Gold, Watson & 'Pen Lead C's To Victory Over Dust Devils

PASCO, WA – The Vancouver Canadians took the lead in the first inning on a two-RBI single from Ryan Gold and never looked back, as Gold’s three total RBI and a quartet of Canadian pitchers were enough to take down the Tri-City Dust Devils 4-2 Saturday night at Gesa Stadium.

Vancouver loaded the bases with one out in the opening stanza but were nearly turned away before Gold came up clutch with a two-out single to right field that gave C’s starter Troy Watson a 2-0 edge before he threw his first pitch.

Watson was terrific in his 2021 debut. The right-hander from Gunter, TX turned in three shutout innings of one-hit ball in which he walked two and struck out three. He even managed to escape a bases loaded, one out jam in the second by fielding a grounder and throwing it home for a force out before striking out Livan Soto to end the threat and strand three runners.

The Canadians took advantage of a Tri-City miscommunication in the third to add to their lead. Cameron Eden led off the inning with a bunt single – his second of two hits on the day – before he stole second. With Eden in scoring position and two outs, LJ Talley hit a fly ball into left-centerfield that should have ended the inning but was dropped by Drevian Williams-Nelson, who heard the footsteps of left fielder Jose Verrier as the two players converged on the play. When the dust settled, the Canadians had a 3-0 lead.

After Watson’s night ended following the third, Nick Fraze carried the torch for the next four innings. Fraze faced the minimum by retiring all but one of the 12 batters he faced and was aided by a 3-6-3 double play that eliminated a lead-off single in his second inning of work.

Gold would add his third RBI of the night in the fifth. Consecutive walks started the frame but a double play put a man on second with two outs. The La Brea, CA product then cranked a double that bounced on the warning track to put Vancouver up 4-0.

Fraze’s dominance was followed by a tough-luck inning for Cobi Johnson, who did what he had to do put up a zero in the eighth but a pair of groundballs that should have been the second and third outs, respectively, went for errors that allowed two runs to score and cut the C’s lead to 4-2. Johnson struck out the would-be go-ahead run to end the threat.

Parker Caracci (S, 1) came on in the ninth and issued a two-out walk to Verrier that brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Julio De La Cruz. The number nine hitter lifted a 3-1 pitch into the right-centerfield gap that seemed destined for extra bases, but Eden – who started the game playing third base but was moved to centerfield in the second – tracked the ball down and made a full extension dive with his back to the infield for the final out to secure a 4-2 Canadians triumph.

The season-opening series ends on Sunday afternoon as Vancouver aims for a series split. RHP Adam Kloffenstein (0-0, 0.00 ERA) returns to the hill for the Canadians while RHP Davis Daniel will make his season debut for Tri-City. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. and coverage beings with the Canadian Tire Vancouver Canadians North Beach Agency Pregame Show at 1:15 p.m. on Sportsnet 650.

After an off day on Monday, the Canadians open their home schedule on Tuesday, May 11 against the Spokane Indians (Rockies). Individual tickets, 12-game plans and season tickets are available now at CanadiansBaseball.com.