The Vancouver Canadians were able to rebound from a series opening loss to Spokane by winning the final two games against the Rangers affliate at Nat Bailey Stadium Friday and Saturday.
Friday
Justin Atkinson lifts a fly ball to right field in the sixth inning.
Josh Reavis would tag up on the Justin Atkinson fly ball and slide home with the C's third run. Ryan Hissey takes in the play with a bat in hand.
Josh Reavis gets a fist bump from Earl Burl III at the Canadians dugout. Reavis drove in Burl with the game's first run back in the third.
Tayler Saucedo would last six strong innings by shutting out Spokane to gain the victory in his home debut.
Batterymates Tayler Saucedo and Josh Reavis were the dynamic duo as in their first appearances on Canadian soil. Saucedo was able to work a first inning walk and two singles in the second. The 6-5 lefty helped his cause by tagging a runner out at home on an assist from Reavis to keep Spokane off the board. The 21st round pick then retired eight in a row before plunking a batter and setting down 12 of 13 before a double. He struck out three and divided his 12 outs in play evenly on the ground and in the air. He threw in the range of 82-92 miles per hour.
Reavis had two base hits in his first two at-bats, driving in Earl Burl III with an RBI single before scoring on a wild pitch with what turned out to be the winning run. The 38th rounder led off the fifth with a single, advanced another 180 feet on two wild pitches before scoring on Justin Atkinson's fly ball. Reavis, Burl and Atkinson all had two-hit afternoons. Carl Wise knocked home with a single in the sixth and Ryan Hissey scored on a double steal with Atkinson taking second in the seventh. Reavis, Burl and Atkinson all had two-hit afternoons with Burl stealing a base. Hissey had a base hit and a walk and Andrew Guillotte added a base hit. Lane Thomas and Sean Hurley both walked while Gunnar Heidt stole two bases despite going 0-for-4.
Lefty Stuart Holmes pitched an uneventful seventh but fellow lefty Michael Kraft gave up a run in the eighth and allowed two hits and a walk but struck out one over the final two frames of a 5-1 victory.
Saturday
Francisco Rios racked up nine strikeouts over six solid innings, allowing just one run on two hits and a walk.
Ryan Hissey slides into second base with a one-out double in the fourth to give Vancouver its first hit.
Carl Wise stands at second after his double scored Ryan Hissey to tie the game at 1-1.
Carl Wise tried to score on a wild pitch all the way from second base but was tagged out by Spokane pitcher Joe Palumbo to end the fourth.
Gunnar Heidt gets mobbed by his teammates after scoring what turned out to be the winning run on a Carl Wise two-run single in the eighth that also plated Andrew Guillotte.
Monty The Inflatable Mountie is all smiles as the C's take the rubber match against Spokane by a 3-1 score.
Francisco Rios was up to the challenge of facing the fourth overall pick of the 2015 draft, Dillon Tate. Unfortunately, I arrived too late to see Tate as he only pitched one inning. He lit up the radar gun at 98 miles an hour according to C's play-by-play man Rob Fai and struck out two of the three batters he faced. I was hopeful he would pitch another inning but it was not meant to be. Oh well! To be honest, I was expecting it to rain as the forecast was calling for a 100 percent chance of showers Saturday evening. Though the skies looked threatening, there was not a drop of rain during a game.
Anyways, Rios retired seven in a row and could have ended his outing with another nine in a row set down if not for a strikeout-wild pitch in the sixth. He stranded a walk and a stolen base in the first and overcame two singles in the fourth. The Venezuelan did touch 94 miles per hour on the radar gun. Lefty Daniel Young came in for the seventh and erased a hit with an inning-ending double play ball. He got the first two hitters in the eighth before a couple of singles chased him from the game. Andrew Case got a groundout to end the frame and he would get the win after the C's rallied for two runs in the eighth.
All three Canadians runs came with two, all of them driven in by Carl Wise as he enjoyed a 3-for-4 night. Gunnar Heidt had the other multi-hit effort with two singles and added his 15th stolen base of the year. Heidt started the eighth inning rally with a base hit and Andrew Guillotte followed with a bunt single in which the first baseman was slow to cover the bag. Justin Atkinson popped up to second but Heidt and Guillotte would advance another 90 feet after a throwing error by the second baseman. Sean Hurley would keep the rally going with a two-out walk to load the bases before Wise pulled one to left to score Heidt and Guillotte.
Ryan Metzler had a base hit and a stolen base and Atkinson had a single but Earl Burl III and James Lynch were 0-for-3 while Rolando Segovia was 0-for-1 pinch-hitting.
The C's are now 5-5 in the second half and find themselves in a first-place tie with Tri-City, the first-half winner, and Everett, who come to Vancouver in a 5:05 pm Pacific Time start today to open up a three-game series. Mariners 2014 first round pick Alex Jackson is back in the Everett lineup again after suffering a hand injury. Also, former Blue Jay farmhands Nick Wells and Jacob Brentz are on the AquaSox roster. Seattle acquired the two lefties in a deal that sent Mark Lowe to Baseball North.
The C's rotation will probably feature a combination of Evan Smith, Jon Harris and Jon Wandling for this series against Everett. Game times are 7:05 pm PT for the Monday and Tuesday games. Devon White, officially Devon Whyte, will be at Tuesday's game signing autographs.
Friday
Justin Atkinson lifts a fly ball to right field in the sixth inning.
Josh Reavis would tag up on the Justin Atkinson fly ball and slide home with the C's third run. Ryan Hissey takes in the play with a bat in hand.
Josh Reavis gets a fist bump from Earl Burl III at the Canadians dugout. Reavis drove in Burl with the game's first run back in the third.
Tayler Saucedo would last six strong innings by shutting out Spokane to gain the victory in his home debut.
Batterymates Tayler Saucedo and Josh Reavis were the dynamic duo as in their first appearances on Canadian soil. Saucedo was able to work a first inning walk and two singles in the second. The 6-5 lefty helped his cause by tagging a runner out at home on an assist from Reavis to keep Spokane off the board. The 21st round pick then retired eight in a row before plunking a batter and setting down 12 of 13 before a double. He struck out three and divided his 12 outs in play evenly on the ground and in the air. He threw in the range of 82-92 miles per hour.
Reavis had two base hits in his first two at-bats, driving in Earl Burl III with an RBI single before scoring on a wild pitch with what turned out to be the winning run. The 38th rounder led off the fifth with a single, advanced another 180 feet on two wild pitches before scoring on Justin Atkinson's fly ball. Reavis, Burl and Atkinson all had two-hit afternoons. Carl Wise knocked home with a single in the sixth and Ryan Hissey scored on a double steal with Atkinson taking second in the seventh. Reavis, Burl and Atkinson all had two-hit afternoons with Burl stealing a base. Hissey had a base hit and a walk and Andrew Guillotte added a base hit. Lane Thomas and Sean Hurley both walked while Gunnar Heidt stole two bases despite going 0-for-4.
Lefty Stuart Holmes pitched an uneventful seventh but fellow lefty Michael Kraft gave up a run in the eighth and allowed two hits and a walk but struck out one over the final two frames of a 5-1 victory.
Saturday
Francisco Rios racked up nine strikeouts over six solid innings, allowing just one run on two hits and a walk.
Ryan Hissey slides into second base with a one-out double in the fourth to give Vancouver its first hit.
Carl Wise stands at second after his double scored Ryan Hissey to tie the game at 1-1.
Carl Wise tried to score on a wild pitch all the way from second base but was tagged out by Spokane pitcher Joe Palumbo to end the fourth.
Gunnar Heidt gets mobbed by his teammates after scoring what turned out to be the winning run on a Carl Wise two-run single in the eighth that also plated Andrew Guillotte.
Monty The Inflatable Mountie is all smiles as the C's take the rubber match against Spokane by a 3-1 score.
Francisco Rios was up to the challenge of facing the fourth overall pick of the 2015 draft, Dillon Tate. Unfortunately, I arrived too late to see Tate as he only pitched one inning. He lit up the radar gun at 98 miles an hour according to C's play-by-play man Rob Fai and struck out two of the three batters he faced. I was hopeful he would pitch another inning but it was not meant to be. Oh well! To be honest, I was expecting it to rain as the forecast was calling for a 100 percent chance of showers Saturday evening. Though the skies looked threatening, there was not a drop of rain during a game.
Anyways, Rios retired seven in a row and could have ended his outing with another nine in a row set down if not for a strikeout-wild pitch in the sixth. He stranded a walk and a stolen base in the first and overcame two singles in the fourth. The Venezuelan did touch 94 miles per hour on the radar gun. Lefty Daniel Young came in for the seventh and erased a hit with an inning-ending double play ball. He got the first two hitters in the eighth before a couple of singles chased him from the game. Andrew Case got a groundout to end the frame and he would get the win after the C's rallied for two runs in the eighth.
All three Canadians runs came with two, all of them driven in by Carl Wise as he enjoyed a 3-for-4 night. Gunnar Heidt had the other multi-hit effort with two singles and added his 15th stolen base of the year. Heidt started the eighth inning rally with a base hit and Andrew Guillotte followed with a bunt single in which the first baseman was slow to cover the bag. Justin Atkinson popped up to second but Heidt and Guillotte would advance another 90 feet after a throwing error by the second baseman. Sean Hurley would keep the rally going with a two-out walk to load the bases before Wise pulled one to left to score Heidt and Guillotte.
Ryan Metzler had a base hit and a stolen base and Atkinson had a single but Earl Burl III and James Lynch were 0-for-3 while Rolando Segovia was 0-for-1 pinch-hitting.
The C's are now 5-5 in the second half and find themselves in a first-place tie with Tri-City, the first-half winner, and Everett, who come to Vancouver in a 5:05 pm Pacific Time start today to open up a three-game series. Mariners 2014 first round pick Alex Jackson is back in the Everett lineup again after suffering a hand injury. Also, former Blue Jay farmhands Nick Wells and Jacob Brentz are on the AquaSox roster. Seattle acquired the two lefties in a deal that sent Mark Lowe to Baseball North.
The C's rotation will probably feature a combination of Evan Smith, Jon Harris and Jon Wandling for this series against Everett. Game times are 7:05 pm PT for the Monday and Tuesday games. Devon White, officially Devon Whyte, will be at Tuesday's game signing autographs.
