Bears Fall On Walk-Off Homer

The Yakima Bears fell 6-5 to the Boise Hawks in a back-and-forth game Monday night at Memorial Stadium in Boise, Idaho. A walk-off home run by Jeimer Candelario in the ninth inning moved the Bears record to 19-12 this season.

The Bears struck first with a RBI-single from Ronnie Freeman in the second inning that plated Jimmy Comerota, who had reached on a walk. The Hawks answered with two runs in the fourth inning on three hits. The Bears moved back in front with two runs on three singles in the fifth inning, including an RBI-single by Wagner Mateo. After the Hawks tied the game with a run in sixth inning, Mateo hit a two-run double in the seventh to give the Bears a 5-3 lead. An error in field led to two unearned runs by the Hawks in the eighth inning. Then, in the ninth inning, Candelario hit a home run over the right field wall.

Blake Forslund pitched the final two innings, giving up the three runs that put the Hawks on top. Enrique Burgos pitched the sixth and seventh innings, allowing one run on three hits. Starter Blake Perry yielded two earned runs on seven hits in five innings of work.

The Bears were outhit 13-6 in the loss, with Boise connecting on six extra-base hits. Kevin Medrano extended his hitting streak to 10-straight games with a 1-for-5 performance. Mateo finished 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Mike Lang went 2-for-4, his fourth multi-hit game in his last five starts.

While the Bears did not win, Tri-City lost to Spokane, so the Bears magic number (combination of Bears wins or Dust Devil losses that would secure a first-half playoff spot) is now two with seven games left in the first half. The Bears play game two of the three-game series against the Hawks at 6:15 pacific time. The expected starters at Memorial Stadium are right-handed pitchers Kyle Owings of the Bears and James Pugliese of the Hawks.