Cabrera Shuts Down Ems, Hops Keep Pace

EUGENE, ORE. (August 13, 2024) --- Right-hander Jose Cabrera took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Christian Cerda and Tommy Troy hit back-to-back home runs, and the Hillsboro Hops polished off the Eugene Emeralds 7-1 on Tuesday night at P.K. Park. The series-opening win enabled the Hops to keep pace with Vancouver, 5-0 winners at Spokane. Hillsboro trails Vancouver by five games for the Northwest League’s second-half playoff berth, with 23 games remaining in the season.

Cabrera was brilliant from the outset, retiring the first 10 batters he faced before momentarily losing his touch and issuing back-to-back walks with one out in the fourth inning. He rebounded with a strikeout and a ground-out to escape damage, and those were the only two baserunners he allowed in the first six frames.

Bryce Eldridge, the Giants’ top prospect according to MLB Pipeline, broke up Cabrera’s no-hit bid with a leadoff single to center in the 7th, but Cabrera retired the next three batters. His final line: seven innings, one hit, no runs, two walks and a career-high-tying nine strikeouts.

Meanwhile, the Hops’ hitters were doing their part. Gino Groover—back in the lineup after being hit by a pitch on his previously injured left arm in the first inning of Sunday’s game—singled to the left side of the infield leading off the fourth. Then, with two out, Cerda and Troy hit back-to-back homers. Cerda’s two-run shot went to left-center, and Troy’s no-doubter to straightaway left. It was 3-0 Hops.

Hillsboro added a run in the fifth on Groover’s RBI double, two more in the sixth on a Junior Franco run-scoring single and a passed ball, and another in the ninth on Jack Hurley’s RBI single.

The only blemish came with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Eldridge homered off Hops’ newcomer Hayden Durke. Eldridge had both of Eugene’s hits, as the Ems tallied just four baserunners all night long.

Matthew Linskey worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth in relief of Cabrera, before giving way to Durke for the ninth.

Hillsboro stole five bases—two by Troy, one by Jose Fernandez, and two by Franco (on consecutive pitches in the sixth inning).

The victory in the first game of the six-game set gives the Hops hope of winning their first series in Eugene since the league transitioned to the High-A level in 2021. Since then, the Hops have lost six series (including a pair of six-game sweeps and a 5-1 series loss) and have split three others 3-3. The last Hops’ series win in Eugene came at the Short Season Class-A level, when Hillsboro swept three at P.K. Park August 20-22, 2019.

The series continues on Wednesday night at 6:35, with radio airtime at 6:20 on Rip City Radio 620AM and online at RipCityRadio.com.