Early Runs Can't Sustain C's Wednesday

HILLSBORO, OR – Two runs and three hits to start the game weren’t enough for the Canadians Wednesday night in a 4-2 loss to the Hillsboro Hops [AZ] at Hillsboro Ballpark.

Vancouver raced out to a 2-0 lead after the first three batters of the game – Dasan Brown, Jackson Hornung and Peyton Williams – singled, doubled and singled, respectively, against Hops starter Joe Elbis. But Elbis would settle down to retire the next three hitters and get out of the inning without any further damage.

The C’s had a chance to add on in the second after a lead-off single from Jeff Wehler and a hit from Brown that turned into runners at second and third with two outs, but a ground ball ended the threat to keep the game at 2-0 Canadians.

MLB.com’s #17 Blue Jays prospect Juaron Watts-Brown turned in his best start at the level. He tossed two scoreless innings before giving up a run in the third on a lead-off walk, two steals and an RBI triple, but the right-hander managed to strand the tying run at third to keep Vancouver in front. He went on to strike out eight and walk three over five complete.

With the Canadians offense not having much middle inning success against Elbis, the Hops were able to creep back into the game with the tying run in the fifth. An infield single on a close play at first was followed by another hit then a sacrifice fly evened the score 2-2.

After a scoreless sixth, Hillsboro took the lead for good with a run in the seventh. With the bases loaded and one away, the C’s nearly turned an inning-ending double play but had to instead settle for one out and a run across before escaping the inning down 3-2.

A huge insurance run scored for the Hops in the eighth. They used a two-out flare single, a dropped pop up on the infield and a wild pitch to go up 4-2. That was the score to start the ninth, where the C’s started a rally with back-to-back one-out singles from Je’Von Ward and Wehler, but for the second consecutive night the Canadians rolled into a game-ending double play to lose 4-2.

Brown and Wehler paced the offense with two hits apiece. Williams now has a hit in four straight games, the second longest active streak on the roster (De La Rosa, five). Conor Larking tossed a perfect sixth with a pair of strikeouts.

These two teams are back in action tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. Mississauga, ON native Connor O’Halloran goes for the C’s opposite Hillsboro’s Jose Cabrera. Coverage of RE/MAX Canadians Baseball is available on Sportsnet 650.