The ups and downs continued through the holiday weekend for the Hillsboro Hops, and the further into the season we venture, the crowd is starting to wonder if the wrinkles will iron out.
The series against the Boise Hawks through the weekend illustrates the continued defensive sloppiness of the Hops infield, with nine errors resulting in eight unearned runs during a mere three games. The problem seemed to be sorted out during the most recent series against the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, but when it reared up during week 3 it was a scourge upon the Hillsboro bullpen.
Pitching might be the bigger problem, however. The Hops currently have the second-highest team ERA in the league, trailing Boise by a quarter of a percentage point. There could be dozens of factors for why, but one telling pattern is the number of innings pitched; while Hops starters hang around 20 for the season right now, the go-to relief pitchers are topping out around 10 innings, and the rest of the arsenal putting in anywhere from five to none. Compare that to the Eugene Emeralds, who lead the league in wins and game saves … 11 of their 15 pitchers have over 10 innings, with starters averaging 17 and relievers ranging from eight to 12.
That’s not to say the Hops aren’t mixing it up with 13 different pitchers on the mound in the last 6 games. The problem might be that few are being given enough time to find their rhythm. Right-hander Palmer Betts got lit up like a pinball machine on Friday night and gave up six hits in his two innings, but his average has been steadily climbing back despite only being given three more innings since. Meanwhile, Tucker Ward has been generally reliable so far this season, but was given a vote of no-confidence by Manager Shelley Duncan, who opted to intentionally walk Boise’s Anthony Brito (batting .190 at the time) to bring up bottom-of-the-order Wesley Jones.
Jones ended up batting in the lead run, but the bigger question might have been why Ward was pitching at all. He followed Jose Martinez, who pitched two hitless, scoreless innings. Granted, Martinez hit one batter and walked two others, but the pattern of uneasy changes on the mound paints a picture.
The pitching situation hasn’t improved into the series against the Tri-City Dust Devils, with starter Jefferson Mejia giving up five walks and two hits in his five-inning game on Tuesday. He was relieved by Betts, who in turn was replaced by Jake Winston and finally Tommy Eveld. Then on Wednesday night, Taylor Wright was yanked off the mound midway through the top of the fifth after a jaw-dropping 10 hits and eight earned runs. That game resulted in an embarrassing 9-0 shutout win for Tri-City, and it was over before Tucker Ward could step in for Wright.
While the Hops came right back for a 9-1 win on Wednesday, the game still featured four Hillsboro pitchers, with starter Colin Poche only clocking in three innings. Every game should not feature four pitchers, not even in single-A ball. If the Hops management really wants these young players to develop and control the rhythm of the game the way a professional pitcher should, they have to resist the urge to tinker with that lineup.
On the plus side, batting has improved quite a bit over the last two weeks, with catcher Alexis Olmeda growing his reputation for reliable ground balls, Luke Lowery continuing his RBI build-up, and the big bat going to Justin Chigbogu. The first baseman belted his third home run of the season on Wednesday, and has tied Lowery for the team high of eight RBIs. The real stand-out to me is shortstop Sergio Alcantara, who in nine games boasts an on-base percentage of .457 and continues to hustle.
Here’s hoping the stinking tinkering subsides for them.
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