Spokane Indians pitchers roughed up, Eugene Emeralds takes game 1 15-7
Scott Little, manager of the Spokane Indians, said Monday the key to the High-A West championship series between the Indians and the Eugene Emeralds this week is a quality start to pitching.
You didn’t get it in Game 1 on Tuesday night – or not much relief, either.
Left-handed Helcris Olivarez was lit for eight runs on six hits, including three home runs – all in the first inning – and despite the hitters’ best efforts, the Indians left the first of a best-of-5 series 15-7 at Avista Stadium.
[BOX SCORE courtesy MILB.com]
It is the first time since 2018 that the Indians play in the league championship series.
Eugenes Ricardo Genoves went 3 for 3 with two homers, one double and four RBIs for Eugene. The Emeralds scored five home runs in the first three innings. Eugene’s 20 hits were a single game high against Spokane.
“Just rinse and go,” said Indian manager Scott Little. “That’s all we can do, you know? We did a lot of things well and just had big problems figuring them out. “
Brenton Doyle had a couple of big hits in the later innings to make it competitive. He finished 2 for 4 with four RBIs.
“Honestly, even after that first inning, I had a lot of confidence in us even coming back and winning the game,” said Doyle. “We’ve had some crazy comebacks this season and I wouldn’t have been surprised if we came back and won them.”
“There is no cessation in them.” Little said. “That’s all we ask.”
Olivarez picked up an out in the first inning. He threw 31 pitches, only 18 for strikes. A lot of these were brought into play – hard.
“He threw it on the plate,” said Little. They had a good approach against him and they were successful. “
The 21-year-old put in a strong 6 2/3 inning no-hit performance against Everett last week. Olivarez, however, was 0-3 with an earned average of 8.15 in five regular season starts against Eugene.
Ismael Munguia, who led the High-A West on average at 0.336, led the game with a line drive single. Brett Auerbach left and Armani Smith hemmed a single to the right to plate Munguia with the first run of the Ems after just eight pitches.
Sean Roby hit the next pitch for a triple home run and a 4-0 lead.
After a flyout, Tyler Fitzgerald walked, then Marco Luciano tripled on a line to the right to enter Fitzgerald. Genoves followed with a two-run homer just inside the fair pole on right field and No. 9 hitter Franklin Labor added a solo shot on Olivarez ‘last field.
“After an eighth in the first, (the momentum) was definitely not the best,” said Doyle. “But I think we did a really good job to add momentum to tomorrow’s game. We did a really good, solid nine innings tonight and I think we have more momentum than tomorrow. “
Moises Ceja left the first inning with a couple of strikeouts but did not escape punishment later. In the third, Genoves hit a solo homer in the middle. Two strokes later, Munguia (5 for 6, three runs) did the same to make it 10-0.
Jack Blomgren got the Indians on in the bottom half with a solo homer, his fourth round tripper of the season.
Spokane tapped a little more in the sixth round. Ezequiel Tovar doubled and scored in a singles from Hunter Stovall. Doyle doubled home Stovall, then a single from Grant Lavigne ranked Doyle 10-4.
Eugene added a run on a doubles from Fitzgerald and a sacrificial flight from Genoves in the seventh.
The Indians loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom half on a mistake and a pair of walks issued by Reliever Ty Weber. Doyle yanked a double to the left to clear the bases and bring the home team to 11-7 within four runs.
“The energy was very high even before it hit the plate,” said Doyle. “I got (the seat) I wanted and I put a good swing on it and we just kept gaining more energy, just adding more and more.”
But the Ems replied: In the eighth, when Roby Munguia hit a double RBI single to restore his lead in five runs, they pinned three more in the ninth game against Boby Johnson.
Game 2 is Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Chris McMahon is the scheduled starter for Spokane.