Viñeros Vanquish Canadians to Finish First Half

A magnificent seven-run second inning staked the Tri-City Dust Devils (26-39) to a big early lead, giving them the foundation for a 12-7 win over the Vancouver Canadians (30-33) Thursday night at Gesa Stadium that ended the 2024 Northwest League’s First Half.

Tri-City, playing as Viñeros de Tri-City, sent 11 batters to the plate in the big inning. CF Werner Blakely made the most of his opportunities, leading off the inning by singling and then stealing second. C Caleb Pendleton then popped up a ball to the right side of the infield that fell between two infielders for a short double, putting runners at second and third.

3B Andy Blake came to the plate and sent a soft liner to center that scored Blakely for a 1-0 Viñeros lead. An RBI groundout by LF Jorge Ruiz doubled the Tri-City advantage and the runs kept coming, the third on a balk triggered by an attempted straight steal of home by DH Cam Williams. 1B Matt Coutney later sent an RBI single up the middle and Blakely put the exclamation point by lining a pitch from Canadians starter Connor O’Halloran (1-2) deep to right-center for a two-run double to complete the seven-run inning.

The visitors would get on the board with three in the 3^rd and two in the 5^th, but the Viñeros offense answered both Vancouver rallies with runs of their own. SS Chad Stevens drove in a run with a double in the 4^th inning, setting the table again for Blakely. The man from the Motor City did not miss his chance, singling to right-center to score Stevens for his third RBI of the evening and to give Tri-City a 9-3 lead.

Three more runs in the 5^th stretched the lead further, beginning with an RBI triple by RF Jadiel Sanchez to the warning track in right that got his team into double digits at 10-5. A Ruiz RBI groundout made it 11-5 and the Viñeros then received back-to-back doubles from 2B Kevin Bruggeman and Coutney to plate their 12^th run of the night, their highest single-game run total of 2024.

Lefty reliever Leonard Garcia (3-2) got the win for Tri-City by following starter Jorge Marcheco’s four-plus frames with 3.1 innings of one-run ball, striking out six and walking none. Willian Suarez covered the final five outs to finish out a win that ended the Dust Devils’ four-game losing streak and gave the squad its third win over the Canadians this season.

The First Half now concluded means that win-loss records and standings have reset, and that Tri-City starts Friday in a six-way tie (as does Vancouver) for first place in the Northwest League’s Second Half playoff race. The Dust Devils and Canadians will open the back half of the schedule in game five of their series, scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Friday night at Gesa Stadium.

It's Erik the Peanut Guy Replica Sock Night at the ballpark, with the first 500 fans receiving a pair of socks like the ones the legendary Tri-City on-field host wears. It’s also a Family Feast Night with $2 hot dogs, 12 oz. Coca-Cola products, ice cream sandwiches, chips, and Laffy Taffy ropes available to enjoy all night. Both promotions are presented by Gesa Credit Union.

Right-hander Walbert Ureña (2-5, 4.35 ERA) has been tasked with the start for the Dust Devils, and righty Chris McElvain (3-3, 4.08 ERA) the same for Vancouver. Broadcast coverage of Friday’s game begins with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. both here and on the MiLB app, with video coverage on Bally Live and MiLB.tv.

Tickets for the weekend's ballgames are on sale now with special ticket rates available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit the team’s official ticketing site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.