Jose Cabrera leads Hops to 3-2 in over first place Spokane

A day removed from being on the wrong end of a come from behind win, it was Hillsboro’s turn to win by the slimmest of margins.

On the backs of a dazzling performance from starting pitcher Jose Cabrera, the Hops defeated Spokane 3-2 on Wednesday night, July 31, evening their series with the first place Indians at Avista Stadium in Spokane.

Cabrera allowed just two hits while striking out five in six shutout innings, then turned the game over to relievers Carlos Meza and Landon Sims who kept the train on the tracks, combining to allow one earned run on three hits over the game’s final three innings.

Offensively, the Hops got single runs in the second, sixth and eighth innings, and recorded 13 hits despite plating just three.

Seven Hillsboro starters recorded hits in the game, with five notching multiple knocks.

Manuel Pena led the Hops, going 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Jose Fernandez was 2-for-4 with two RBI, including what amounted to the game-winner on an RBI-single in the eighth inning.

Gavin Conticello, Jack Hurley and Christian Cerda all had two hits for Hillsboro.

Spokane starting pitcher Blake Adams took the loss despite allowing just two earned runs in six innings of work.

With the win, Hillsboro pulled back within nine games of the first place Indians.

The two teams will play again at 6:35 p.m. this evening, at Avista Stadium.