Gm 33: Buckle Up Vancouver! C's one back with five to play
(Gesa Stadium - Pasco, WA) - A sacrifice fly off the bat of CF Brandon Polizzi in the top of the 10th inning scored PR Tanner Kirwer proved to be Wednesday night's game-winning run as Vancouver salvaged the finale of a three-game series in Pasco, Washington as the C's topped
(Gesa Stadium - Pasco, WA) - A sacrifice fly off the bat of CF
LHP
From there, the Canadians pitching took center stage going eight scoreless innings as LHP
It wasn't until the top of the 7th inning that the Canadians offense caught a pair of breaks as 2B
Tri-City had a glorious chance to sweep the three-game series in the bottom of the 9th inning as SS Owen Miller hit a triple off Canadians reliever RHP Cobi Johnson, but the right-hander buckled down and got 2B Olivier Basabe to fly out to shallow center field, struck out C Blake Hunt and got DH Luis Asuncion to fly out to RF
In the top of the 10th, the Canadians started the inning with a runner at second base and manager Dallas McPherson opted to have PR Tanner Kirwer run the bases as opposed to 1B Jake Brodt who was the final out from the previous inning. Kirwer was immediately advanced to third base on a sac bunt from 3B
LHP Marcus Reyes came in and struck out the side in the bottom of the 10th to pull out a victory to wrap-up Vancouver's eight-game road trip. The Canadians finished 3-5 (.375) after the 2-1 victory in ten innings out at Gesa Stadium.
What does it all mean? The Canadians head home to Scotiabank Field tied for second in the North Division alongside Tri-City with matching 16-17 records, a lone game back of Everett (17-16) for the overall division lead. Spokane is three games back with five to play.
The good news? Vancouver will play Hillsboro (22-11, .667) at Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium as opposed to on the road where the C's are 8-11 (.421).
The bad news? Vancouver doesn't hold a tiebreaker against either Everett or Tri-City meaning the Canadians have to win the North Division outright and are about to face a Hops team that has the best overall record in the Northwest League AND is only three games up on Boise with five to play meaning this series is of equal importance to the Hops.
Northwest League Overview:
Everett (17-16) travels ten hours into Boise to face the Hawks (19-14) at 6:15pm
Tri-City (16-17) remains home to face Eugene who (11-22) is 11 games out in the South at 7:15pm
Spokane (14-19) heads to Salem-Keizer (17-16). The Indians are 2-12 on the road this season.
Vancouver (16-17) hosts Hillsboro (22-11). The Hops swept five-game series at Vancouver in 2017.
Summary:
Vancouver must win one more game then Tri-City over the next five games, and…
Vancouver must win two more games then Everett over the next five games, to win the North.
The Canadians will send RHP
Tickets to Vancouver Canadians Baseball can be purchased by calling 604.872.5232, online at www.canadiansbaseball.com or by visiting the Nat Bailey Stadium Box Office at 4601 Ontario Street, Vancouver, B.C.
-30-