Three games, three runs. That was all the Vancouver Canadians scored this weekend as the Tri-City Dust Devils picked up another 2-1 win at Gesa Stadium Sunday. Vancouver completed its road trip with a 3-7 record and a four-game losing streak.
The Dust Devils got to Grant Townsend for a run in their first at-bat. Jordy Barley opened the inning with a triple to right field and would score on a ground ball on a Reinaldo Ilarraza ground ball to short. Townsend gave up another three-bagger to Matthew Acosta with two outs and then walked Logan Driscoll but Nick Gatewood lined out to right to end the inning.
The Canadians tied the game in the sixth when Tanner Morris singled off Connor Lehmann up the middle with one out before stealing second and reaching third on a Yorman Rodriguez base hit to right with Rodriguez moving up to second base on the throw back to the infield. Philip Clarke grounded out to first to score Morris and advance Rodriguez to third but Trevor Schwecke was called out on strikes to conclude the frame.
Tri-City would regain the lead in their half of the sixth when Gatewood took Gabriel Ponce deep for a solo home run to right with one out.
Mike Pascoe and Grayson Huffman shutdown the Dust Devils in the seventh and eighth innings respectively.
Lehmann got the win in relief of Jason Reynolds as the two completed three-inning stints. Jason Blanchard worked a scoreless seventh, Angel Acevedo got the first out of the eighth and Deacon Medders got the final five outs for the save.
C-Notes
Rodriguez was Vancouver’s first baserunner with a one out walk in the first but he was thrown out stealing to end the inning. Jesus Lopez had the C’s first base hit with two away in the second inning and made it to second on a wild pitch but Cameron Eden popped out to short.
Save for a two out walk in the fourth by Schwecke, the C’s had nothing going in innings three through five.
Lopez got a one-out double in the seventh but Eden grounded out to third and Contreras flied out. The eighth inning saw Morris single to left and Rodriguez walk with one man down against Acevedo. Morris made it to third when Medders retired Clarke on a flyout to right but a Schwecke groundout to second stopped the rally.
Will Robertson began the ninth with a leadoff walk and got to second with two out on a wild pitch but Contreras was caught looking at strike three to end the game.
Just three players had the five hits for Vancouver with Morris and Lopez getting two each while Rodriguez had a hit and two walks and will head into the All-Star break with a Northwest League-leading .369 batting average.
Townsend pitched 2-2/3 innings of one-run ball while Ponce took the loss with one-run ball of 3-1/3 innings, stranding a run for Townsend and striking out three. Pascoe and Huffman contributed perfect frames by striking out the leadoff batter.
Congratulations to Philip Clarke as he has been named to the Northwest League All-Star squad. The best of the Northwest League takes on the best from the Pioneer League at Boise Memorial Stadium Tuesday night. Clarke joins Adam Kloffenstein, Yorman Rodriguez and Trevor Schwecke on the NWL roster.
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