Keys Homers Twice But C's Falter In 9th

VANCOUVER, BC – Sean Keys clubbed two homers – including a go-ahead shot in the seventh – but the Canadians coughed up three runs in the top of the ninth and lost 7-6 to the Everett AquaSox [SEA] on a wet and gloomy afternoon at The Nat.

Keys – MLB Pipeline’s #18 Blue Jays prospect – started his day with a home run in the bottom of the first to give Vancouver an early edge, but Everett responded with two solo shots in the second then added single runs in the third and fourth to lead 4-1.

Starter Jackson Wentworth didn’t have his best stuff, but the first-year pro managed to grind out five innings to keep the game within striking distance.

The C’s scored a run in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out RBI single from Cutter Coffey before they took the lead for the second time in the seventh. That inning began with a Nick Goodwin walk and continued with an Aaron Parker double, which set the table for Keys’ second big fly of the ballgame. The Centerport, NY native hit a screamer over the right field wall to turn a two-run deficit into a 5-4 lead. Eddie Micheletti added a solo shot two batters later to make it 6-4 Canadians.

But the lead wouldn’t last through the final out. In the ninth, Everett used a double, a single and a run-scoring fielder’s choice – which could have been a double play, but Vancouver managed to get only one out – to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Michael Arroyo cashed in with a two-run homer to put the Frogs in front for good.

Jonathan Todd and Chay Yeager both delivered scoreless outings in relief. Keys finished with three hits, matching his single-game season high. Je’Von Ward also had two knocks on the afternoon.

Vancouver goes back to work tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. for Women In Sports Day at The Nat.