Philip Clarke drove in the lone run for Vancouver Thursday.

The Vancouver Canadians saw their two series winning streak come to an end. They lost their second straight to the Spokane Indians 5-1 at Avista Stadium Thursday.

Vancouver scored first in the first inning off Justin Slaten when Trevor Schwecke made it to second on an infield single to second and a Stanley Martinez throwing error. Philip Clarke punched a single to right to score Schwecke.

The C’s lead only lasted four batters into the bottom of the first. Kellen Strahm got aboard on a leadoff walk against Juan Diaz and advanced to second on an Obie Ricumstrict grounder to second. Strahm would score on a two-out single to left by Blaine Crim. Crim got into scoring position on a fielding error from McGregory Contreras in left. That allowed David Garcia to bring home Crim with another single to left to put the Indians ahead for good.

Spokane expanded their lead in the sixth when Luis Ascunsion started the frame with a single before Crim belted a two-run home run to left-center field off Diaz to make it 4-1 for the home side.

Crim would strike again in the eighth by homering again to left-center off Luke Gillingham for the final tally.

Nicolas Medina worked a scoreless inning of relief for Vancouver Thursday.

C-Notes

The C’s best chance to get back in the game was in the fourth when Schwecke and Clarke got aboard on a pair of singles against Luis Rosario. Contreras bunted them over to third but the Spokane infield would not let any bullets through as Will Robertson lined out to first and Luis De Los Santos lined out to third.

Yorman Rodriguez began the fifth with a single and got to second on a Schwecke 6-4-3 groundout. A Clarke groundout to third brought Rodriguez up another 90 feet but Contreras struck out to leave Rodriguez at third.

A De Los Santos single in the seventh off and a Schwecke walk in the eighth off Nick Starr led nowhere for the C’s. Daniel Robert finished up the game with a 1-2-3 ninth for Spokane.

Juan Diaz gave up four runs in six innings but one run was unearned to give him a quality start. He struck out seven while allowing five hits and a walk.

Nicolas Medina overcame a walk and a fielding error by Tanner Morris at second to pitch a scoreless seventh inning, stranding runners on the corners.

The C’s have committed seven errors over the first two games of this series. The only time Crim did not reach base via a hit was a fielding error by Ronny Brito at third in the third inning.

The C’s have a new pitcher on their roster. Righthander Jared DiCesare joins the club from Bluefield where he posted a 2-1 record with a 3.60 earned run average. He was named the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Week for July 7. The 6-foot-0 Fairfax, Virginia native was taken by Toronto in the 17th round of last month’s MLB Draft from George Mason University.

Vancouver and Spokane conclude this three-game set Thursday in a 6:30 pm first pitch at Avista Stadium. You can hear the game on Sportsnet 650 and CanadiansBaseball.com.

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Published by Niall O'Donohoe

My name is Niall O’Donohoe and I am an avid follower of baseball. My blog beginnings began in 2007 with Batter’s Box under the alias #2JBrumfield. The blog formerly known as Niall On Baseball, C’s Plus Baseball strives to deliver plus coverage of the C’s through photos, observations and interviews of the players striving to make it to the major leagues. If you like what you see here, please spread the word about CsPlusBaseball.ca through your favourite social media platform. This blog began just before the C's championship season in 2017 and the goal is to deliver awesome content about Canada’s only affiliated professional minor league baseball club. Thanks a million for being here!