The Vancouver Canadians lost a slugfest to the Spokane Indians 11-8 at Avista Stadium on Sunday.
The C’s started the game with a leadoff single to left field from Dasan Brown but Spokane starter Jarrod Cande set down the next three hitters he faced. Vancouver starter Rafael Sánchez had a perfect bottom of the first that saw him strike out leadoff hitter Benny Montgomery.
The top of the second inning saw the C’s draw a couple of one-out walks by Devonte Brown and Josh Kasevich but Cande struck out the side to keep the game scoreless.
The home side grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second when Ryan Ritter rocked Sánchez for a one-out home run to right field. Nic Kent got aboard with an infield single to third but Sánchez limited the damage to one run when Juan Guerrero hit into a 5-4-3 double play.
The Tribe would expand their lead in the bottom of the third. Braiden Ward singled to center and Montgomery had a base hit to right with one out. They would score on two-out knocks to right by Sterlin Thompson and Zach Kokoska to make it 3-0 Spokane. Sánchez struck out Ritter to end the frame.
The C’s finally got to Cande in the top of the fourth which featured an ejection. Gabby Martinez led off with a double to right field on the first pitch he saw but after a Cade Doughty strikeout, Vancouver skipper Brent Lavallee got the heave-ho from home plate Kenny Jackson. Martinez was cashed in by a two-out single to left by Kasevich to get the C’s on the board. A pair of two-out singles to left by Estiven Machado and Jommer Hernández got Kasevich around the bases for Vancouver’s second run but Devonte Brown popped up to short for the third out.
Eric Pardinho entered the game in the top of the fourth and his first pitch was taken over the fence in left by Kent. Guerrero then singled to left but he would be thrown out trying to steal second on a 2-4 play by Hernández. Ward would reach on a fielding error at short by Kasevich but he would be left on base.
Rockies rehabbing righty Tyler Kinley worked the fifth for Spokane and he gave up a one-out double to right by Michael Turconi before getting out of the inning.
Another Spokane run came in the bottom of the fifth off Pardinho. Despite strikeouts of rehabbing Rockie Brendan Rodgers and Koskoska. A one-out walk to Thompson and a wild pitch came back to haunt Pardinho when Ritter ripped a triple to center to score Thompson. Ritter made a bid for an inside-the-park homer but Garrett Spain started an 8-4-2 play to nail Ritter at the plate for out number there.
Luis Amoroso only had to face three Vancouver hitters in the top of the sixth. Kasevich walked with one out but was erased when Machado hit into a 6-3 double play.
Lefty Naswell Paulino took over for Pardinho and he also surrendered a homer to Kent to begin his outing to give Spokane a 6-2 advantage. Paulino struck out Guerrero and overcame a two-out single to right by Ward to send the game to the seventh.
Angel Chivilli only allowed a one-out walk to Dasan Brown but had it not been for that, Chivilli would have had an immaculate inning as he struck out the side on nine pitches.
Anders Tolhurst worked the bottom of the seventh for Vancouver and he could not stop Spokane from scoring. A one-out double to right by Thompson came home on a two-out double to left by Ritter and Kent got another two-bagger to center to boost the Spokane lead to 8-2.
The Canadians would cut the lead in half against Chivilli in the eighth. Singles up the middle by Martinez and Doughty started the frame but Devonte Brown rapped into a 4-6-3 double play. An infield single to third by Kasevich scored Martinez and two more singles up the middle by Machado and Hernández brought in Kasevich. A Ronaiker Palma passed ball and a fielding error by Thompson at third on a ground ball by Dasan Brown resulted in Machado getting home with the Canadians first run.
The C’s brought in Cooper Benson for the bottom of the eighth and he ran into trouble when he plunked Ward with one out. Ward would steal second base before Montgomery walked. Instead of facing Rodgers, pinch-hitter A.J. Lewis stepped up to the plate and cleared the fence in right for a three-run dinger to make it 11-5 Spokane. Koskoska was later hit in the hand by a Benson pitch but umpire Jackson did not award the Spokane first baseman first base because he felt the ball hit the bat. In “cancel culture” fashion, Jackson ejected Spokane skipper Robinson Cancel from the game after dismissing the Vancouver manager earlier in the game. Robby Martin Jr. was brought in to pinch-hit for Koskoska and he struck out to end the rally.
The C’s would not go away quietly in the top of the ninth. Juan Mejia walked Turconi to begin the frame before a Thompson fielding error at third allowed Martinez to reach. Devonte Brown then walked with one out to load the bases. Kasevich also heard ball four to allow Turconi to trot home. A Machado groundout to second got Martinez home and led to Mejia’s exit from the game. Tyler Ahearn was brought in and he surrendered a base knock to right to score Devonte Brown. Dasan Brown came up to the plate as the potential tying run but he flew out to center on a 3-2 pitch for the final out.
C-Notes
Vancouver’s overall mark is 55-34 with a second-half record of 17-7. The C’s maintain their three-game lead over Everett for first place in the season’s second half after the AquaSox lost to Tri-City in 11 innings on Sunday. Eugene and Spokane are six games back. Tri-City and Hillsboro are seven and eight games behind.
The C’s will start up a six-game series against the AquaSox on Tuesday in what could very well be a preview of this year’s Northwest League final. Vancouver has its playoff ticket punched after clinching the first-half pennant. Should the C’s also capture the second-half flag, the team with the second-most wins from both halves would meet Vancouver in the best-of-five championship. Right now, Everett is in the driver’s seat as the Frogs finished with 34 first-half wins along with Eugene and Spokane and are currently in second place in the second-half standings. Right now, Vancouver and Everett are the only teams with winning records in the second half.
The Canadians will host Games 3, 4, and 5 of the Northwest League final at Nat Bailey Stadium on Friday, September 15 to Sunday, September 17. Tickets for those games will go on sale Monday morning.
First things first, the C’s and Frogs go at it Tuesday at the Nat. Game time is 7:05 p.m. Tyler Zickel will have the play-by-play on CanadiansBaseball.com and MiLB.TV.
C-Tweets
Discover more from C's Plus Baseball | A Vancouver Canadians Blog
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
C's Plus Baseball | A Vancouver Canadians Blog 