The Canadians plated five runs over the final three innings but fell 6-5 to the Eugene Emeralds (SF) Sunday afternoon at PK Park.
With the loss, the C’s are now a half game back of the Ems for first place in the Northwest League and have a 2.5 game lead over Everett (SEA) for the final playoff spot next month.
Shutout to begin the seventh and trailing by three, Vancouver pushed one across to pull within two before a three-run homer in the bottom of the frame put the Emeralds in front 6-1.
Another C’s run in the eighth set up an edge-of-your-seat top of the ninth. Gable Mitchell started the stanza with his first professional home run and David Calabrese followed with a solo shot to make it 6-4.
From there, a hit by pitch and two walks loaded the bases with two outs before Jaxson West worked a bases-loaded free pass to force home the third run of the inning and put the tying run at third. After a Eugene pitching change, a strikeout ended the game with the Ems on top.
Starter Landen Maroudis (L, 3-10) carried a shutout into the sixth and finished his day with 5.1 innings of two-run ball that featured three walks and five strikeouts. It was his seventh consecutive start of five innings or more.
All nine starters had a hit and four had multiple knocks in a game the Canadians outhit Eugene 13-8, but the two three-run frames from the Emeralds in the seventh and the eighth proved to be too much for the bats to overcome.
After an off day tomorrow, the C’s return to The Nat to take on Spokane (COL) for their final regular season home series of the year. Tuesday’s game begins at 7:05 p.m.
Casey Named Player Of The Week!
Minor League Baseball has named Canadians outfielder Jake Casey as the Northwest League Player of the Week for August 17-23 after he went 9-for-23 (.391) with three doubles, four home runs, seven runs scored, 13 RBI, two walks and two steals while posting a 1.488 OPS in six games.
It’s the first weekly honour of his professional career and the 12th time a Canadian has earned a league award this season.
That’s the most weekly recognitions for one team in the circuit this year.
Casey, 23, started his herculean week at the plate on Tuesday night with his second two-homer game as a pro, a solo shot for an insurance run in the fifth and a two-run bomb in the sixth to pad the lead before icing the game with a sacrifice fly in the eighth to post four RBI in a 10-5 C’s win.
He provided a go-ahead RBI double on Wednesday then drove in another run with a pinch-hit two-bagger the following evening before a career showing on Friday.
That night, the Pittsburgh, PA native not only went three-for-five with a double and two more home runs – including the game-winning three-run blast in the top of the tenth – but drove in a new personal best seven RBI while scoring three runs and working a walk.
The #26 Blue Jays prospect would single and score twice on Saturday then added another hit and a walk on Sunday to wrap his most productive six-game stretch as a pro over two seasons since he was drafted last year in the 15th round out of Kent State.
Casey and the Canadians bring their push for the postseason back to The Nat Tuesday night to begin the final regular season home series of the year opposite the Spokane Indians (COL).
