Vancouver Canadians Tanner Kirwer

Sherwood Park, Alberta native Tanner Kirwer scored Vancouver’s first run of the 2018 season.

The Vancouver Canadians are on the verge of dropping their opening series of 2018. The Eugene Emeralds jumped out to a 5-0 lead en-route to an 8-4 win over the C’s at P.K Park Saturday night. The C’s fall to 0-2 on the season, one game back of the Spokane Indians who earned the distinction of getting the first win in the North Division this season.

Eugene manager Steve Lerud called his first professional victory as a manager easy which served as bulletin board material for the C’s before tonight’s game. C’s starter Jose Espada looked like he had something to prove by striking out the side swinging on just 13 pitches, hitting 93 miles per hour on the radar gun.

Things took a turn for the worse in the second for Espada when he took a sharp ground ball off the foot from Nelson Velazquez. Espada’s next pitch resulted in a run-scoring double by Jonathan Sierra and he would score on a Luis Diaz ground ball to short after stealing third.

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The third inning saw Espada self-destruct by walking leadoff hitter Fernando Kelli who went to second on a wild pitch and go to third on an errant pickoff throw. Kelli would score on a sacrifice fly by Jonathan Soto.

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Espada would strike out Christopher Morel swinging for the second out but a Velazquez single, a Sierra double and a Diaz single scored two more runs before Diaz was cut down at second to end the inning.

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After 12 scoreless innings, Vancouver finally touched the pentagon for the first time in 2018. Tanner Kirwer singled to left off Jeffrey Passentino before coming all the way around to score on a Nick Podkul triple to right. Podkul would come in to score on a Christopher Bec ground ball to third to cut Eugene’s lead to 5-2.

Lefthander Marcus Reyes relieved Espada in the fourth but he ran into problems with a leadoff single to Ramsey Romano after getting ahead on a 0-2 pitch. After a Kwang Ming-Kwon single put runners at first and second, Luis Vazquez lined into a 4-6 double play thanks to a diving stop by Podkul. Kelli would ground a single to right field and an error by Brandon Polizzi allowed Kwon to score. Reyes would pick off Kelli before calling it a night.

Lefty Nick Allgeyer made his pro debut in the fifth and induced a comeback to the mound from Soto but he plunked Morel and threw a wild pitch to put Morel into scoring position. Allgeyer would whiff Velazquez on a called strike three but Sierra would get a two-out base hit to right to score Morel and restore Eugene’s five-run lead.

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Denis Diaz worked a one-walk seventh in his first appearance in a Vancouver uniform since 2016 and Cobi Johnson turned in an impressive eighth inning in his inaugural appearance in the professional ranks with two strikeouts sandwiching an infield pop up to third. Johnson was clocked as high as 92 miles per hour.

Vancouver tried to claw its way back in the top of the eighth when McGregory Contreras had a pinch-hit single in place of Polizzi and that was followed by a walk to Vinny Capra and a plunk to the shoulder of Kirwer by Mitch Stophel. Eugenio Palma took over on the mound for the Emeralds and surrendering a run-scoring fly ball to Podkul to bring the C’s to within four. Palma then snared a liner off the bat of Bec and doubled off Capra to end the threat.

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Juan Nunez started the eighth for the C’s and struck out Sierra but two walks and two singles produced another Eugene run with Vazquez getting Diaz home on a ground ball to third. Like Palma the half-inning before, Nunez ended the inning by snagging a liner and tossing it to second for the inning-ending twin killing.

Johnson earned a one-out walk against Palma in the ninth and he would eventually score on a Navarro opposite-field double to right for Vancouver’s fourth run. Navarro would steal third but pinch-hitter Bryan Lizardo—subbing for Freddy Rodriguez—and Contreras both struck out to end the game.

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C-Notes

C's NotesThe C’s had an opportunity to get on the board in the third inning when Polizzi reached on an error at second but he was doubled off on a fly ball from Capra.

Capra would lead off the sixth when he took on for the team and he was joined on the basepaths when Podkul walked with one out. After a visit to the mound, Jake Steffens got out of the jam by inducing groundouts to short by Sterling Guzman and Bec.

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The Eugene Emeralds were known as the Los Monarcas de Eugene (The Monarchs of Eugene) for the night as part of MiLB’s Copa de la Diversión (Fun Cup) initiative to celebrate Latin America’s influence on the sport.

C’s Alumni Update

cs_alumni_update_new_logoTwo former C’s contributed to the Florida State League North Division’s 5-0 victory over the South Division during the FSL All-Star Game in Tampa. 2017 catcher Riley Adams had an RBI double and scored a run while 2015 lefthander Angel Perdomo earned a hold with a scoreless inning as he worked around a walk and a hit. 2013 C’s designated and current Reds farmhand Mitch Nay also had base hits in his two at-bats.

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