The Vancouver Canadians will not have a winning homestand to open 2019. The C’s dropped their second straight to the Eugene Emeralds 3-1 at Nat Bailey Stadium Wednesday night. Vancouver is 2-4 on the year and will need a win to salvage a split of their four-game set against the defending Northwest League champion Emeralds.
Texas State product Nick Fraze was given the start for Vancouver. The righthander retired the first two hitters and overcame a Ronny Brito error at third by striking out Caleb Knight for his first professional whiff.
The Em’s did get to Fraze for a run in the second. Yonathan Perlaza singled, moved to second on a groundout before Reivaj Garcia eventually delivered a two-out single to cash in Peralza.
Eugene tacked on their second run in the fifth when Garcia singled off Alex Nolan, stole second, got to third on a groundout before reaching on a fielding error by shortstop Luis De Los Santos.
Vancouver answered that run in their half of the fifth when Dominic Abbadessa singled off Eduarniel Nunez. Abbadessa stole second and third and came home on an Adrian Ramos grounder.
The Emeralds got their two-run lead back in the ninth off Grayson Huffman. Perlaza singled and stole second with one out and made it home on a two-out, two-strike by Fernando Kelli.
Radar Gun Rundown
Fraze recorded a swinging strikeout of 83 miles per hour. He also checked in at 77 and 79 all the way to 90. Other speeds reached were 80, 82 85, 87 and 89. He recorded seven groundball outs.
Nolan’s first professional pitch was a good one as swung on and missed by Knight who took a big cut and dropped to one knee to try to make contact. He registered pitches at 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81 and 82 while reaching 88, 90 and 92. His lone strikeout was 89 swinging. He had eight outs on the ground.
Huffman had a strikeout at 80 and reached 92 and 94 at the high end. Neither Fraze, Nolan or Huffman walked a hitter.
C-Notes
Trevor Schwecke had the first hit of the night for Vancouver with one out in the eighth when he beat out a single and advanced to second on a throwing error at third by Perlaza. Yorman Rodriguez lined out to short and Schwecke was doubled off to end the inning. Schwecke finished 2-for-4.
Rodriguez made his first start of the season behind the plate and threw out two of four potential base stealers. He got Knight at third in the fourth inning and Vazquez at second in the ninth.
At the plate, Rodriguez was also 2-for-4 but made a baserunning mistake in the ninth. Will Robertson lifted a fly ball to right field off Enrique De Los Rios that Americaan lost sight of. Rodriguez thought Americaan made the catch and retreated to first base. That allowed Americaan to recover the ball and he got Rodriguez at second on a 9-6-5 fielder’s choice.
Robertson got a nice bounce for a base hit in the second inning. The ball went off the second base bag and ricocheted into right field. Luis De Los Santos then hit an ‘at ’em ball’ by lining one to center field as the C’s could not take advantage.
De Los Santos started the seventh inning with a base hit off Maikel Aguiar but was doubled off after Abbadessa flied out to center on an 8-3 putout.
Ramos drew a leadoff walk in the eighth inning but he was thrown out trying to steal second. The C’s then went down in order.
Ronny Brito had a positive day overall on the hot corner. A bad bounce on the infield dirt led to a Brito error in the first inning but he showed quick reactions by handling a sharp grounder off the bat of Kelli in the second. Brito also made a beautiful barehanded throw on a bunt by Garcia to get the out in the seventh.
Davis Schneider made a nice running catch near the right field line as he came all the way from second base to track the ball down to retire Knight to start the ninth.
The C’s conclude the homestand with a 1:05 pm game Thursday against the Em’s. Adam Kloffenstein gets the ball for his second start of the season for Vancouver. Zach Mort is scheduled to go for Eugene.
Vancouver will head on the road to Hillsboro for the start of a seven-game road trip that concludes in Everett. The Canadians return home Friday, June 28 to take on the Spokane Indians.
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