The Vancouver Canadians were edged 5-4 by the Everett AquaSox at Funko Field on Thursday.
The C’s got two runners on with one out in the first when Andrés Sosa made it to first on a single to short and Alex De Jesús got aboard on a fielding error by Ben Ramirez at third. Everett starter Reid Van Scoter stranded the runners, ending the frame by striking out Garrett Spain.
Vancouver starter Rafael Sanchez worked a perfect bottom of the first, punctuating it with a strikeout of Alberto Rodriguez.
Peyton Williams was hit by a Van Scoter pitch with one away in the top of the second but Josh Kasevich hit into a 6-3 double play.
The AquaSox first hit was by Axel Sanchez to right field with one out but he was picked off by Sosa behind the plate. Sanchez began and ended the frame with punchouts of Hogan Windish and Randy Bednar.
The third inning featured three-up, three-down frames with Sanchez striking out Erik Stock.
Harry Ford opened the bottom of the fourth with a leadoff walk. Ramirez struck out but Ford was able to get to second on a wild pitch but Rodriguez lined out to De Jesús at short for the unassisted twin-killing.
Kasevich singled to right off Van Scoter with two outs in the top of the fifth for the C’s only hit.
Windish led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to center but Rafael Sanchez got Axel Sanchez to hit into a 1-4-3 double play. Bednar doubled to left on a 2-2 pitch to keep the inning going and moved to third on a wild pitch. James Parker then homered to left on a 3-2 pitch to put Everett in front 2-0. The inning ended on a called strikeout of Stock.
Sosa doubled to left with one out in the top of the sixth and advanced to third on a Van Scoter wild pitch but De Jesús struck out swinging on a full count and Martinez grounded out to third.
Ryan Boyer made his season debut with the C’s and struck out Ford looking as the second out in a perfect bottom of the sixth.
The C’s finally broke through on the scoreboard in the seventh when Spain singled to center to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. He then scampered to third on a Peyton Williams one-out single to left. A Kasevich sacrifice fly to right scored Spain before Devonte Brown launched a two-run homer to left-center field to put Vancouver up 3-2. Alan Roden was robbed of a hit on a sliding catch by Rodriguez in right for the third out.
The lead was short-lived thanks to another two-out, two-strike home run by the AquaSox in the bottom of the seventh. Naswell Paulino plunked Rodriguez with a pitch but he would be forced out on an Axel Sanchez 5-4 fielder’s choice after a Windish strikeout. Paulino got ahead of Bednar at one ball and two strikes but Bednar homered to left three pitches later to put the Frogs back on top 4-3. The inning ended when Parker struck out.
Jarod Bayless set down the C’s in order in the eighth with a pair of punchouts to De Jesús and Martinez. Paulino whiffed Stock on a 3-2 pitch to open the bottom of the frame but Blake Rambusch homered to center to give Everett a 5-3 lead. Ford chased Paulino from the game with a double to center. With Sam Ryan on the mound, Ford stole third base and tried to score on a ground ball to first but Williams made the throw to Sosa in time at the plate to keep it a two-run game. Ryan would ring up Rodriguez to send the game to the top of the ninth.
Logan Rinehart yielded a one-out double to left by Cade Doughty and he would race home on a Williams single up the middle. Pinch-runner Dasan Brown advanced to second on a Kasevich ground out to short. Dasan Brown would steal third but Devonte Brown struck out to end the game.
C-Notes
The C’s are now 28-25 on the season and are now one game behind Spokane for first place. Dahian Santos gets the start for the C’s on Friday night in a 7:05 p.m. start against the AquaSox. CanadiansBaseball.com and MiLB.TV will broadcast the game.
Devereaux Harrison and Ryan Jennings will get the weekend starting assignments for Monty’s Mounties. Jennings will make his C’s debut after being promoted from Low-A Dunedin on June 6. The righthander won two of five decisions with a 4.36 earned run average and a 44-14 strikeout/walk total over 33 innings. The 6-foot-0, 190-pound native of San Antonio was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fourth round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Louisiana Tech. Jennings—who will be 24 years old on June 23—will wear number 32.
Ryan Boyer made his 2023 C’s debut after a couple of tune-up appearances with Dunedin. The 2022 free-agent signee from the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford split last season with Dunedin, Vancouver and New Hampshire before going on the injured list on August 7. The 26-year-old from Bradford, Pennsylvania was 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA, four holds and two saves over 18-1/3 innings with the C’s in 2022, whiffing 29 and only walking four.
Boyer is now wearing number 36, which was worn by catcher Lyle Lin but Lin is now wearing number 10, left vacant by the promotion of lefty Trenton Wallace to Double-A New Hampshire. Wallace got the call to Manchester after recording a 1.87 ERA and winning five of seven decisions. The former Iowa Hawkeye struck out 47 batters against 11 walks over 40-1/3 innings and was the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week on May 14. All the best to Trenton with the Fisher Cats.
In one other numerical change, lefthander Braden Scott will wear number 22 after originally donning number 20.
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