C's Come Up Short In Classic Pitchers Duel
June 2, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Vancouver Canadians News Release
VANCOUVER, BC - The Canadians nearly matched the Eugene Emeralds [Giants] pitch for pitch Friday afternoon but fell 2-1 at Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium as the six-game series evened at two wins for each club.
Starters Rafael Sanchez (L, 0-3) and John Michael Bertrand (W, 2-2) traded zeroes for the first two innings before Sanchez gave up a solo homer to Edison Mora to start the third. He would go on to retire eight of the next nine batters to keep the C's within a run, which set up a game-tying opportunity in the bottom of the fifth.
Bertrand had yet to allow a hit before Michael Turconi smoked a double just inside the third base bag with two outs in the inning, which put a runner in scoring position for Jommer Hernandez. The Puerto Plata, DR native blooped a 1-1 pitch to shallow right field that could have been the third out of the inning but was overran by the right fielder for an RBI double that evened the score at one.
Eugene would score the eventual winning run in the top of the sixth. Sanchez gave up back-to-back singles to start the stanza then balked the runners to second and third. After a fielder's choice retired the lead runner to put men at first and second, the right-hander issued a walk that loaded the bases and bounce him from the game. Abdiel Mendoza entered and the Emeralds used a sacrifice fly to score the go-ahead run but were stymied from any further scoring after Mendoza ended the inning with a groundout to strand a pair.
The Canadians put two on with two outs in the sixth, a man aboard with two outs in the seventh and Garrett Spain doubled with one out in the ninth to put the tying run in scoring position, but the clutch hit never came in a 2-1 defeat.
Spain's ninth inning double extended his hitting streak to 11 consecutive games, the longest streak by a C's hitter this year.
Despite the loss, Vancouver will wake up tomorrow with at least a share of first place in the Northwest League and 17 games remaining in the first half.
Reigning Northwest League Pitcher of the Week and #11 Blue Jays prospect Dahian Santos goes for the C's in game five of the series Saturday afternoon opposite Eugene's Nick Sinacola. Gates open at noon and first pitch is at 1:05 p.m. Coverage is available on CanadiansBaseball.com, Bally Live, the MiLB First Pitch app and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
• Discuss this story on the Northwest League message board...
Northwest League Stories from June 2, 2023
- Hillsboro Scores Three in the Ninth, Wins 4-3 - Everett AquaSox
- Bryan Woo Added to the Mariners Roster - Everett AquaSox
- C's Come Up Short In Classic Pitchers Duel - Vancouver Canadians
- C's Come up Short in Classic Pitchers Duel - Vancouver Canadians
- Emeralds Win Game 4 Thriller - Eugene Emeralds
- Hops Escape with Wild 13-12 Win in Everett - Hillsboro Hops
- Viñeros Victorious Over Indians To Open June - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Wallace & Co. Blank Ems 8-0 - Vancouver Canadians
- Eighth Inning Rally Not Enough as Hops Prevail in the Ninth - Everett AquaSox
- Emeralds Drop Game 3 Against Vancouver - Eugene Emeralds
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent Vancouver Canadians Stories
- Hornung Homers Late But C's Fall 5-4
- C's Blanked in Lid Lifter
- Rally Fizzles Late, C's Fall 2-1
- Joint Effort Earns C's Doubleheader Split
- Crooked Number Curses C's in Eugene
