HILLSBORO – The visiting Tri-City Dust Devils (26-34 2H, 61-65) came back from a 5-0 deficit to get within two of the Hillsboro Hops (29-31 2H, 61-65) Sunday afternoon, but the Hops held off their guests by a score of 7-3 at Hops Ballpark to close out the six-game series.
The first two runs for Tri-City came in the top of the 6th inning. The frame started with back-to-back doubles from DH Ryland Zaborowski and LF Jonny McGill, with the latter a line drive that looked headed right for Hillsboro LF Abdias De La Cruz. He misread it but recovered quickly, with Zaborowski initially heading back to second before getting to third. That put the two in scoring position, and both would come in. C Peter Burns’s sacrifice fly to left center scored Zaborowski for the Dust Devils’ first run of the game. McGill, who advanced to third on a groundout, later scored on a wild pitch by Hops reliever Joangel Gonzalez (4-2) to make it a 5-2 game.
CF Hayden Alvarez got things started an inning later after getting hit by a Gonzalez slider. RF Jorge Ruiz’s line drive single allowed Alvarez to turn the corner and get to third, from which he scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of 3B Harold Coll to cut the Hillsboro lead to 5-3. The home side scored twice in the bottom of the 7th to stretch the lead back out, and Hops reliever Rocco Reid got the final seven outs to earn the save.
Tri-City starter Chase Shores (3-3) struggled with a patient Hillsboro lineup, throwing 38 pitches in the bottom of the 1st and getting only two outs in his shortest outing as a professional. He gave up three runs on three hits, walking two and striking out one in his time on the mound.
DUST DEVILS NOTES
-Jorge Ruiz went 2-for-5 in the game, the only Tri-City hitter with a multi-hit performance in the team’s seven hit effort. Harold Coll reached three times, all via walk, to close out a strong series at the plate.
-On the mound, Dust Devils reliever Benny Thompson bounced back from a bases loaded walk to throw 2.1 scoreless innings of relief. Getting looser as the outing went on, the South Bend, Indiana native struck out five of the nine batters he faced. Fulton Lockhart threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the 8th, striking out a pair.
-The Vancouver Canadians defeated the Spokane Indians 4-3 Sunday afternoon at Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium, officially eliminating Tri-City from Second Half playoff contention. The Eugene Emeralds took an 8-4 win over the Everett AquaSox at Everett Memorial Stadium, pushing the Frogs four games behind Vancouver with six to play.
SIX MORE IN 2026
The Dust Devils come home to host the Vancouver Canadians for a six-game series beginning on a Coca-Cola Tuesday, September 1, at 6:30 p.m. at Gesa Stadium. The earlier game time holds through Saturday night, with a 1:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon game closing out the 2026 season. Pitching matchups have not been announced.
Free broadcast coverage on the MiLB app and dustdevilsbaseball.com begins Tuesday night with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 6:10 p.m. Fans can also watch the game for free on Bally Sports Live (Tri-City broadcast), and via subscription on MLB.tv and the MiLB app.
There’s still loads of fun in store for the final series of the year including a 2027 wall calendar giveaway, two fireworks nights, the return of the Zooperstars, and a 25th Season jersey auction. For tickets to the Vancouver series, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.