Wild Win Starts Series In Everett

EVERETT, WA – Nine runs in the first five innings and three in the top of the ninth helped the Canadians hold on for a 12-8 win over the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) Tuesday night at Funko Field to start their penultimate road series of the season.

Vancouver built a 9-1 lead with a glut of offense and some help from the Frogs over their first five times at bat. They scored a run in the first without a hit, plated three in the third thanks in part to a two-run homer from Rainer Nunez (his first with the C’s), got four in the fourth with five hits – including run-producing knocks from Alex De Jesus, Damiano Palmegiani and Gabby Martinez after PK Morris started the frame with a solo homer – and Morris went deep again to start the fifth to put the C’s up by eight at the midway point.

Everett was kept at bay for the first 4.1 innings by starter Abdiel Mendoza with two runs on six hits, but they used a four-run sixth to bring themselves within three and trailed 9-6 entering the bottom of the eighth. The AquaSox needed to put two men aboard to bring the tying run to the plate and proceeded to do so with two hits in their first three at-bats of the frame. Up stepped Charlie Welch – already the owner of four RBI in the game with three hits and a walk up to that point – who proceeded to line a double into the right-centerfield gap to score both runners and make it 9-8. After a walk put the go-ahead run on base and a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, another walk forced manager Brent Lavallee to call on his closer to get the last five outs.

On came Connor Cooke (S, 3). With the bases loaded, one out and the tying run at third, Cooke induced a shallow fly out to left field then got Northwest League home run leader Dariel Gomez to swing at a 3-2 pitch in the dirt that would have been ball four but was instead an inning ending strikeout to leave them loaded and preserve the one-run advantage.

With seven unanswered Everett runs on the board, the C’s were desperate for insurance in the ninth. After two strikeouts started the stanza, Miguel Hiraldo singled to spark the offense. Andres Sosa followed with a base hit before Dasan Brown doubled home them both and later scored on the second RBI single of the night from De Jesus to put Vancouver ahead 12-8.

Cooke worked around a lead-off double in the bottom of the inning to secure the win, though he got some help from Brown, who laid out in the left centerfield gap to take a sure RBI extra base hit away from Victor Labrada to end the game and secure a series-opening win.

Eight of nine starters had a hit, six recorded an RBI and five drove in multiple runs. Brown reached base in five of six plate appearances with three walks, a hit by pitch and his ninth inning two-bagger and was responsible for four runs with his feet and two with his bat. Morris went deep twice in one game for the second time this year.

With the win, the C’s have now leapfrogged Spokane (Rockies) and have a half-game lead on the Indians for the final spot in the postseason. They will look to make it three consecutive victories on Wednesday night in Everett; first pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with coverage available on CanadiansBaseball.com and Sportsnet 650.