Another Ray Of Sunshine As Hops Blank Devils

PASCO, Wash. --- No question about it, Dylan Ray is once again the Hillsboro staff ace.

Midseason doldrums well in the rearview mirror, the right hander from Alabama was masterful yet again Wednesday night, limiting Tri-City to two hits and no walks with seven strikeouts over seven innings as the Hops shut out the Dust Devils 2-0 at Gesa Stadium.

With not a lot of run support, Hillsboro needed Dylan Ray to be Dylan Ray and he did not disappoint. The second-year right hander faced one over the minimum number of batters and did not surrender a hit until a two-out Caleb Pendleton single in the fifth inning.

A scoreless tie through five, the Hops couldn't scratch out a run against Tri-City lefty Sammy Natera, Jr., but wasted no time against struggling reliever Jake Smith. The former Miami Hurricane 6th-rounder gave up back-to-back base hits to Christian Cerda and Manuel Pena to start the sixth. One out later, Kevin Graham battled Smith to nine pitches before singling home Cerda with the first run of the game. Channy Ortiz followed with a grounder through the hole on the right side to plate Pena and the Hops had all the runs they would need.

Eli Saul pitched a scoreless eighth, getting help from Cerda, who threw out D'Shawn Knowles trying to steal second base after a one-out single. Logan Clayton nailed down his second save with a scoreless ninth, fanning Matt Coutney after a walk to Werner Blakely with two outs.

Graham reached base three times with a pair of walks, the third time this year the Hillsboro right fielder has drawn two walks in this venue. Cerda added a double to go with his rally-starting single and Wilderd Patino singled, walked twice and stole his 35th base of the season.

Kristian Robinson made a sensational sliding catch in foul territory in left field on a Coutney pop in the second inning, then was removed from the game in the third in favor of Pena. Robinson was hit by a pitch in his only at bat in the first inning. The Hops also got a great catch in foul territory from David Martin, who crashed into the fence to catch a foul pop off the bat of Pendleton for the final out of the seventh.

The Hops and Dust Devils return to action at 7:05 p.m. Friday night. The Devils will wear their special Columbia River Rooster Tails jerseys for the weekend games in celebration of the Columbia Cup hydroplane races this weekend. Pregame airtime is at 6:50 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 AM.