Dallas Dazzles in Debut, C's Beat Dust Devils
PASCO, WA – When Chad Dallas was a kid growing up in Orange, TX, he didn’t imagine that his first start as a professional would come on a near-freezing April night in southeastern Washington. No matter: the #22 Blue Jays prospect delivered a memorable first turn with five no-hit innings
PASCO, WA – When Chad Dallas was a kid growing up in Orange, TX, he didn’t imagine that his first start as a professional would come on a near-freezing April night in southeastern Washington. No matter: the #22 Blue Jays prospect delivered a memorable first turn with five no-hit innings to lead the Vancouver Canadians to a 3-0 win over the Tri-City Dust Devils (Angels) on Wednesday night at Gesa Stadium.
Dallas, 21, hadn’t thrown a pitch in a game that counted since the seventh inning of game one of the College World Series last year when he went six and a third against Virginia. He took the loss that night, but the Blue Jays bet on him with their fourth-round selection a few weeks later, which put him on the path that brought him to Pasco.
The right-hander walked the first batter of the game then proceeded to set down the next 15 consecutive hitters by masterfully commanding all five of his pitches. 11 of the 16 batters he faced received a first pitch strike and only five managed to work a three-ball count.
“ In the bullpen not many of my pitches were finding the zone, but I knew once I got a batter in there I would feel more comfortable,” Dallas said after the game “[With] the first hitter, I think I was trying to do too much and tried to do it all myself, so that’s when I realized I have a lot of people behind me. I started filling up the zone with all my pitches and let whatever was going to happen, happen. The slider to righties was on – front door then let it leak out to the outside of the plate – and the curveball to lefties [worked well].”
A run in the top of the second proved to be all the C’s would need. Addison Barger started the stanza with a triple (he has now hit safely in all five games of the year) before Trevor Schwecke singled him home to make it 1-0. Vancouver added two more in the fifth when two hit batters and a walk loaded the bases for Zach Britton, whose two-out single brought home a pair to put the Canadians in front 3-0.
Dallas passed the baton to the bullpen to start the sixth. Jol Concepcion set down the side in order then got the first out of the seventh before Mike Peabody laced a sharply-hit ground ball to the hole on the right side that second baseman Miguel Hiraldo managed to knock down with a full-extension dive but could not complete the play. Peabody was promptly caught stealing and Concepcion struck out the final batter of the inning.
Jimmy Burnette (S, 1) came in to begin the eighth and found himself facing the tying run after an error and a walk put the first two men aboard, but the southpaw went on to strike out the next six batters to secure the win.
Dallas, Concepcion and Burnette combined on Vancouver’s first shutout of the year, a one-hitter that featured a season-high 17 strikeouts to hand Tri-City their first loss of the season.
The series continues tomorrow night. Right-hander Hunter Gregory will make his season debut for the C’s while the Dust Devils have tabbed lefty Nick Mondak as their starter. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be heard on the Sportsnet Radio Network.
The Vancouver Canadians make their triumphant return to Nat Bailey Stadium on Tuesday, April 19 at 7:05 p.m. Tickets for the home opener and the rest of the 2022 season are available now at CanadiansBaseball.com.