Wallace & Co. Blank Ems 8-0
VANCOUVER, BC – Trenton Wallace posted the finest start of his career and the Canadians rolled to an 8-0 win over the Eugene Emeralds [Giants] in front of a raucous crowd at Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium Thursday night to reclaim sole possession of first place in the Northwest
VANCOUVER, BC – Trenton Wallace posted the finest start of his career and the Canadians rolled to an 8-0 win over the Eugene Emeralds [Giants] in front of a raucous crowd at Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium Thursday night to reclaim sole possession of first place in the Northwest League.
After allowing runners to reach the corners on a pair of singles in the top of the first, Wallace went on to retire 12 consecutive batters between the final out of the opening frame and a two-out walk in the fifth. He had yet to work six innings this year but needed just 59 pitches to complete five, so he returned to the slope for a new season high and stranded a two-out free pass with a strikeout to end his night.
On offense, the C’s failed to record a hit until newcomer Peyton Williams took Ems starter Eric Siva (L, 1-1) deep to start the fourth for his first in High-A. That sparked a five-run frame that included a two-run homer from Garrett Spain and a run-scoring single off the bat of Estiven Machado.
Vancouver put up another run in the fifth after a trio of singles started the stanza, the last of which was an RBI knock from Josh Kasevich to make it 6-0.
Alex De Jesus led off the seventh with a triple and scored when Spain singled him in. Machado added a second RBI to his ledger with a run-scoring ground out later in the inning to put the Canadians in front by eight.
After Wallace’s departure, Eric Pardinho and Conor Larkin combined on the final three innings to keep the Emeralds off the scoreboard and secure the shutout.
Spain and De Jesus led the offense with three hits apiece; the former drove in three while the latter scored thrice. Kasevich had two hits and a walk.
With the win, the C’s are a league-best 26-21 and have a one game lead over second place Spokane. The first half ends on June 22.
Vancouver can secure a series split with a win on Friday in another Fortis BC ‘Nooner at The Nat. Rafael Sanchez makes his Rogers Field debut opposite Eugene’s John Michael Bertrand. Gates open at noon, first pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. and coverage is available on Bally Live, the MiLB First Pitch app, CanadiansBaseball.com and the Sportsnet Radio Network.