Eugene snaps Bears’ streak

YAKIMA, Wash. — If Bob Didier has said it once he’s said it a thousand times: In professional baseball, what you did the previous day means nothing.

Or in the Bears’ case, the five previous days.

“Even the major-college guys on our team, they’d play three days in a row and then get a day off,” Didier said after the Bears’ five-game winning streak was abruptly halted, 9-1 by Eugene on Saturday night. “In this league, you play five at home and then you get on the bus the next morning, drive six hours and play again.”

So after a 4-1 homestand that nonetheless provided substantial encouragement — especially for Bears fans who haven’t seen a winner since the Conor Jackson-led club of 2003 — Yakima (5-3) will play its next three at Boise before returning to Yakima County Stadium on Wednesday night to meet Spokane.

Before an announced crowd of 1,755, some of whom brought brooms in hope of a sweep, a Bears team that had rallied to claim four of its five wins this time fell behind and stayed behind.

Eugene (2-6) scored twice in the first off Bears starter Andrew Wolcott, getting RBI groundouts from Vince Belnome and Nate Freiman after loading the bases via two singles and a walk.

Wolcott’s successor, Dan Taylor, was greeted rudely in the fifth by Ems designated hitter Edinson Rincon, who homered to left on Taylor’s first pitch.

Then with one out, successive singles and Bo Davis’ double produced another run, and Belnome’s two-out, two-bagger plated two more for a 6-1 Eugene cushion.

The Ems added another run in the sixth on a Rincon triple and Griffin Benedict single, and posted two final tallies in the ninth off Freiman’s RBI single and a bases-loaded walk to Rincon.

“What they did tonight was they taught us a lesson,” Didier said. “They hit the heck out of the fastball in fastball counts — 2-0 and 3-1 — so they taught us that we can’t get away with not throwing breaking pitches for strikes and constantly getting behind in the count.”

Yakima, meanwhile, had produced 10 or more hits in each of its victories, but labored against Eugene left-hander Jose De Paula and two relievers.

The Bears’ lone run scored on a balk, following Dan Kaczrowski’s single, stolen base and a groundout to first.

For the night Yakima totaled only six hits — three by Kaczrowski, who’s gone 6-for-9 over his last two games. Usually a middle infielder, Kaczrowski also made two diving catches in left field and stole two bases.

“You know what he’s trying to tell the manager?” Didier asked. “He’s telling the manager he wants to keep playing. You get three hits, steal two bases and make two diving catches, that’s how you tell the manager you want to play.

“And he’ll be in the lineup tomorrow night.”

Yakima’s streak was its longest since the aforementioned 2003 squad won seven straight en route to a 45-31 finish.

Rincon’s three hits led the Emeralds, who have led in seven of their eight games, while Freiman, Railey and Davis added two hits each and Belnome had three RBI.