1 of the runs was earned. He walked 1 batter and struck out 4. It was a great showing from Mikulski and he earned his 3rd victory of the season. Brett Standlee pitched the rest of the game and went 3.1 innings. He didn’t give up a single hit and walked just 1 batter. He also struck out 5.
It was a fantastic showing tonight for the Emeralds. With the Everett AquaSox dropping their ballgame tonight the Emeralds now just sit a half game out of a playoff spot with 22 games left in the regular season. The Emeralds will look to take their 4th consecutive ballgame and their 3rd straight against Vancouver tomorrow night.
Trevor McDonald is on the mound for the Emeralds and since rejoining the club a couple of weeks ago McDonald has been dominant. He’ll look to keep it rolling tomorrow against the Canadians. It’s country night at the game with first pitch set for 6:35 P.M.
