First Half Ends With 13-2 Romp

EUGENE, OR – The Canadians had one last bash to celebrate their first half title on Thursday night in Eugene, using a season-high 17 hits to dispatch the Eugene Emeralds [Giants] 13-2 at PK Park.

Toronto's #21 prospect Alex De Jesus got the party started with a three-run homer in the first, though the Ems dampened the mood with a two-run shot in the bottom of the inning. They nearly tied it in the second; an inning-ended interference call at first took the tying run off the scoreboard – and resulted in the ejection of Eugene manager Carlos Valderrama – to keep the C’s in front 3-2.

That proved to be all the Emeralds would get, thanks to #9 Blue Jays prospect Adam Macko (W, 2-4). The lefty turned in a quality start for the first time since joining the organization, posting six strong innings in which he scattered three hits, walked one, hit a batter and K’ed six. He never had two runners on base behind him.

Gabby Martinez – the #12 Blue Jays prospect – added some insurance in the third. After a Garrett Spain double, Martinez slugged his fifth home run of the season to make it 5-2.

The Canadians iced the game with a five-run fourth. Vancouver loaded the bases to start the inning then Andres Sosa singled home a run. That kept the bases loaded for De Jesus, who launched his second long ball of the game – this time off the videoboard – for his first grand slam as a pro.

Sosa drove in another run in the fifth and Josh Kasevich added a two-out RBI single in the ninth to complete the offensive outburst while Cooper Benson and Ian Churchill combined on the final three innings to keep the Emeralds off the scoreboard and secure the 13-2 win.

De Jesus’ seven-RBI performance is the second by a Canadians hitter this year and the first of his career. It’s the second time he’s hit two homers in a game in the last two series; he went deep twice last Tuesday against Hillsboro. He, Sosa and Martinez all finished with three hits while Spain, Kasevich, Estiven Machado and Lyle Lin all had two. Michael Turconi walked three times and scored thrice.

The second half begins tomorrow night when Rafael Sanchez takes the ball for the C’s in game four of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. and coverage is available on CanadiansBaseball.com, the MiLB First Pitch app and the Sportsnet Radio Network.