Tirotta's Homer A Lone Highlight In 7-3 Loss
EVERETT, WA – It just hasn’t been Vancouver’s week down in Everett. Since giving away Thursday’s game with two unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth, the Canadians have mustered just six hits and continued to struggle with command on the mound as they dropped their third straight to
EVERETT, WA – It just hasn’t been Vancouver’s week down in Everett. Since giving away Thursday’s game with two unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth, the Canadians have mustered just six hits and continued to struggle with command on the mound as they dropped their third straight to the AquaSox (Mariners) by a score of 7-3 in Saturday’s penultimate game of the series at Funko Field.
After #11 Blue Jays prospect Dahian Santos (L, 0-1) traded three scoreless and hitless innings with ‘Sox starter Reid VanScoter (W, 2-0), the Frogs hopped in front with a four-run fourth. A one-out walk started their rally and another walk followed. Everett got their first hit of the day from Axel Sanchez – who had gone 0-for-18 to start the series – which loaded the bases, then Santos threw consecutive errant pitches (one that was ruled as a passed ball) to allow two runs to score. That was with James Parker batting, who proceeded to launch a two-run homer a few pitches later to make it 4-0 Everett and bounce Santos from the game.
Vancouver got their first hit of the day in the top of the fifth when Devonte Brown doubled, but he was stranded at second base after two strikeouts ended the frame. The AquaSox used consecutive walks to start their half of the fifth to put the pressure on again, and they would score two runs in the inning on back-to-back RBI singles from Ben Ramirez and Sanchez.
Trailing 6-0, the C’s failed to figure out VanScoter – who went six scoreless – but got to reliever Luis Curvelo for three runs in the seventh. Josh Kasevich and Garrett Spain worked walks to start the stanza and Riley Tirotta launched a no-doubt three-run homer to left field to cut the deficit in half.
Everett added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on Charlie Welch’s first homer of the year, which proved to be a vital buffer in the Canadians half of the ninth. The C’s managed to put two runners aboard with two outs in their last at-bat, but a foul pop-up ended the game with the potential tying run in the on-deck circle.
The Canadians pitching staff handed out eight free passes and three of them eventually came around to score. Vancouver has walked 31 batters in their last five games. Of the 53 walks they’ve issued on the year, 20 have turned into runs; that’s 41% of the total runs they have surrendered on the season.
On offense, Vancouver has logged a combined 12 hits in their last three games and have only notched two knocks in the sixth inning or later in that span.
With the loss, the C’s have dropped their first series of the year. They will look to salvage the set with the finale on Sunday afternoon; right-hander Hunter Gregory gets the nod opposite Everett southpaw Raul Alcantara. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. and coverage is available on CanadiansBaseball.com, the MiLB App and Sportsnet 650.