Offense Breaks Out In 7-3 Win

HILLSBORO, OR – After losing four of the first five games of the series, the Vancouver Canadians erupted for seven runs on 14 hits to beat the Eugene Emeralds (Giants) 7-3 at Ron Tonkin Field on Sunday afternoon.

Vancouver started the scoring with a pair of runs in the third. Tanner Kirwer got things going with a one out infield single paired with a throwing error that put him on second before an errant pick-off throw moved him to third. Phil Clarke singled him home and later came around to score on a Sebastian Espino base hit to make it 2-0 C’s.

Eugene scored a run in the top of the fourth, but that proved to be the only blemish for starter Paxton Schultz (W, 3-0). The right-hander turned in his third consecutive quality start with six innings in which he surrendered that one run on two hits, walked two and struck out a season-high nine. He had logged 15 consecutive scoreless frames before the first Emeralds run came across.

Leading 2-1, the Canadians added to their edge with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back one out singles from Andres Guerra and Eric Rivera were followed by a fielder’s choice that put runners on the corners with two outs. A wild pitch brought Guerra in from third before Clark belted his third double of the year to the gap in left-centerfield to score another run. Cameron Eden followed with an infield single that featured a heads-up baserunning play from Clarke; he scampered home from second after the play was slow to develop on the right side of the infield.

Luis De Los Santos added to Vancouver’s lead in the fifth. Batting with a runner at third following an Espino single, a passed ball and a wild pitch, De Los Santos added to his team-leading RBI total by grounding out to score Espino for a 6-1 Canadians advantage. He’s driven in 17 runs so far this season.

The Emeralds got to reliever Cobi Johnson for two runs in the seventh to end his streak of three consecutive scoreless outings, but the right-hander managed to limit the damage before passing the baton to Justin Maese (S, 3), who worked around an error and two walks to leave the bases loaded in the eighth.

A manufactured run in the bottom of the eighth came across after a walk, a stolen base, a ground out and a sacrifice fly made it 7-3, and Maese struck out the side after a two-out single in the ninth to secure the win.

Contributions came from up and down the lineup this afternoon. All nine starters reached base, with eight of nine logging at least one hit. Clarke led the way with two hits, two RBI and two runs scored while Eden (two hits, two RBI), Kirwer (two hits, three runs scored, two stolen bases), Espino (two hits, one RBI, a run scored), De Los Santos (two hits, an RBI) and Rivera (two hits for the first time this season, a stolen base) all made an impact. It’s the first time six or more C’s hitters collected multiple knocks in a game. With the win, Vancouver is now 17-13 through the season’s first 30 games.

After an off day on Monday, Vancouver travels to Spokane for the first of six games with the Indians on Tuesday night at Avista Stadium. Right-hander Sean Wymer (0-2, 8.24 ERA) will go for the C’s while the Indians have tabbed southpaw Helcris Olivarez (1-4, 4.50 ERA) as their starter. Tickets, 12-game plans and season tickets for home games in Hillsboro are available now at CanadiansBaseball.com.