The Vancouver Canadians rallied to defeat the Spokane Indians 3-1 at Nat Bailey Stadium on Saturday.
Spokane started the scoring with one of the craziest plays ever seen at The Nat. Vancouver starter Ryan Jennings was nearly out of the third inning with two outs and nobody on. He struck out Jean Perez but a wild pitch and a throw off the mark from catcher Robert Brooks pulled Jackson Hornung off the first base bag. Hornung dove back to the bag with the ball in his glove but he was too late to get Perez. Two pitches later, Cole Carrigg singled to right-center and newcomer Je’Von Ward unleashed a throw to try to get Perez at third. Instead, the ball went off the foot of Perez and after getting untangled from Marcos De La Rosa at third base, Perez slid home headfirst safely. Carrigg had gotten all the way around to third base and the throw by Brooks went awry into left field. Jamari Baylor was able to gather the ball and throw the ball back to Brooks. Fortunately for the C’s, Carrigg blew a tire and fell flat on his face in the grass well short of home plate and that allowed Brooks to make the tag. For those of you scoring at home, that’s an E9, an E2 and a 7-2 putout after Carrigg’s single to right. Hat tip to official scorer Mike Hanafin who clarified the scoring on the MiLB.TV broadcast.
The Canadians finally tied the game with one out in the seventh when Ward belted a solo home run off Spokane starter Blake Adams that clanged off the former Slug the Mug sign in right-center field. Ward did not know it was a home run as he slid feet first into third base. C’s manager Brent Lavallee told Ward from the third base coaching box that he could continue to make his way to home plate with the tying run.
Vancouver gave Jace Bohrofen the first 7-1/2 innings off before he came in to pinch-hit for De La Rosa to begin the bottom of the eighth. The former Arkansas Razorback bashed a 3-2 pitch from Spokane reliever Brayan Castillo over the wall in right field to put the C’s ahead for the first time in the series. Baylor then jumped on the next pitch for a single to right and would steal second on a headfirst dive despite a pitchout. The throw from Spokane backstop Jesus Ordoñez wound up in center field and Baylor went to third on another headfirst slide. Nick Goodwin then went to the opposite field with a two-out single to right to cash in Baylor with an insurance run.
Chay Yeager earned the victory, his first of the season.
C-Notes
Jennings faced just three batters in the top of the first. An infield single by Dyan Jorge to short was taken care of with a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Kyle Karros. The second inning was Jennings’ first perfect frame which he ended by striking out Bryant Betancourt.
After a clean fourth, Jennings gave up a Juan Guerrero single before striking out Betancourt again. Robby Martin Jr. singled to center and Ordoñez walked to load the bases but Jennings fanned Ordoñez and got Carrigg to ground out to short.
Jennings struck out Karros for the second out of the sixth but a Jake Snider base hit to right ended his day. Conor Larkin stranded the runners by getting Guerrero to pop out to first.
In the seventh, Larkin yielded a single to right by Martin but Ordoñez flew out to center and Dylan Rock made the throw to first to double off Martin for an 8-3 twin-killing.
The eighth inning saw Larkin get a strikeout as Perez was not ready to hit and was called for a time count violation. Jorge then lined a triple down the right field line to force Larkin from the game. Yeager needed just one pitch to get out of the inning as he got Snider to pop out to third. He got the victory by recording three outs on the ground in the ninth, including a game-ending groundout to second by Martin.
Goodwin was the first Canadian batter to reach base with a leadoff walk in the second but was the victim of a 2-4 caught stealing. Robert Brooks followed with the first Vancouver hit with a single to right that just eluded a diving Martin.
Hornung drove one to deep center, forcing Carrigg against the wall before making the catch on the warning track in the fourth inning. Goodwin extended the inning with an infield hit to second but that was it for the C’s.
Brooks beat out an infield single to short to start the fifth before Adams retired the next three hitters in a row.
After Ward’s game-tying homer in the seventh, C’s designated hitter Jommer Hernández singled to right and Jean Arnaez singled to left. Hernández tried to make it to third but was cut down on a 7-5 putout.
Je’Von Ward was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Blue Jays on June 13 and made his debut in right field on Saturday. The outfielder was a 2017 draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in the 12th round out Richard Gahr High School in his hometown of Cerritos, California. He spent six years in the Brewers system and was sent to the Arizona Fall League in 2022 before being released on August 20, 2023 after spending the year with the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Baylor began this season with the Kane County Cougars of the independent American Association where he batted .292/.388/.416 with a home run among eight extra-base hits and eight stolen bases in 22 games. The 24-year-old has been assigned number 24 for the Canadians.
Infielder/outfielder Glenn Santiago has been promoted to Double-A New Hampshire. He played in 36 games this season and homered twice while driving in 14 runs. The 23-year-old from Yauco, Puerto Rico native has spent parts of the last three seasons in Vancouver.
Also, 2022-2023 C’s pitcher Dahian Santos has been assigned to the Florida Complex League for a rehab assignment.
Rafael Sánchez will get the start for Sunday’s series finale. Game time is 1:05 p.m. on CanadiansBaseball.com and MiLB.TV. Tyler Zickel and Chris Georges will handle the PBP from Nat Bailey Stadium.
Radar Gun Rundown
Ryan Jennings was at 81-97 miles per hour and rang up batters at 85, 84, 89, 88 and 96. Conor Larkin checked in at 80-96 and Chay Yeager was at 90-98.
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