McCarty Powers C's To 6-5 Triumph

VANCOUVER, BC – Ryan McCarty slugged a go-ahead homer in the sixth and the Canadians pitching staff managed to hold off the Hillsboro Hops [D-Backs] in a 6-5 win on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium.

Before contributing with his bat, McCarty contributed with his body. A lead-off hit by pitch to start the bottom of the first put him aboard then Jace Bohrofen worked a walk to join him on base. Nick Goodwin followed with a two-RBI triple to start the scoring and came home in the next at-bat when Dylan Rock singled to make it 3-0.

C’s starter Rafael Sanchez – who tossed six scoreless frames in his season debut last weekend – continued his stretch of zeroes until the fourth, when a single and a two-run homer from Gavin Conticello brought the Hops within a run. But the right-hander managed to retire the next three hitters to preserve the lead and end his day on a positive note.

Hillsboro would tie it with a run in the fifth, but McCarty came through in a big way in the sixth. Consecutive walks began the stanza then back-to-back outs nearly spoiled the opportunity to take the lead. Up came the Yardley, PA native, who worked the count full before unleashing a deep drive to left center that disappeared beyond the outfield wall for a go-ahead three-run shot to put Vancouver in front 6-3.

Conticello would victimize the Canadians pitching staff with his second two-run homer of the day in the eighth, but that would be all the D-Backs affiliate would muster after Chay Yeager (S, 1) came on for the ninth and retired the side in order for his first professional save.

McCarty paced the offense with his two hits. Bohrofen reached three times while Goodwin, Rock and Estiven Machado all found their way aboard twice. On the slope, Kevin Miranda (W, 1-0) tossed a scoreless sixth.

With the win, the C’s have secured their first series triumph of the year and have returned to the .500 mark at 4-4. All eight games they’ve played in this season have been decided by three runs or less.

The first home series of 2024 wraps up Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. Right-hander Pat Gallagher goes for the Canadians as Hillsboro sends righty Joe Elbis to the rubber. Coverage will be available across the RE/MAX Canadians Broadcast Network – Sportsnet 650 (alternate stream then radio following the Blue Jays game) and Bally Live (MiLB TV). Tickets and more information can be found at CanadiansBaseball.com.