Missed Opportunities Doom C’s Late

SPOKANE, WA – A sterling season debut from starter Rafael Sanchez and a one-run lead at the stretch were wasted by the Canadians Saturday night, as opportunities to add on were spoiled and a rough bottom of the seventh inning for the bullpen led to a 3-1 loss to the Spokane Indians [Rockies] at Avista Stadium.

Sanchez turned in one of his finest outings at the level since joining the C’s in May of last year. The Cuban right-hander logged the first quality start by a Canadians pitcher in 2024 with six scoreless frames in which he scattered four singles, walked one and struck out four. He was in line for the win after Vancouver broke the scoreless tie with a run in the top of the sixth; a two-out single from Jace Bohrofen, an errant pick-off throw that moved him to third and a run-scoring double off the bat of Nick Goodwin made it 1-0.

But for the second consecutive night, the Canadians faltered in the seventh. In the top half, a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases with no outs and set up the C’s for multiple insurance runs. Despite the traffic on base, the next three hitters went down without bringing anyone home.

Spokane grabbed the momentum and the lead in the bottom half of the stanza. With #10 Blue Jays prospect Kendry Rojas making his season debut as a reliever, the inning began with an infield single. A strikeout and a sacrifice bunt had the tying run at second base with two outs when a hot shot down the third base line went off the glove of a diving Ryan McCarty and into shallow left field to even the score 1-1. The next batter singled and a hit by pitch followed to load the bases. After a pitching change, a wild pitch brought home the second run of the inning then two walks forced home the third score. When the dust settled after nine batters came to the plate, Spokane led 3-1.

A pair of walks began the top of the eighth to bring the go-ahead run to the plate, but a double play stymied the rally and the C’s went quietly the rest of the way to fall 3-1. With the loss, the Canadians drop to 0-2 for the first time since 2021.

Bohrofen – the #22 Blue Jays prospect – recorded his first two hits in High-A, including an opposite field double in the fourth. He reached base a third time via walk. Brennan Orf also had two hits for the first time. Justin Kelly struck out the side around a lead-off single in the bottom of the eighth to start his season on a solid note.

The series wraps up Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. Pat Gallagher toes the slab for the Canadians opposite Spokane righty Victor Juarez. Coverage is available on Sportsnet 650 and the MiLB app.