The Vancouver Canadians were hoping to begin the second half of their home schedule on a winning note in the first of a three-game series against the Spokane Indians at Nat Bailey Stadium.
Jon Wandling warms up in the bullpen prior to his start Thursday night.
Lane Thomas pulls into a dirt-covered second base bag with a one-out, first-inning double. He did well to find it!
However, Lane Thomas was doubled off after Justin Atkinson lined out into a 9-6 double play to end the first.
Jon Wandling delivers a strikeout pitch in the second inning on the way to six shutout frames.
Ryan Hissey tries to get a rally going in the second inning but would later ground out to first.
Lane Thomas watches one go by in the third inning but would pull the next pitch for a single to left.
The base hit by Lane Thomas would score J.C. Cardenas with the game's first run. Cardenas was hit by a pitch before going to second on a Gunnar Heidt base hit.
With two runners on, Justin Atkinson tried to pad the C's 1-0 lead but throws down his batting helmet in frustration after striking out to end the third.
Connor Panas made a couple of nice catches on the warning track in left field, robbing Sherman Lacrus of hits twice in the sixth and eighth innings.
Tayler Saucedo will make his first start at home at 1:05 pm Pacific Time Friday afternoon in the middle game of this three-game set. Evan Smith (C's press notes last night) or Francisco Rios (CanadiansBaseball.com today) is scheduled to start Saturday night in the series finale at 7:05 pm PT.
It was 1-0 Canadians after six and Jon Wandling struck out the first batter he faced in the seventh. Unfortunately for Vancouver, the good times ended there as two singles, a double and another base hit chased Wandling from the game. A costly throwing error by center fielder Andrew Guillotte allowed a runner to get to second and when Turner Lee relieved Wandling, another error by Lane Thomas at second allowed that runner to score. Catcher Ryan Hissey would end the four-run rally by throwing out a runner trying to steal second. Lee and fellow lefty Bob Wheatley turned in perfect frames in the eighth and ninth to give the C's a chance to come back. Justin Atkinson started the ninth with a single and Carl Wise drew a two-out walk to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of pinch-hitter Ryan Metzler but he was called out on strikes to give Spokane a 4-1 victory. The C's had just four hits and three walks in this one. Thomas had two hits and Gunnar Heidt had a hit and a walk. Carl Wise had a walk and so did Andrew Guillotte, whose free pass with two outs in the eighth snapped a string of 15 straight C's hitters that were retired. Heidt followed up with another walk to bring Thomas to the plate as the potential tying run but he would ground out to end the frame.
The radar gun was not working for most of the game but Wandling struck out five and racked up nine groundball outs in 6-1/3 innings, including a 1-6-3 double play to erase a J.C. Cardenas error at short in the third inning. One of the four runs Wandling allowed was unearned. Turner Lee reached 91 miles per hour and Bob Wheatley was up to 90. Wheatley had two K's at 89 and 77, the final one looking.
One final note, Dillon Tate - the fourth overall pick in this year's draft by Texas - will start for Spokane Saturday night. The C's are 3-5 in the second half, two games behind Tri-City for top spot in the NWL North.
Jon Wandling warms up in the bullpen prior to his start Thursday night.
Lane Thomas pulls into a dirt-covered second base bag with a one-out, first-inning double. He did well to find it!
However, Lane Thomas was doubled off after Justin Atkinson lined out into a 9-6 double play to end the first.
Jon Wandling delivers a strikeout pitch in the second inning on the way to six shutout frames.
Ryan Hissey tries to get a rally going in the second inning but would later ground out to first.
Lane Thomas watches one go by in the third inning but would pull the next pitch for a single to left.
The base hit by Lane Thomas would score J.C. Cardenas with the game's first run. Cardenas was hit by a pitch before going to second on a Gunnar Heidt base hit.
With two runners on, Justin Atkinson tried to pad the C's 1-0 lead but throws down his batting helmet in frustration after striking out to end the third.
Connor Panas made a couple of nice catches on the warning track in left field, robbing Sherman Lacrus of hits twice in the sixth and eighth innings.
Tayler Saucedo will make his first start at home at 1:05 pm Pacific Time Friday afternoon in the middle game of this three-game set. Evan Smith (C's press notes last night) or Francisco Rios (CanadiansBaseball.com today) is scheduled to start Saturday night in the series finale at 7:05 pm PT.
It was 1-0 Canadians after six and Jon Wandling struck out the first batter he faced in the seventh. Unfortunately for Vancouver, the good times ended there as two singles, a double and another base hit chased Wandling from the game. A costly throwing error by center fielder Andrew Guillotte allowed a runner to get to second and when Turner Lee relieved Wandling, another error by Lane Thomas at second allowed that runner to score. Catcher Ryan Hissey would end the four-run rally by throwing out a runner trying to steal second. Lee and fellow lefty Bob Wheatley turned in perfect frames in the eighth and ninth to give the C's a chance to come back. Justin Atkinson started the ninth with a single and Carl Wise drew a two-out walk to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of pinch-hitter Ryan Metzler but he was called out on strikes to give Spokane a 4-1 victory. The C's had just four hits and three walks in this one. Thomas had two hits and Gunnar Heidt had a hit and a walk. Carl Wise had a walk and so did Andrew Guillotte, whose free pass with two outs in the eighth snapped a string of 15 straight C's hitters that were retired. Heidt followed up with another walk to bring Thomas to the plate as the potential tying run but he would ground out to end the frame.
The radar gun was not working for most of the game but Wandling struck out five and racked up nine groundball outs in 6-1/3 innings, including a 1-6-3 double play to erase a J.C. Cardenas error at short in the third inning. One of the four runs Wandling allowed was unearned. Turner Lee reached 91 miles per hour and Bob Wheatley was up to 90. Wheatley had two K's at 89 and 77, the final one looking.
One final note, Dillon Tate - the fourth overall pick in this year's draft by Texas - will start for Spokane Saturday night. The C's are 3-5 in the second half, two games behind Tri-City for top spot in the NWL North.
