The C's came up short in the rubber match of their series against Everett on a wet Wednesday evening.
Justin Maese made his first start in Vancouver Wednesday.
Everett catcher Johan Quevada checks in on fellow Venezuelan Yeltsin Gudino after Guidino was hit by a 95 mph fastball by former Jays farmhand Jake Brentz in the first inning.
Yeltsin Gudino scores the tying run and J.B. Woodman would follow after a two-run double by Jacob Anderson to give the C's a 2-1 lead.
Bryan Lizardo greets Yeltsin Gudino upon his return to the dugout.
Justin Maese and catcher Javier Hernandez head off the field after the C's kept the AquaSox off the board for the first time in the fourth inning.
Juan Tejada slides into third safely after an errant pickoff throw by Everett first baseman Kristian Brito to second. Yeltsin Gudino would drive in Tejada with a base hit to tie the game at 3-3 in the fourth.
After drawing a walk, Rodrigo Orozco would score on a J.B. Woodman single to give the C's a 4-3 advantage in the fourth.
Lefty Grayson Huffman relieved Justin Maese to start the seventh and stranded a hit and a walk with a strikeout and two groundouts.
Gabe Noyalis also stranded two runners in the eighth by getting around a triple and a hit by pitch. Javier Hernandez threw out a runner at second on a steal attempt before Noyalis induced two groundouts, including a tapper back to the mound, to keep Everett from scoring.
Jackson McClelland worked a perfect ninth inning by getting two flyball outs and a punchout. The stellar relief work went for naught as Everett downed Vancouver 6-4.
C Notes...
Justin Maese gave up six runs over six innings but only two were earned. Cavan Biggio committed an error in the first that advanced a leadoff single to third which eventually resulted in a sacrifice fly. A double and two groundouts tied it for Everett at 2-2 in the second and a two-out double and single put the Mariners affiliate ahead 3-2 in the third.
Maese got away with a leadoff walk for a shutout fourth but ran into some bad luck in the fifth. Bryan Lizardo was charged with a throwing error at third. He ranged well to his right to field the ball and he bounced a throw to first that Gabe Clark was not able to hang on to. One mitigating factor may have been the weather as it began to rain in the third inning. It wasn't a heavy rain but it remained steady for the rest of the night. Clark had made a handful of nice plays around the bag to snare some off-target throws but if he held on to the ball, the runner (Mariners first rounder Kyle Lewis) would have been out. After a game-tying sac fly, Maese surrendered a single and uncorked a wild pitch to move two runners into scoring position. The next hitter flared one into no man's land in left field to score the runners, who were running on contact as there were two outs. Maese struck out the next hitter and went on to shut out the AquaSox in the sixth despite a two-out base hit.
Maese did not help himself by allowing the leadoff man to reach in four of his six innings and he could not work a 1-2-3 frame. He threw a couple of wild pitches to compound his problems but his defence did not help him either with two crucial errors. He threw 89-93 miles per hour and did not really throw anything offspeed until the third inning. His offspeed offerings were in the low-to-mid-80's. The El Paso, Texas native wasn't hit that hard in the fifth as a couple of groundball singles found holes along with that bloop single that put Everett ahead for good. His peripherals were outstanding as his K-BB ratio was 5-1 and 12 of his 14 outs in play were on the ground.
The relievers did their part to keep the C's within striking distance. Grayson Huffman registered his pitches at 89-90 and Gabe Noyalis was around 90-91. Jackson McClelland threw the fastest pitch of the night at 94 and also clocked in at 93.
The C's best chance to get back into the game was in the sixth when they loaded up the bases with one out. Javier Hernandez was hit by a pitch (forced at second by a Rodrigo Orozco fielder's choice), a Cavan Biggio bunt single and a Yeltsin Gudino walk. With the number three and four hitters due up, the opportunity was there for the C's to do some damage. Instead, J.B. Woodman hit into a fielder's choice and Gabe Clark struck out swinging to end the threat.
Another threat was snuffed out in the seventh when Jacob Anderson tried to stretch a single into a double but he was thrown out at second. Anderson took the gamble after a diving Kyle Lewis could not make the play in shallow right-center field. Unfortunately for Vancouver, Everett right fielder Gus Craig managed to get to the ball and fire a strike to second to nail Anderson. The next batter, Bryan Lizardo, would sock a triple to split the right-center field gap, but a Juan Tejada strikeout and a Javier Hernandez one-out late fly ball left Lizardo at third. Biggio drew a one-out walk in the eighth but that was the last baserunner of the game for Vancouver.
Vancouver had nine hits, six walks and two hit by pitches but went 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. Gudino, Anderson and Lizardo all had two-hit, one walk games. Clark was 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.
In roster news, outfielder Nick Sinay and righthander Mike Estevez have been sent down to Bluefield. Sinay was 1-for-5 with a run batted in his lone game with the C's in Spokane June 19, an 8-1 victory. Estevez made his lone appearance out of the pen in that same contest and pitched a shutout inning despite two hits and a walk.
If the weather holds, Dalton Rodriguez is slated to face the two-time Northwest League champion Hillsboro Hops to open up a five-game series at The Nat this evening in a 7:05 start. Jack Morris will be at the park to sign autographs. Juliandry Higuera will take the ball tomorrow afternoon in a 1:05 contest.
Justin Maese made his first start in Vancouver Wednesday.
Everett catcher Johan Quevada checks in on fellow Venezuelan Yeltsin Gudino after Guidino was hit by a 95 mph fastball by former Jays farmhand Jake Brentz in the first inning.
Yeltsin Gudino scores the tying run and J.B. Woodman would follow after a two-run double by Jacob Anderson to give the C's a 2-1 lead.
Bryan Lizardo greets Yeltsin Gudino upon his return to the dugout.
Justin Maese and catcher Javier Hernandez head off the field after the C's kept the AquaSox off the board for the first time in the fourth inning.
Juan Tejada slides into third safely after an errant pickoff throw by Everett first baseman Kristian Brito to second. Yeltsin Gudino would drive in Tejada with a base hit to tie the game at 3-3 in the fourth.
After drawing a walk, Rodrigo Orozco would score on a J.B. Woodman single to give the C's a 4-3 advantage in the fourth.
Lefty Grayson Huffman relieved Justin Maese to start the seventh and stranded a hit and a walk with a strikeout and two groundouts.
Gabe Noyalis also stranded two runners in the eighth by getting around a triple and a hit by pitch. Javier Hernandez threw out a runner at second on a steal attempt before Noyalis induced two groundouts, including a tapper back to the mound, to keep Everett from scoring.
Jackson McClelland worked a perfect ninth inning by getting two flyball outs and a punchout. The stellar relief work went for naught as Everett downed Vancouver 6-4.
C Notes...
Justin Maese gave up six runs over six innings but only two were earned. Cavan Biggio committed an error in the first that advanced a leadoff single to third which eventually resulted in a sacrifice fly. A double and two groundouts tied it for Everett at 2-2 in the second and a two-out double and single put the Mariners affiliate ahead 3-2 in the third.
Maese got away with a leadoff walk for a shutout fourth but ran into some bad luck in the fifth. Bryan Lizardo was charged with a throwing error at third. He ranged well to his right to field the ball and he bounced a throw to first that Gabe Clark was not able to hang on to. One mitigating factor may have been the weather as it began to rain in the third inning. It wasn't a heavy rain but it remained steady for the rest of the night. Clark had made a handful of nice plays around the bag to snare some off-target throws but if he held on to the ball, the runner (Mariners first rounder Kyle Lewis) would have been out. After a game-tying sac fly, Maese surrendered a single and uncorked a wild pitch to move two runners into scoring position. The next hitter flared one into no man's land in left field to score the runners, who were running on contact as there were two outs. Maese struck out the next hitter and went on to shut out the AquaSox in the sixth despite a two-out base hit.
Maese did not help himself by allowing the leadoff man to reach in four of his six innings and he could not work a 1-2-3 frame. He threw a couple of wild pitches to compound his problems but his defence did not help him either with two crucial errors. He threw 89-93 miles per hour and did not really throw anything offspeed until the third inning. His offspeed offerings were in the low-to-mid-80's. The El Paso, Texas native wasn't hit that hard in the fifth as a couple of groundball singles found holes along with that bloop single that put Everett ahead for good. His peripherals were outstanding as his K-BB ratio was 5-1 and 12 of his 14 outs in play were on the ground.
The relievers did their part to keep the C's within striking distance. Grayson Huffman registered his pitches at 89-90 and Gabe Noyalis was around 90-91. Jackson McClelland threw the fastest pitch of the night at 94 and also clocked in at 93.
The C's best chance to get back into the game was in the sixth when they loaded up the bases with one out. Javier Hernandez was hit by a pitch (forced at second by a Rodrigo Orozco fielder's choice), a Cavan Biggio bunt single and a Yeltsin Gudino walk. With the number three and four hitters due up, the opportunity was there for the C's to do some damage. Instead, J.B. Woodman hit into a fielder's choice and Gabe Clark struck out swinging to end the threat.
Another threat was snuffed out in the seventh when Jacob Anderson tried to stretch a single into a double but he was thrown out at second. Anderson took the gamble after a diving Kyle Lewis could not make the play in shallow right-center field. Unfortunately for Vancouver, Everett right fielder Gus Craig managed to get to the ball and fire a strike to second to nail Anderson. The next batter, Bryan Lizardo, would sock a triple to split the right-center field gap, but a Juan Tejada strikeout and a Javier Hernandez one-out late fly ball left Lizardo at third. Biggio drew a one-out walk in the eighth but that was the last baserunner of the game for Vancouver.
Vancouver had nine hits, six walks and two hit by pitches but went 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. Gudino, Anderson and Lizardo all had two-hit, one walk games. Clark was 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.
In roster news, outfielder Nick Sinay and righthander Mike Estevez have been sent down to Bluefield. Sinay was 1-for-5 with a run batted in his lone game with the C's in Spokane June 19, an 8-1 victory. Estevez made his lone appearance out of the pen in that same contest and pitched a shutout inning despite two hits and a walk.
If the weather holds, Dalton Rodriguez is slated to face the two-time Northwest League champion Hillsboro Hops to open up a five-game series at The Nat this evening in a 7:05 start. Jack Morris will be at the park to sign autographs. Juliandry Higuera will take the ball tomorrow afternoon in a 1:05 contest.