Pickles take out frustrations on Sweets

Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 12, 2018

A 2-1 loss to the Walla Walla Sweets on Wednsday at Walker Stadium was especially frustrating for Portland Pickles manager Justin Barchus.

It had nothing to do with the fact the Sweets, a West Coast League South Division rival of Portland, took two of three from the Pickles on June 22-24 in Washington.

Rather, what bugged Barchus were missed chances offensively and a throwing error in the ninth that allowed the Sweets to steal a win and even the three-game college summer baseball series.

“Last night, that was a symptom of the disease,” Barchus said. “We left guys on base all night, we had opportunities. Against a good team, in playoff games, you’re not going to have those opportunities.”

The rubber match on Thursday at Walker Stadium spun a drastically different narrative. Portland scored six runs in the first two innings and held the Sweets to three hits on its way to a 12-0 win before a crowd of 1,978.

“I’m happy with the way the guys responded today,” Barchus said. “That was a pretty pro-approach, if you will, of how to handle yourself.”

“The way we lost yesterday, that kind of left a bad taste in our mouth,” shortstop Gio Diaz said. “We really came out aggressive with a “punch somebody in the mouth” attitude, and it worked out today.”

The win pulled Portland (20-12 overall) into a three-way tie for first in the second-half South Division standings. Walla Walla (18-15) is tied with Portland and Corvallis with a 3-3 second-half record.

The Pickles claimed the first-half crown last week and will enjoy home-field advantage in the first round of the four-team playoff series in August.

Diaz, a Saint Mary’s player who is hitting .336 and was named to the WCL South Division All-Star team, got Portland on the board immediately. After Sweets starter Darius Vines (Arizona State) walked second baseman Carson Breshears (Gonzaga) to lead off the first, Diaz blasted a two-run home run.

“I was just looking for a fastball,” Diaz said. “I knew he wasn’t commanding his fastball or changeup very well. I was looking to hurt that fastball early, and I got a good swing on it.”

Vines issued a walk and hit two batters with the bases loaded in the second to make the score 5-0. Diaz then laced an RBI single to right field off another fastball down the middle.

During the Pickles’ series against the Kelowna Falcons in British Columbia last weekend, Barchus moved Diaz from the leadoff spot to the two-hole in the batting order. Breshears has led off for Portland in its last five games.

Diaz said the adjustments he has been forced to make started to come together on Thursday.

“I was struggling a little bit out of the one-hole, but I pretty much have the same approach,” he said. “I try and hunt my pitch. Things are starting to click a little bit more for me out of the two-spot.”

It was an uncharacteristic start for Vines, who entered with a 3-0 record and a 0.50 ERA and is in his third summer in the WCL. The right-hander was out of the game after two innings, and his ERA ballooned to 3.15.

“I’ve seen that kid pitch for two years in this league,” Barchus said of Vines. “He’s electric. He just didn’t have control of his off-speed, which made him kind of one-dimensional.

“Normally, he’s about 90-92 (miles per hour with his fastball). Tonight, he was about 86-87, which changes the approach a little bit.”

Portland tagged the Sweets bullpen for six runs in the sixth inning. The Pickles had 11 hits and struck out just three times. Breshears and designated hitter Mikey Perez (UCLA) each finished with two RBIs.

Portland got another shutdown start out of lefty Michael Newstrom (Washington State). The Puyallup, Washington, native was perfect for three innings, keeping his fastball low and hardly using his breaking ball.

Newstrom (2-3, 2.67) also was named a WCL all-star and has struck out 39 batters in 27 innings.

Barchus inserted righty Colin Suter (Gonzaga) in the fourth. Suter scattered three hits over as many innings.

Barchus said his confidence in the bullpen made him feel better about removing Newstrom early.

“Yeah, Newstrom had the no-no going, but I had confidence in Suter coming in after him,” Barchus said. “This summer is about sticking to the plan. It’s about taking care of their arms. You don’t flinch when it’s results versus taking care of a kid.”

Righties Alex Roth (Western Oregon) and Dylan Lamb (University of Washington) held the Sweets hitless over the final three frames.

The Pickles’ early cushion allowed the team to showcase its offensive depth.

Outfielders Brody Barnum (WSU) and Gabe Skoro (University of Portland) and infielder Sam Novitske (University of Oregon) entered the game late. They have been squeezed out of the team’s regular starting lineup by older players.

Barnum, Skoro and Novitske are batting .276, .302 and .242, respectively, and likely would be regular starters on other teams. Barnum hit a sacrifice fly, and Novitske recorded a hit.

Barchus said the three players, along with other underclassmen not playing every day, have maintained a professional approach.

“We’re going to need everybody down the stretch run,” he said. “I think these guys understand you don’t necessarily want 150 to 200 at-bats this summer, because they’re going to have to go back in the fall and be healthy. At the end of the day, this is a competitive league.

“We’ve done a better job, I think, of being able to switch our lineup. It’s all about commitment to the team, and if they think there’s a better situation somewhere else, where they can get more at-bats, then we have that conversation.”

Portland now turns its attention again to Kelowna (20-13). The teams will play the first of a three-game series at 7 p.m. Friday at Walker Stadium.

The Falcons, who lead the WCL second-half North Division at 6-1, are a polarizing team, statistically.

They lead the league in many major offensive categories, including team batting average (.299), on-base percentage (.387) and hits (356). Outfielder and WCL All-Star Nick Tinglesta leads the league in batting average (.376). He is tied in RBIs (28) with Portland’s Zander Clarke and ranks second to Clarke in home runs with seven (Clarke has eight, and is hitting .390 but lacks enough at-bats to qualify for the league lead in that department).

The Falcons’ offensive ability was on display in their series-clinching 9-4 win over Portland on Sunday.

Kelowna also has the league’s worst pitching marks. Its 5.73 ERA, 30 home runs allowed and .274 opponent batting average are WCL highs.

Barchus said the series loss at Kelowna prompted a team meeting. The Pickles had lost three of four since winning the first-half flag.

Diaz acknowledged Kelowna is a talented team but said he expects the next series to be different, with the Falcons having to take an eight-hour bus ride south.

“It was a little tough going up to Canada, that long trip,” he said. “But when we’re here at home, we’re tough to beat. We play hard no matter what. Good luck to them when they try and play here.”