Wall ball wins Finals opener for Fisher Cats
Forrest Wall is grateful for the trade that brought him to the Toronto organization in July.Following his big hit Tuesday, the Blue Jays probably are happy as well.Toronto's No. 25 prospect singled in two runs with two outs in the 10th inning en route to lead Double-A New Hampshire to
Following his big hit Tuesday, the Blue Jays probably are happy as well.
Toronto's No. 25 prospect singled in two runs with two outs in the 10th inning en route to lead Double-A New Hampshire to a 3-1 win over Akron in Game 1 of the best-of-5 Eastern League Championship Series at Canal Park.
"No, I don't think so," Wall said when asked whether he'd had a more important hit in his pro career. "In a game like that, in a moment like that, especially in the Finals, that's probably the biggest."
Colorado's 35th overall pick in 2014 was acquired on July 26 from the Rockies along with outfielder
That marked the end of a disappointing stay with the Rockies. Only eight high school second basemen have been taken in the first or supplemental first round, with Wall the most recent of those. He was considered one of the top prep hitters in that Draft class.
Gameday box score
But a torn right labrum sustained in high school and a shoulder separation in 2017 limited his defensive abilities and his offense didn't support a corner outfielder's profile. Wall hit just .206/.289/.359 for Double-A Hartford before the trade, but upped that to .271/.354/.380 with the Fisher Cats.
"It kind of motivated me, gave me a clean slate," Wall said of the trade. "I struggled early, and two weeks later I got traded. I took the opportunity to try and restart my season. ... It was something I wasn't expecting. I had a bunch of great relationships with the Rockies organization. But now I'm thankful it happened."
The first nine innings proved befitting of a championship outing as the teams played a taut game with only 10 total hits.
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The RubberDucks grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning by capitalizing on wildness from Blue Jays No. 15 prospect
The Fisher Cats tied the game in the fourth as
The game remained 1-1 into the 10th when Pentecost led off with a walk against
With the lefty-hitting Wall coming to the plate, Akron called on southpaw
Even with the lefty coming in, Wall felt good about the situation.
"When I got in the box, I had a lot of confidence," he said. "The pressure was on the pitcher. I knew he had to throw a strike."
Game 2 will be at 6:35 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Canal Park before the series moves to New Hampshire to wrap up the series.
Vince Lara-Cinisomo is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincelara.