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No, the Tri-City Dust Devils aren't ready to throw in the towel.
Not after suffering through their fourth loss in five games, 4-2 to the Yakima Bears on Friday night, on the tail end of what has been a dismal summer.
Not after falling victim to some of the same old bugaboos -- a dreadful patch of hitting and bad defense at the worst time -- that have haunted them all season.
Not even after slogging through a 3-hour, 4-minute game that inched along grudgingly despite a paucity of offense for both teams -- just 10 hits combined.
That's because, bottom line, playing baseball for a living beats the heck out of working in an office, every day of the week and twice after a rainout.
"We love the game -- that's why we play," said Dust Devils outfielder Jared Simon, who admitted it isn't easy to put frustrating games like Friday's behind him. But that's what professionals do.
"Every day is a new day, and it doesn't matter what you did the previous game, whether you went 0-for-4 or 4-for-4. You start every game new."
The Dust Devils (11-19 second half) will be happy to start fresh when they take on the Bears (19-11) tonight in the second game of their three-game set.
Of course, they'll have to put behind them a two-run error in the sixth inning -- a tough throw to first by shortstop Jeremiah Sammy across his body while charging hard -- as well as a 4-for-31 performance at the plate (.129) that couldn't dig them out of the shallowest of holes.
"Pitching did a good job today," said Tri-City manager Fred Ocasio, whose staff gave up only six hits and two earned runs while striking out 11.
The Dust Devils got off to a good start, even giving the 2,620 fans at Gesa Stadium a reason to smile by striking out beer batter Yazy Arbelo (a .305 hitter) in the top of the first inning.
Tri-City picked up a gift run in the bottom of the frame. Hot-hitting Nathan Hines drew a leadoff walk and, after a pop-up to second, moved up on a pitch in the dirt. Leonardo Reyes then fouled off a pair of 1-2 offerings before blooping a fly to shallow right that fell a few inches beyond the reach of the second baseman's glove.
Hines, having to hold up on the fly, had no chance to score, but the throw from shallow right was an ugly one-hopper that got away from the catcher and allowed Hines to jog home.
The Dust Devils certainly earned their run in the third, with Simon fouling off pitch after pitch from Yakima starter Enrique Burgos before finally poking a ball into left to score Dominic Altobelli.
"I was just trying to put the ball into play," Simon said of the 11-pitch at-bat. "But as he threw more pitches, I was seeing the ball better."
The two-run margin didn't last past Yakima's next turn at the plate.
Tri-City starter Josh Mueller had an inconsistent outing, breezing through the first and third innings -- the latter a nine-pitch frame. But he walked a pair of batters in the second before escaping a bases-loaded jam, and then was undone by more control problems in the fourth.
After loading the bases on two more walks and an infield single, Yakima finally got on the board when Mike Freeman's soft liner fell into center and plated a pair of two-out runs.
It was the end of the night for Mueller, who gave up just one hard-hit ball but still allowed eight batters to reach in less than four complete.
Tyler Trice, Billy Vopinek and Brad McAtee went the rest of the way, giving up a pair of unearned runs by Trice.
"We have to give them more runs," Simon said. "(Yakima) scored four, but we have to get more than that."
NOTES
McAtee provided one of the rare moments of excitement late in the game on a pitch that didn't even count. Arbelo stepped out of the box and was awarded time, but McAtee was already in his windup and delivered a high fastball. Startled by a pitch a little too close to his head, Arbelo dropped his bat charged the mound, emptying both dugouts. No punches, no ejections, no harm, no foul. ... Yakima's top three hitters -- Freeman, Zach Walters and Arbelo -- came in hitting a combined .319 but went 2-for-14 with six strikeouts. Arbelo went down swinging three times, much to the delight of the thirsty crowd. ... Tonight's scheduled starters are Josh Hungerman (4-4, 2.55 ERA) for Tri-City and Brad Wilson (2-3, 4.22) for Yakima.
