Pippins Preview: June 28 at Corvallis

After Thursday’s series finale in Port Angeles was cancelled due to rain and field conditions, the Pippins hit the road again to continue their 6-game road trip, trekking down to Corvallis, Oregon, to open up a 3-game series with the Corvallis Knights, who swept the Pippins at Yakima County Stadium last weekend. Right-hander Ryan Jameson makes his second start of the summer for the Pippins, and he will be opposed by Corvallis southpaw Jackson Arnsdorf. First pitch is set for 6:30 PM; pre-game coverage with Miles Klotz at pippinsbaseball.com/live will begin at 6:15 PM.

Full Game Notes

PIPPINS SWEPT IN WEDNESDAY DOUBLEHEADER: The Pippins played their first doubleheader of the season on Wednesday and dropped both games on the road to Port Angeles, 4-1 and 5-4 in seven innings apiece. In game one, the Pippins got a 6-inning complete game from Mark Finkelnburg, striking out a season-high 11, but a 3-run, first inning homer by Port Angeles’ Matthew Christian gave the Lefties an early lead that was backed by a strong start from right-hander Frankie Scalzo, who struck out 6 and allowed just one earned run in a 7-inning complete game of his own. In game 2, the Pippins jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning against the Lefties’ Kyle Hamrick, but starter Ty Pohlmann could not finish the first inning for the Pippins, surrendering three runs. After the teams traded a fourth run apiece in the fourth inning, the game headed to the bottom of the ninth, where the Lefties walked it off with an unearned run off of Pippins reliever Nick Brown. Ethan Groff singled up the middle to give the Lefties the sweep of the doubleheader, and of the truncated series.

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY: After getting through the first 18 games of the season with any weather-related issues, delays, or postponements, the Pippins saw every game of the series in Port Angeles affected by inclement weather or field conditions. Tuesday’s original series opener was canceled after 4-plus innings due to rain, forcing a doubleheader for Wednesday. Thursday’s scheduled third game of the series was canceled, with a possible makeup later in the season, after morning rain caused unplayable field conditions at Civic Field.

FOR THE PIPPINS: Right-hander Ryan Jameson will make his second start of the summer for the Pippins when they open up a 3-game series in Corvallis on Friday. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound rising sophomore from Cal Poly made his first start of the year last Saturday, when the Pippins opened up a 3-game home series against the Knights, and was impressive, striking out 8 over 4 innings, allowing just 2 earned runs on 6 hits. On the year, he is 0-1 in 2 appearances with a 3.60 ERA, striking out 11 and walked 3 over 5 innings.

FOR THE KNIGHTS: Left-hander Jackson Arnsdorf will make his first start of the summer for Corvallis to open up the series against the Pippins. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound native of Astoria, OR, has made four appearances out of the bullpen for Corvallis this season, posting a 2-1 record and 0.93 ERA over 9.2 innings of work. Since allowing a run in 1.1 innings in Walla Walla in his first appearance of the year, Arnsdorf has tossed 8.1 consecutive scoreless frames. Opponents have only hit .189 off of the lefty this summer.

TRYING TO STOP THE BLEEDING: With Wednesday’s double-header sweep, the Pippins have dropped six straight games, which is their longest losing streak of the season. In addition, the Pippins have lost six consecutive road games, with their last win away from home coming on the season’s second day in Ridgefield.

A LOT OF DUDES: Two new infielders have debuted recently for the Pippins, with Nick Israel and Adain Welch becoming the 37th and 38th different players to appear in a Pippins uniform so far this season through 20 games. A litany of injures has led to larger-than-expected roster turnover early in the season.

ODDS & ENDS: The Pippins are in the midst of their longest road trip of the season, playing in 2 different cities over six days, but due to the postponements and cancellations, it is not their longest road trip of consecutively played games.

By Miles Klotz

June 28, 2019