Zero Star Rating: Canadians’ Hospitality Lacking in Shutout of Dust Devils
The starting lineup of the Tri-City Dust Devils (22-27) found themselves foiled again in British Columbia Saturday afternoon as the Vancouver Canadians (23-23) pitched a 5-0 shutout at Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium. The day started well enough for Tri-City, locking horns with Vancouver in a scoreless tie through
The starting lineup of the Tri-City Dust Devils (22-27) found themselves foiled again in British Columbia Saturday afternoon as the Vancouver Canadians (23-23) pitched a 5-0 shutout at Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium.
The day started well enough for Tri-City, locking horns with Vancouver in a scoreless tie through the first four-and-a-half innings. Starter Joel Hurtado (4-4) retired the first nine Canadians he faced, striking out three in a perfect first trip through the order. The righty then walked CF Dasan Brown, who attempted to steal what would have been his 13th base without getting caught to start the year. C Kevin Bruggeman would not have it, though, placing an absolutely perfect throw off the edge of the second base bag for 2B Caleb Ketchup to tag Brown out.
At the plate the Dust Devils amassed a couple of threats early with the help of SS Chad Stevens, the newest addition to the team. The former Houston Astros farmhand and Fox Island, Washington native singled in his first two at-bats, getting to second base in both the 2nd and 4th innings to give his new team opportunities with runners in scoring position. Vancouver starter Rafael Sanchez (2-1) found a way out of both spots, however, getting through five innings to get the win.
The Canadians then made Tri-City pay for not cashing in those chance in the bottom of the 5th via a three-run homer by Glenn Santiago. The line drive out to left followed a pair of singles that broke up a nascent no-hitter bid and ended up the only blemish on the day for Hurtado, who struck out six in his longest outing of the season (6.1 IP).
Down 5-0 in the 9th, the Dust Devils attempted one more late rally, loading the bases with one out, but the last two opportunities for the visitors would go by the wayside and Vancouver would complete its third shutout of the series.
Chad Stevens’s two-hit debut paced the offense, with Kevin Bruggeman singling and reaching base twice. Outfielders Werner Blakely, Jorge Ruiz, and Joe Stewart added hits and, though his ten-game hitting streak came to an end, 1B Matt Coutney reached in the 9th via a hit-by-pitch to extend his on-base streak to 13 games.
The finale of the six-game series between Tri-City and Vancouver has been set for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch Sunday afternoon at Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium, with right-handers Walbert Ureña (1-4, 3.50 ERA) and Lazaro Estrada (0-0, 3.45 ERA) starting for the Dust Devils and Canadians, respectively. Broadcast coverage is scheduled to begin with the pregame show at 12:45 p.m. Sunday afternoon, both here and on the MiLB app.
That schedule could be affected by rains forecast to hit the Pacific Northwest early Sunday and to continue throughout the day. Fans are advised to check the Dust Devils’ social media feeds (especially X/Twitter) for game status updates.
Tri-City returns home on Tuesday, June 4, to begin a six-game series against the Eugene Emeralds at Gesa Stadium. It’s another Coca-Cola Tuesday, with $2.50 21 oz. Coca-Cola products for fans to enjoy throughout the ballgame.
Tickets for the Eugene series are on sale now, with special ticket rates available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit the team’s official ticketing site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.