The Vancouver Canadians topped the Everett AquaSox 6-4 at Nat Bailey Stadium on Thursday.
The C’s began the scoring in the first against Everett starter Ty Cummings. A one-out single to left field by Jackson Hornung set up a two-run home run by Peyton Williams to left field that Jared Sundstrom tried in vain to haul back in from the C’s bullpen area.
The Sox struck back with a run in the second off Vancouver starter Connor O’Halloran. A pair of singles to right and left by Caleb Cali and Bill Knight respectively and a Connor Charping 6-4 fielder’s choice set up runners at first and third. Hunter Fitz-Gerald singled to left to score Cali. An Andrew Miller walk loaded the bases but O’Halloran would strand all three runners by striking out Gabriel Moncada and getting Michael Arroyo to ground out to short.
Vancouver went back up by two in the bottom of the second. Brennan Orf had a one-out base hit to right field and Bryce Arnold worked a two-out base on balls. Jay Harry singled to right to drive in Orf to make it 3-1 Canadians. Arnold and Harry advanced another base on the throw from right but Hornung popped up to third to end the rally.
The Frogs scratched out another run against O’Halloran in the third. A one-out walk and steal of second base by Sundstrom (on an iffy call by base umpire Dylan Hulsey) was advanced to third on a Cali fly out to right. A passed ball by Alex Stone allowed Sundstrom to make it home.
Everett would tie it up in the fourth. O’Halloran plunked Charpin before striking out Fitz-Gerald and Miller looking. Moncada kept the inning alive with a walk and Arroyo singled to center field to drive in Charpin. Moncada and Arroyo both wound up in scoring position on the play but O’Halloran would keep them there by striking out Colt Emerson on a foul tip.
The C’s retook the lead in the sixth against Allan Saathoff. A leadoff walk to Orf on a 5-2 pitch (yes, you read that right!) would come around to score thanks to some sloppy defence by the Sox. Marcos De La Rosa chopped one over the head for Fitz-Gerald at first and Arroyo would up booting the ball. Marcos De La Rosa took off for second a and an E4 throwing error by Arroyo went into left field. Sundstrom had trouble grabbing the ball and the end result was Orf scoring and De La Rosa getting to third. Lefthander CJ Widger—son of former major league catcher Chris Widger—put out the fire by striking out Harry and Hornung.
Everett battled back again to tie the game in the eighth against C’s reliever Irv Carter. A one-out base hit to left field by Knight just over a leaping Harry at short was followed by steals of second and third. Knight would come home on a Charping sac fly to right to even the score at 4-4.
In the home half of the eighth, Frogs reliever Joseph Hernández plunked Stone with his first pitch. Arnold then picked up his first hit as a member of Monty’s Mounties with a single to right to get Stone over to third. Stefan Raeth was brought in to face Harry and Harry doubled down the left field to score Stone and Arnold.
Grayson Thurman wrapped it up with a perfect ninth inning that featured a strikeout of Arroyo and an Emerson groundout to Harry at short for the 27th out.
C-Notes
O’Halloran had a 1-2-3 first inning in which he got Arroyo to ground out to third on the first pitch of the game. Emerson struck out looking before Sundstrom grounded out to third.
Sundstrom singled to left to open the fifth against O’Halloran but that was all Everett got. The inning ended on a Charping fly ball to right that Ward had trouble seeing but managed to make a catch at the last second.
Carter was perfect in the sixth and seventh, striking out Miller in the sixth.
The C’s tried to add on to their lead in the third when Goodwin singled to left and Stone single to right before Cummings got Orf to fly out to left.
Another opportunity to score presented itself in the fifth. Hornung led off with a double to left and moved to third on a Williams groundout to second. Ward walked and stole second base before Cummings struck out Goodwin. Saathoff was brought in to face Stone who also went down swinging.
Orf’s leadoff walk was a struggle. Saathoff got a couple of generous strikes from home plate umpire Jon Forester. Two wayward baseballs from the Everett bullpen down the right field side made its way into the field of play. When the umpire called ball four, Orf waited to make sure it really was ball four. He appeared to mockingly pump his first while jogging to first for a base on balls that should have happened two pitches earlier.
The C’s had a moral victory of sorts against Widger. The tall lefty struck out the first four batters he faced before Goodwin managed to put a ball in play as he lined out to left to end the seventh.
Lefty Kendry Rojas will be on the mound for Vancouver in the penultmate Friday Nooner at the Nat of 2024. Game time is 1:05 p.m. on CanadiansBaseball.com and MiLB.TV.
Radar Gun Rundown
Connor O’Halloran had strikeouts registered at 80, 79, 80, 90, 81 and 90 miles per hour and was at 76 to 95.
Irv Carter had a punchout at 85 and was at 83-94 and Grayson Thurman had a K of 83 and was at 82-92.
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