Weeks don’t get much tougher than this past week for the Hillsboro Hops who dropped all six of their games at Vancouver.
With the sweep, the Canadians improved to 9-0 in the second half of the season, while the Hops dropped to 1-8 having lost seven straight games.
Hillsboro batted just .226 as a team over the six games in Vancouver and scored just 14 total runs. A direct result of that was a strong Canadians pitching performance, one in which they accumulated just a 1.83 ERA as a team.
One of the few bright spots for the Hops was Jean Walters who batted .423 with a home run and two RBI in six games against Vancouver, along with Avery Short who allowed no earned runs on just two hits in seven innings against the Canadians.
Hillsboro will host Eugene for six games this week.
Organizational news and notes…21-year-old Deyvison De Los Santos hit .348 with four home runs in six games at Triple-A Reno this past week…Former Hop and West Linn High School start Tim Tawa had nine hits in 24 at-bats over six games last week in Double-A Amarillo…Neyfy Castillo hit .304 with two home runs in five games at Low-A Visalia after recently being moved down from Hillsboro…Denny Larrondo allowed one earned run on four hits with six strikeouts in six innings pitched at Visalia this past week…Former Hop Kevin Ginkel threw 3.2 innings in three separate games with the Diamondbacks last week, allowing no earned runs on just two hits while striking out five.
Below is a recap of last week’s games:
June 25 — Vancouver 2, Hillsboro 0
You win some, you lose some, and it was the Hops who were on the wrong end of a pitcher’s duel in a 2-0 loss to Vancouver on Tuesday night, June 25, at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver.
Hillsboro (1-3) starting pitcher Avery Short was dominant, allowing no earned runs on just two hits over seven innings of work, but it was Vancouver’s Lazaro Estrada who got the win, allowing four hits while striking out seven in seven shutout innings.
Despite just two hits, Vancouver (4-0) made the most of Hop mistakes, parlaying a one-out walk, error, passed ball and fielder's choice into a fourth inning run against Short, then manufacturing an insurance run in the eighth, again capitalizing on a leadoff walk from Carlos Meza.
In all, Hillsboro outhit the Canadians 5-2, but failed on multiple occasions to capitalize with runners in scoring position.
The Hops’ Jack Hurley went 1-for-3, extending his hitting streak to six games.
Vancouver’s Jommer Hernandez had both hits for the Canadians.
Short lowered his ERA to 2.38.
June 26 — Vancouver 3, Hillsboro 1
All is not lost, but momentum certainly is.
After winning eight of 12 games, for the third straight game the Hops ended up on the wrong side of the winning equation, this time falling to the Canadians 3-1 on Wednesday night, June 26, at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver.
Despite nine hits, the visiting Hops managed just a single run, going just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranding 11 on base.
Vancouver starting pitcher Pat Gallagher allowed seven hits over his seven innings of work, pitching out of a handful of jams and allowing nary a run.
The Canadians managed a run in the third inning and two more in the fourth, both off of Hillsboro starting pitcher Roman Angelo who allowed three earned runs on 11 hits in five innings pitched.
Hillsboro’s lone run came in the eighth inning when Manuel Pena scored on a bases loaded walk with just one out. But the Hops failed to do any more damage in the inning when Junior Franco struck out and Kevin Sim flew out to end the inning.
Jean Walters had four hits for Hillsboro, while Jamari Baylor and Je’Von Ward had three hits apiece for Vancouver.
The loss was the third straight for the Hops (1-5) and dropped them into fifth place in the second half Northwest League standings.
June 27 — Vancouver 6, Hillsboro 5
The Vancouver Canadians made a little history Thursday night, defeating Hillsboro 6-5 on June 27, at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver.
The win was the sixth straight for the Canadians, the longest winning streak since the team moved to the High-A level in 2021.
Jeff Wehler broke a 3-3 tie with a three-run home run to left field with two outs in the seventh inning and the C’s (6-0) held off a Hillsboro rally in the ninth for a 6-5 victory.
The Hops’ ninth inning rally started with one-out walks to Gavin Logan and Cole Roberts. Then, after Christian Cerda struck out on three straight pitches, Jean Walters and Gavin Conticello hit consecutive singles to cut the Canadians’ lead to 6-5. But Vancouver relief pitcher Johnathan Lavallee ended the rally and ultimately the game when he struck out Jack Hurley on six pitches.
The loss was the fourth straight for Hillsboro (1-5).
Walters had three hits for the Hops Thursday night, giving him seven hits combined over his last two games.
Kevin Sim finished 2-for-4 with a home run.
Vancouver’s Wehler finished 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run-scored.
Canadian starter Connor O’Halloran allowed on earned run on four hits in six innings of work.
Hops starter Logan Clayton allowed two earned runs on five hits over five innings.
June 28 — Vancouver 5, Hillsboro 2
A tough week just keeps getting tougher for the Hops, this time to the tune of a 5-2 loss to the Canadians on Friday afternoon, June 28, in Vancouver
The loss was the fifth straight for Hillsboro, and fourth straight to the Canadians as part of their six-game series north of the border.
Hop starting pitcher Joe Elbis who’s been virtually unhittable for the bulk of the season took the loss, allowing three earned runs on six hits, while striking out seven in six innings on the mound.
Vancouver trailed 2-1 heading to the bottom of the sixth inning, but took a 3-2 lead with two runs in that sixth, and a single run in both the seventh and eighth inning to secure the team’s seventh consecutive win, their longest winning streak since joining the High-A level.
Jackson Hornung led the C’s, going 3-for-4 with a home run, RBI and run-scored.
Vancouver went with a pitcher-by-committee approach in the game, throwing four different pitchers with none pitching more than 3.2 innings. The combination of Carson Pierce, Alex Amalfi, Aaron Munson and Grayson Thurman combined to allowed just two earned runs on five hits, while striking out 10 and walking one.
The Hops got their first run on a solo home run by Jean Walters in the fourth inning, and their second—and last—an inning later when Manuel Pena scored on a Juan Corniel single to right field.
June 29 — Vancouver 7, Hillsboro 4
So, it continues.
For the sixth straight game and fifth with the Canadians, the Hops were on the losing end of a game, this time a 7-4 defeat to Vancouver on Saturday afternoon, at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver.
The home C’s broke open a tie game in the eighth inning, scoring three runs on three straight hits, followed by a two-out RBI-double by Je’Von Ward that put Vancouver ahead 7-4 and firmly secured the team’s eighth straight win.
All three runs were credited to Hops reliever Carlos Meza who replaced Alec Baker on the mound to start the eighth inning.
Ward finished the game 2-for-5 and was one of four Canadian players to record multiple hits, led by Dasan Brown and Peyton Williams who tallied three hits apiece.
The Hops led 4-1 after 3.5 innings thanks to two runs in each of the third and fourth innings, but allowed Vancouver to tie the game after a run in the bottom of the fourth, followed by two runs in the fifth leading into the game-deciding eighth frame.
Offensively, Wyatt Crenshaw led the Hops, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and run-scored, while Manuel Pena had two hits and an RBI.
June 30 — Vancouver 4, Hillsboro 2
The Canadians (9-0) completed a six-game sweep over the Hillsboro Hops (1-8,) Sunday, winning a franchise-record ninth consecutive game with a 4-2 win in front of a sellout crowd of 6,413 at Nat Bailey Stadium.
One week removed from shutting down the Tri-City Dust Devils over seven innings with 12 strikeouts, right-handed pitcher Rafael Sanchez (4-1) limited the Hops to two runs on seven hits over 6.1 innings.
Chay Yeager and Naswell Paulino combined for 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief with Paulino recording his first save since the 2019 season with a scoreless ninth inning.
Hillsboro starter Jacob Steinmetz was lifted in the third inning after allowing two runs on three hits and two walks.
The Canadians got two runs in the third inning and one apiece in both the fifth and seventh, while the Hops scored single runs in the sixth and seventh.
Hillsboro was led by Manuel Pena who finished 2-for-3 with a run-scored, while Vancouver was ledy by Peyton Williams who was 3-for-3 with two RBI.
Most Popular
Comments / 0