Tri-City Tripped Up Late Again by Vancouver

Outfielder Joe Stewart socked his first professional home run to give the Tri-City Dust Devils (12-23 2H, 41-57) a late lead in a back-and-forth game, but the Vancouver Canadians (22-12 2H, 52-45) came back with runs in their final two at-bats for a 6-5 win Saturday night at Nat Bailey Stadium.

Stewart, drafted in the 9th round by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2022 MLB Draft out of the University of Michigan, struck his homer in the 7th inning, a two-out, two-run blast over the left field fence to give Tri-City a 5-4 lead.

It was the second lead of the night for the Dust Devils, who had come back from an early 2-0 deficit to score three runs in the 4th inning. D’Shawn Knowles laced a two-run single to right field, scoring Christian Sepulveda and Straton Podaras, and Zach Neto ran out a fielder’s choice to score Mike Peabody for a 3-2 lead.

The Canadians chipped away at Tri-City’s leads each time. Catcher Andres Sosa had a huge night for Vancouver, including a two-run homer in the 5th inning to give the home nine a 4-3 advantage. Sosa went 3 for 3 in the game with two doubles alongside the home run, driving in three runs and scoring twice.

Sosa’s second double, down the right field line with two outs in the 7th inning, scored Miguel Hiraldo to tie the game at 5-5. The Canadians then took the lead back in the 8th inning, via Glenn Santiago scoring on a Leo Jimenez sacrifice fly after reaching as a hit batter and advancing two bases on an errant pickoff throw. The run proved to the be the difference in the game.

Despite giving up the Stewart home run, Jol Concepcion (4-3) got the win in relief for Vancouver. Ivan Armstrong (1-2) got the loss even though he did not give up a hit in the 8th inning.

Offensively, Sepulveda was the only Dust Devil to have more than one hit, going 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. The double was Sepulveda’s 5th two-bagger of the series.

Defensively, Mike Peabody put his stamp on things, making a diving catch in the 4th inning to rob Jimenez of a hit.

Tri-City will look to grab one more win for the road as they meet up with Vancouver in the series finale at 1:05 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Nat Bailey Stadium. It’s again a battle of two lefties, as Jose Salvador (2-6, 5.68 ERA) looks to follow up his winning start from Tuesday. Jimmy Robbins (0-2, 3.86 ERA) counters for the Canadians.

The game broadcast begins with the King Beverage Budweiser Pregame Show at 6:50 p.m. at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB First Pitch app.

Tickets for the Dust Devils' next home series, August 9-14 against the Everett AquaSox, and all games are on sale now. Ticket packages are also available and start at just $99, and special ticket rates are 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 dustdevilsbaseball.com or call 509-544-8789.