The Vancouver Canadians got past the Hillsboro Hops 4-3 at Ron Tonkin Field on Tuesday.
Both teams had a runner on in the first inning with Devonte Brown starting the game with a leadoff walk against Hops starter Joe Elbis but the righthander got Michael Turconi to ground into a 1-6-3 double play. Manuel Peña blooped a two-out single to center off Canadians starter Kevin Miranda but that was all Hillsboro would manage.
Peyton Williams—back from a rehab stint with Dunedin—got aboard on a one-out walk in the top of the second but Elbis got another double play ball as Gabby Martinez hit a low liner right at Hops second baseman Andrew Pintar and he doubled off Williams at first.
After Miranda had a 1-2-3 top of the second by inducing three ground ball outs to Turconi at second from Junior Franco, Kevin Graham and Shane Muntz, the Canadians got their leadoff man aboard when Josh Kasevich reached on an error by Pintar whose throw pulled Muntz off the bag. Devonte Brown made the Hops pay for that E4 when he clubbed an opposite-field home run off the right field fair pole to make it 2-0 Vancouver.
That was homer number 11 on the year for the former North Carolina State product. Dasan Brown beat out an infield chopper to third on a 3-2 pitch to bring Turconi to the dish and the former Wake Forest Demon Deacon blasted a two-run home run to right-center, his sixth of the year, to double the C’s advantage to four runs.
The Hops were taken care of by Miranda in the bottom of the third with Josh Day taking one to the warning track in right field for the first out. Kasevich made a leaping grab of a Wilderd Patiño line drive to end the three-up, three-down frame.
Williams pulled a single to right to start the top of the fourth but Elbis retired the next three hitters he faced. That was the only baserunner of inning number four as Miranda set down the Hops in order for a second straight time.
Elbis had a spotless top of the fifth but Miranda’s string of 10 men retired came to an end when Garrett Spain muffed a fly ball in right to allow Franco to reach base. Franco lined a single to left with one out but gave the C’s a gift double play when Day flew out to center field and Dasan Brown started an 8-6 double play. It appeared Franco thought there were two outs instead of one.
The C’s were turned away by Elbis in the top of the sixth. Cade Doughty stumbled awkwardly near the first base bag after grounding out to third. Doughty was trying to avoid a swipe tag from Muntz at first base when Peña unleashed a high throw. The former LSU Tiger would remain in the game. That was the second time Peña’s throw to first on a Doughty grounder was high. Back in the top of the third, Muntz was able to reach for the ball and keep his foot on the bag to get Doughty after Turconi had homered.
Hillsboro was able to get back into the game against C’s reliever Eric Pardinho in the bottom of the sixth. The inning started with a defensive highlight as Dasan Brown made a diving catch in left-center to take a hit away from Juan Corniel. That would turn out to be huge as Patiño and Pintar drew one-out walks with a Patiño steal of second in between. Peña struck out swinging but Christian Cerda clubbed a 1-2 pitch over the left field fence to make it a 4-3 game.
The C’s got a baserunner to start the top of the seventh when Martinez reached base on another bad throw from Pintar that took Muntz off the first base bag. Elbis was undeterred as he induced a 5-4-3 double play ball from Kasevich and wound up just facing three batters in the inning.
The bottom of the seventh saw Pardinho work a perfect frame with Dasan Brown making another diving catch in right-center field to rob Day of a hit for the third out.
After Hops lefty Carlos Meza struck out the side in the top of the eighth, the C’s turned to a fellow southpaw of their own in Cooper Benson. The former Arizona State Sun Devil struck out Corniel looking for the first out and overcame a Patiño walk to send the game to the top of the ninth.
The Hops brought in Billy Corcoran and he allowed a Turconi leadoff walk and a Doughty single before retiring the next three hitters.
Hillsboro got the tying run to the plate when Benson walked Cerda to begin the bottom of the ninth. Pinch-runner Jean Walters would not make it past first as Benson got a pair of pop-ups before striking out Muntz for his first professional save.
C-Notes
Kevin Miranda upped his record to 2-1 and the C’s collected their 22nd win against nine losses in the second half. That puts them six games ahead of Everett and seven up on Eugene. Vancouver’s overall mark is 60-36.
The C’s go with Adam Macko on the mound for the second game of this series. Tyler Zickel will have the call of the game at CanadiansBaseball.com. The game is also available on MiLB.TV. The first pitch is at 7:05 p.m.
C-Changes
Adam Kloffenstein and Sem Robberse are not the only righthanded hurlers switching from Canadians red to Cardinals red. After being promoted to Double-A New Hampshire on July 31, 2022-2023 C’s pitcher Matt Svanson was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for shortstop Paul DeJong on the August 1 trade deadline.
Svanson’s last appearance for the C’s was the series opener against Everett on July 25, pitching a shutout 10th and 11th inning in an eventual 12-inning win against the AquaSox at Nat Bailey Stadium. It was odd that Svanson never made an appearance in any of the five remaining games against the Frogs. Pure speculation on my part but one wonders if Svanson was on the verge of being traded earlier and that was why he was held back.
The Blue Jays 13th-round pick from Lehigh in 2021 was outstanding in his final two months with the C’s, surrendering just two unearned runs over 11-1/3 innings in June and no runs at all in 7-2/3 innings in July. The 24 year-old from Lake Zurich, Illinois went 4-1 with six saves and a 1.23 earned run average and struck out 36 batters against 11 walks in 29-2/3 innings for Vancouver this season. Svanson joined the C’s in late July of 2022 and posted a 3-0 record with a 3.57 ERA with a K/BB total of 23-3 in 22-2/3 innings after his promotion from Dunedin. In total, Svanson tossed 52 innings with a 59-14 K/BB total with seven wins and four holds for Monty’s Mounties. All the best to Matt with the Cards organization.
The C’s also lost two more 2022-2023 righthanders Abdiel Mendoza and Michael Dominguez as they have been promoted to Double-A New Hampshire. Mendoza made his Double-A debut on August 1 and gave up two runs in 4-2/3 innings at Binghamton while striking out four. Picked up in the 2021 minor league draft by the Toronto Blue Jays after spending time with the Oakland and Texas organizations, Mendoza was named the C’s Pitcher of the Year in 2022 after going 6-2 with a 2.78 ERA and one save as a starter and reliever. He toggled between both roles again for the C’s in 2023 and is coming off back-to-back outings of five shutout innings apiece, getting a win at Spokane on July 18 and a no-decision despite striking out eight against Everett in the aforementioned extra-inning game on July 25. The 24-year-old from Chitre, Panama was 1-2 with a 3.13 ERA with the C’s this year and struck out 49 batters in 51-2/3 innings, walking 18. In total, Mendoza logged 132-2/3 innings with 113 strikeouts and two saves in his two-year stint with the C’s.
Dominguez went 7-2 with a 3.65 in 15 starts covering 66-2/3 innings for the C’s this season, striking out 79 and walking 49. That’s after going 1-2 with a 3.64 with Vancouver in 2022 after his promotion from Dunedin last July. He won the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week award for pitching a two-hitter and striking out nine in Vancouver’s playoff-clinching win against Eugene on September 7 at The Nat. With monthly ERAs of 0.46 and 1.86 for June and July, the 24-year-old from Newport News, Virginia pitched 96-1/3 innings during his Vancouver tenure and struck out 117 batters.
All the best to Abdiel and Michael in Manchester.
Coming to Vancouver from Dunedin is righthanded pitcher Pat Gallagher. He was an 11th-round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays out of Connecticut. The Leominster, Massachusetts native did not pitch in 2022 and was on the injured list this past April before finally making his pro debut with Dunedin in mid-May. He had a record of 2-5 with a 3.29 ERA over 52 innings while posting a strikeout/walk total of 63-16. His ERA in July checked in at 1.40.
C-Tweets
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