Hops Earn Split, Take Season Series From Eugene

EUGENE, Ore. --Another strong outing from Jose Cabrera, another strong finish from the bullpen and a strong swing from Jose Fernandez. Those three things added up to a 5-1 Hillsboro win at Eugene Sunday as the Hops (23-25 second half, 58-55 overall) salvaged a series split with back-to-back wins on the weekend.

Cabrera followed up his dominant performance on Tuesday with 5 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits and a single unearned run, fanning six with two walks and a hit batter. Three Hops relievers combined on 3 2/3 innings of one-hit shutout ball with Philip Abner (3-0) garnering the win.

The lone Eugene run came in the third inning when Juan Corniel failed to field a surefire double-play grounder at second base after a Jonah Cox leadoff single. Cox would score on a Quinn McDaniel ground out. Eugene (21-27, 54-59) would put runners at second and third, but Cabrera fanned cleanup hitter Sabin Ceballos and got Charlie Szykowny to pop out to short to end the threat.

Cabrera departed with the game tied 1-1 in the sixth inning. Abner surrendered a Charlie Szykowny single, then got Aeverson Arteaga to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Fernandez broke that tie with a leadoff home run in the seventh off Eugene southpaw Matt Mikulski (1-4). Leading 2-1, the Hops tacked on two more in the inning, taking advantage of a mental error at second base on what should have been an inning-ending double-play. With Juan Corniel and second and Tommy Troy at first following back-to-back singles, Gavin Conticello grounded to Gavello at second. Troy stopped in the basepath, not wanting to make a quick tag play available. Gavello, fixated on Troy, stood frozen for a couple of beats, then inexplicably threw to first to try to get Conticello, who was already well down the line and reached easily to oad the bases. A Wilkelma Castillo wild pitch and Gino Groover sacrifice fly plated Corniel and Troy and gave Hillsboro a 4-1 lead.

Jack Hurley doubled off Castillo to lead off the eighth, his team-record 27th of the season. Manny Pena delivered him home with a ground single through the right side of the infield, his third hit of the game. But the combination of Abner, Yordin Chalas (2ip, 0h, 4k) and Zane Russell (ip, 0h, k) had everything under control on the mound in the late innings.

The Hops outhit Eugene 10-4 as Troy and Conticello each extending hitting streaks to eight games with singles. Fernandez added an RBI single in the fourth inning, reaching base three times. Szykowny had two of the Emeralds' four hits, only two of which left the infield.

The Hops open a 12-game homestand Tuesday night against the Spokane Indians, whose second half lead was trimmed to one game following a 9-4 loss to Vancouver on Sunday. The Canadians remain six games up on Hillsboro and Everett in the race for the Northwest League's second playoff spot. Airtime on Tuesday is at 6:50 p.m. with first pitch at 7:05 on Rip City Radio 620 AM.