Spokane Strikes Back To Beat C's In 11

SPOKANE, WA – The Canadians carried a 3-0 lead into the seventh behind a quality start from #28 Blue Jays prospect Chad Dallas, but the Spokane Indians (Rockies) rallied to tie it in the eighth then won it via walk-off in the bottom of the eleventh to beat the C’s 4-3 Thursday night at Avista Stadium.

Vancouver started the scoring with a run in the top of the third. Consecutive singles from Glenn Santiago and Michael Turconi put men at the corners with no outs then put both runners in motion to score the go-ahead run when the throw went to second to nab the trail runner.

Damiano Palmegiani clubbed his 12th home run of the season in the top of the fifth, a two-run shot that made it 3-0 Canadians, but that would be the last time Vancouver scored a run.

For the first six innings, it seemed like those three runs would be enough. Dallas was tremendous over six scoreless; he set down the side in order in the first, stranded consecutive lead-off walks in the second, retired the next five in a row then gave up his first hit with two outs in the fourth. Two more men reached to start the fifth before he wriggled out of that inning unscathed, and he left the bases loaded to end the sixth and preserve the three-run lead.

With Dallas out of the game, Spokane got a two-run homer from their nine-hole hitter Nic Kent in the seventh to draw within a run then used a lead-off walk, a single, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to tie the game at three in the eighth.

Both teams traded zeroes in the ninth and the tenth, though both had chances to take the lead or win it. The Canadians’ best chance was in the tenth, when they had a man at third with one out and tried to score on a ground ball to second base with the infield drawn but a perfect throw nabbed the would-be go-ahead run to keep the game tied.

Troy Watson (L, 0-2) masterfully worked through the ninth and tenth to keep Spokane at bay, but a 1-2 pitch to Robby Matin Jr. in the first at-bat of the bottom of the eleventh turned into a game-winning double down the left field line that kicked off the chalk and out of play to end Spokane’s six-game losing streak.

With the loss, the C’s are now 3.5 games in front of the Indians for the second postseason spot and their magic number remains at six with nine games to play. Eugene (Giants) also lost tonight, so Vancouver remains a game back of first place in the second half.

The Canadians return to action Friday night looking to return to the win column. Lefty Troy Wallace goes for Vancouver opposite Spokane’s Andrew Quezada, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. Coverage is available on CanadiansBaseball.com and the Sportsnet Radio Network.