Pitchers’ Duel ends in Hillsboro Loss

Game five of the series between the Vancouver Canadians and the Hillsboro Hops at Hillsboro Ballpark ended in a heartbreaking 2-1 loss for the Hops. The first six innings were an even matchup between both starters, with Ricardo Yan going for the Hops and Rafael Sanchez for the Canadians. Both starters only allowed one run, keeping the game tied at 1-1 until the tenth inning when the Canadians scored one run, proving to be enough in their 2-1 win.

Ricardo Yan loaded the bases after allowing three walks and a single in the top of the first inning. Yan only allowed one run after getting the Canadians to ground out into a double play.

Despite giving up three walks in the first, Yan settled down into the game, striking out two in the second inning and three in the third, allowing no runs.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Christan Cerda had a lead-off single, scoring on a Jose Fernandez RBI single. Baserunning woes came back to bite Hillsboro, with a runner getting picked off on first and second in the game.

Ricardo Yan went six innings, only allowing the sole run in the first inning. Yan struck out a season-high eight batters and gave up four walks. Alec Baker came into the game in the sixth inning with a runner on first and one out. Baker got the first batter he faced to pop out and hit the next, putting runners on first and second with two outs. A hard line drive was drilled at shortstop Jose Fernandez, where he caught it to save a run from scoring.

The Canadians’ starter Rafael Sanchez went six innings allowing only one run and striking out six. Anders Tolhurst came into the game in the bottom of the sixth.

Alfred Morillo came in for Alec Baker in the top of the eighth. Baker pitched for one and two-thirds innings, giving up no runs. Morillo went one inning allowing no hits and no runs. Kyle Amendt came into the game in the ninth inning. Amendt was untouchable, striking out all three batters he faced.

Josh Mollerus was the pitcher for the Canadians in the bottom of the ninth. Neyfy Castillo drew a two-out walk before a ground out ended the inning to send the game into extras.

After Dasan Brown, Blue Jays #26 prospect (MLB.com) exited the game after getting hit by a pitch in the helmet, Jace Bohrofen, #22 prospect (MLB.com) entered the game as his replacement. Bohrofen had what would turn out to be the game winning RBI in the top of the tenth, putting Vancouver up 2-1. With two outs, Amendt allowed only his second walk of the season and was pulled and replaced by Listher Sosa. Sosa allowed a base on balls before getting the next batter to pop out to end the inning.

Down 2-1 going into the bottom of the tenth, Kevin Sim was the ghost runner on second. Manuel Peña drew a lead-off walk to put runners on first and second. Christian Cerda put the ball in play when Kevin Sim was ruled out on a ball fielded by the pitcher and thrown to third. Canadians’ pitcher Josh Mollerus struck out the next two batters to get credit for the 2-1 Vancouver win.

The Hops left five runners on base, with Christan Cerda scoring the lone run. Ricardo Yan had a great performance on the bump, striking out eight after allowing only one run in five and one-third innings. Kyle Amendt was charged with the loss.

The Canadians' starter went six innings, striking out six batters and giving up five hits to the Hops. Mollerus pitched two innings and struck out two batters.

The Hops are up three games to two on the series, with game six between the Canadians and the Hops being played at 1:05 pm on Sunday at Hillsboro Ballpark. The pregame show will start at 12:50 on RipCity Radio 620 AM.