The Vancouver Canadians look to turn the page in July after an excruciating series loss to the Tri-City Dust Devils at Nat Bailey Stadium to end the month of June.
The series leaves the Canadians with a whopping total of 16 losses in games decided by a run this season.
Tuesday, June 24 – Vancouver 6 Tri-City 3
HR – Keys (9), Micheletti (10), Ward (5), 3B – Deschamps (1), | Wentworth 6IP 1R 9K, Todd (W, 4-1) 1IP 2R 1K, Yeager (SV, 5) 2IP 0R 5K
Wednesday, June 25 – Tri-City 5 Vancouver 4
HR – Parker (8), Micheletti (11) | Stanifer 5IP 2R 9K
Thursday, June 26 – Rained Out.
Friday, June 27 – Tri- City 3 Vancouver 2
HR – Cunningham (7), SB – Parker (5) | McElvain 4IP 0R 3K, Carter 3IP 0R 4K
Saturday, June 28 – Vancouver 4 Tri-City 2 (Game 1 – 7 Innings)
2B – Micheletti (12), 3B – Ward (3), SB – Arias (12) | Perez (W, 5-3) 5IP 2R 3K, Sánchez (SV, 2) 2IP 0R 1K
Saturday, June 28 – Tri-City 4 Vancouver 3 (Game 2 – 9 Innings)
2B – Keys (15), Deschamps (1) | Coleman 2IP 0R 4K, Peterson 3IP 0R 2K
Sunday, June 29 – Tri-City 1 Vancouver 0
Stephen 5IP 1R 8K, Yeager 1.2IP 0R 2K, Munson 2IP 0R 4K
C-Notes
Congratulations to long-time usher Iris Platt for winning the Vancouver Canadians first-ever Home Run Service Award by Major League Baseball for outstanding customer service. Iris was presented with a framed letter by MLB commissioner Robert Manfred by C’s general manager Allan Bailey and vice president of sales and marketing Walter Cosman before Friday’s game.
Also congrats to 2025 C’s pitcher Trey Yesavage for being named to the Futures Games roster during the All-Star break later this month.
All the best to Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez who announced that he has had a health setback. The announcement from the longtime broadcaster and former Jays catcher was made on a recent telecast after he was scheduled to return from vacation this week. Martinez was at Nat Bailey Stadium for an autograph appearance last season.
Tuesday
Eddie Micheletti made a nice leaping grab near the right field wall to take away a hit from Richmond Hill, Ontario native David Calabrese to end the third inning.
Tri-City’s Randy De Jesus hit what you could accurately label a no-doubter when he drilled a bullet to left that hit the facing of the left field porch for a home run off Jonathan Todd in the seventh.
Wednesday
Tri-City right fielder Randy De Jesus made a nice running catch to retire Arjun Nimmala in the third inning. Unfortunately, this would be a theme for the C’s shortstop in this series.
Gage Stanifer showed off his athleticism on the mound by retiring Dust Devils leadoff man David Calabrase on a bunt. Stanifer had to barehand the ball and was able to complete the 1-3 putout at first base.
Edinson Batista battled back from a 3-0 to retire Rio Foster on a fly ball to right in the sixth inning but lost Arol Vera on ball four after getting ahead in the count at 0-2 to load the bases with two outs. Juan Flores then burned Batista with a two-run knock to left to put the Dust Devils ahead for good.
De Jesus doubled with one out in the eighth inning off Aaron Munson that eluded a diving Je’Von Ward in center field. Two pitches later, Cole Fontenelle hit a ground-rule double to right to bring in De Jesus with the eventual game-winning run.
The C’s were 0-for-3 with three men left on base.
Friday
Eddie Micheletti was able to get to a ball quickly in right field after a single by Wetaskaswin, Alberta native Matt Courtney advanced a Ryan Nicholson double with one out in the top of the first. That proved to be key as Chris McElvain was able to induce a 5-4-3 double play to get out of the inning and keep Tri-City off the board.
McElvain took a line drive off the left leg off the bat of Arol Vera in the second inning but the former Vanderbilt Commodore was able to start a 1-3 play for the putout at first. The righthander would remain in the game and complete four shutout innings.
Saturday
In Game 1, Sean Keys made a solid play to charge a slow roller from third base off the bat of Randy De Jesus to complete the 5-3 play to help Fernando Perez finish the first inning. Keys was victimized by the Dust Devils defence in the bottom of the frame when he was just thrown out at a close play at first after second baseman Adrian Placencia knocked down a ground ball before recovering to make the throw in time.
Cutter Coffey made a nice play at second base by handling a bouncer off the bat of Matt Coutney before spinning and firing to shortstop Nick Goodwin to erase a Ryan Nicholson leadoff single in the second inning.
Goodwin made a smooth play at the six in the sixth by ranging to his right before making a one-bounce throw to Carter Cunningham at first to retire Tri-City catcher Juan Flores, stranding a one-out double to get Irv Carter a zero in the inning.
In Game 2, Alexander Ramirez hit one down the line in left that was ruled fair by home plate umpire Caleb George. Replays showed the ball may have been fair but that didn’t stop the fans from giving George a Bronx Cheer when Dust Devils catcher Peter Burns hit one well foul down the right field line later in the inning.
The C’s rallied with three runs in the fourth inning after Nic Deschamps doubled home two runs with a drive to center to greet Roman Phansalker, who had relieved starter Sandy Gaston. However, Phansalkar stranded Deschamps and Goodwin in scoring position by fanning Bryce Arnold and retiring Victor Arias on a foul out to third.
Max Gieg came up big out of the Dust Devils bullpen, replacing an injured Bridger Holmes with two outs in the seventh inning. Gieg—who was not up in the Tri-City bullpen at the time—retired Aaron Parker to strand a Sean Keys walk to finish the seventh.
In the eighth, Gieg overcame a Je’Von Ward walk and a Goodwin 5-4 sac bunt to move the placed runner Parker to third base before striking out Nic Deschamps and Bryce Arnold.
After Jonathan Todd wild-pitched the placed runner home in the ninth, Gieg overcame another leadoff walk to Arias in the bottom half with De Jesus hauling in an Arjun Nimmala liner in right before Keys and Cutter Coffey struck out to end the game.
Sunday
Eddie Micheletti flagged down a Cole Fontenelle drive at the warning track in right field to help Khal Stephen in the midst of a 1-2-3 second inning.
Tri-City’s Adrian Placencia nearly made a catch in right field foul territory on a ball hit by Bryce Arnold from second base but could not hang onto the ball when he ran into the right field tarp
Dust Devils center fielder David Calabrase nearly made a diving catch on a sinking liner from Sean Keys in center field but could not hang on as Keys was credited with a leadoff single. Micheletti also singled up the middle with one out but the C’s could do nothing with that.
Calabrase bunted his way aboard with a single to third and went to second on a Ryan Nicholson walk. Chay Yeager came into the game for Khal Stephen but a double steal and a Randy De Jesus sacrifice fly to center resulted in the only run of the game.
The C’s had the bases loaded in the ninth against Dylan Phillips with one out in the ninth. After Aaron Parker hit one just foul down the third base line, he would hit into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Radar Gun Rundown
Here are some of the pitchers’ velocities from the homestand. A ‘|’ bar between velos are from a second appearance on the mound.
- Jackson Wentworth 94K, 82K, 87K, 85K, 85K, 87K, 81K, 85K
- Jonathan Todd 91K | 94K, 82-95
- Chay Yeager 97K, 96K, 98K | 93K, 92K, 98
- Gage Stanifer 95K, 95K, 95K, 85K, 87K, 95K, 95K
- Edinson Batista 92K, 84-93 | 83, 85K, 85K
- Aaron Munson 95K | 94K, 89K, 92K, 88K, 95
- Chris McElvain 80K, 94K, 93K, 88-95
- Irv Carter 88K, 88K, 94K, 88K, 84K, 83
- Yondrei Rojas 89K, 95-97
- Fernando Perez 92K, 87K, 82K, 94
- JJ Sanchez 95K, 81-96
- Javen Coleman 93K, 92K, 95K, 95K, 80-96
- Kai Peterson 96K, 94K
- Khal Stephen 95K, 95K, 93K, 92K
C-Changes
The Colby Martin era in Vancouver lasted all of one appearance. The fireballing righthander was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Miami Marlins for fellow northpaw and former Tri-City Dust Devil Robinson Piña. Martin—who tossed a scoreless inning for the C’s at Eugene on June 22— was going to wear number 15. That was the same number worn by righty Trey Yesavage but the Jays brass are determined to limit the exposure of promising pitchers wearing those digits at Nat Bailey Stadium. Final Nat Bailey tally – Yesavage 1 Martin 0.
Javen Coleman was called up from Low-A Dunedin to fill in for Martin and made his C’s debut on Saturday with four punchouts in two innings during the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Coleman was a 2023 Los Angeles Dodgers 16th-round draft pick who did not sign. The 23-year-old lefthander from Sherman, Texas put together a 4.45 earned run average with three saves, two holds and 45 strikeouts against 17 walks in 28-1/3 innings with the D-Jays. He was a teammate of 2023 Canadians infielder Cade Doughty at LSU.
One transaction was made to end the month of June. 2024 C’s lefthander Kendry Rojas was activated from the injured list. There was a school of thought that Rojas would go to Double-A New Hampshire, but it appears the C’s will have him for the time being after rehabbing with Dunedin. The 22-year-old Cuban has pitched in the Florida Complex League as well as Dunedin and has allowed just two runs in a combined 18 innings while striking out 26.
2022 Canadians shortstop Leo Jiménez will get to spend Canada Day with the Toronto Blue Jays as he was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo. The 24-year-old from Panama has had injury issues this season and has seen time at the FCL, Dunedin and Buffalo, hitting .271 with a .417 on-base percentage in 15 games with the Herd.
All the best to 2023-2025 Canadians righthander Kevin Miranda who was released by the Toronto Blue Jays on June 28. The 25-year-old from Panama won seven games for the C’s during his tenure. He will be fondly remembered here for his role in helping the C’s clinch a first-half playoff berth in 2023 by tossing four shutout innings at Everett on June 10 to get the win as part of a doubleheader sweep at Funko Field. Miranda was promoted to Double-A New Hampshire on May 20. All the best to Kevin in his future endeavours.
Other transactions involving former Vancouver Canadians are below.
- Righthander Hayden Juenger (2021) was activated from the injured list at Buffalo on June 26.
- Designated hitter Rowdy Tellez (2014) was released by the Seattle Mariners on June 26.
- Outfielder Alan Roden (2023) was sent down from Toronto from Buffalo on June 28.
- Righthander Marcus Stroman (2012) was activated from the New York Yankees injured list on June 29.
Looking Ahead
The C’s begin a home-and-home six-game set against the Everett AquaSox with three games at Nat Bailey Stadium July 1-3 before heading to Everett July 4-6. Jackson Wentworth will get the ball for Canada Day at 1:05 pm and will be followed by Gage Stanifer on Wednesday for a 7:05 pm first pitch. Chris McElvain will end off the homestand on Thursday. Fernando Perez, Khal Stephen and Wentworth are the slated starters in Everett from Friday to Sunday. Those games are scheduled for 7:05 pm, 7:05 pm and 4:05 pm. All games are on CanadiansBaseball.com and BallySports.com with Tyler Zickel and Chris Georges on the call.
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