Hillsboro, OR (August 27, 2026) - Dean Livingston looked right at home in his High-A debut Thursday night. The 19-year-old right-hander held the Tri-City Dust Devils to one run over five innings, striking out six and allowing just three hits. Then, after Tri-City starter Yeferson Vargas had kept the Hillsboro Hops off the scoreboard for five innings, the Hops finally broke through with a four-run sixth inning to take the lead in a 4-2 victory at Hops Ballpark. With the win, Hillsboro has won the first three games of the series and will be looking for their sixth straight win on Friday night.
Livingston worked around a pair of baserunners in the second before settling into a rhythm. He struck out Kendrey Maduro and Jorge Ruiz in the first inning, then escaped a two-on situation in the second by striking out Kevyn Castillo and Harold Coll in succession.
Tri-City finally broke through in the fifth. Capri Ortiz tripled with one out, and Alberto Rios followed with a ground-ball single that scored Ortiz. Rios was thrown out trying to advance to second, allowing Livingston to escape with only one run charged against him. Livingston finished his debut having allowed three hits and one run over five innings, with two walks and six strikeouts on 64 pitches.
After having nothing going against Vargas through five innings, Hillsboro would chase him from the game with nobody out in the sixth. The Hops loaded the bases with nobody out on three straight walks. Josepha lined a double to right field that brought two runners home to give the Hops a 2-1 advantage and then they would add on with a sacrifice fly and Chris Katz double to stretch the Hops' lead to 4-1.
The Dust Devils got one run back in the eighth when Kendrey Maduro tripled home Alberto Rios, but Kyle Ayers shut the door from there. The right-hander followed Livingston with four innings of relief, allowing one run on four hits while striking out two to earn the victory.
The Hops finished with seven hits, three from Yerald Nin and doubles from Josepha and Katz, while Tri-City collected seven hits.
Hillsboro has won five straight games and seven of their last eight. They need just one win in the next three games to clinch the series victory. Hillsboro is five games out of a playoff spot with nine games to go in 2026.
Game four of the series will be tomorrow night at Hops Ballpark at 6:35, with the pregame show starting at 6:20 on Rip City Radio 620 AM.