Canadians take 2 of 3 from the Hawks in final three games

Good news for all of you, I'm back so I can get back to doing what you all read, about the C's. Bad news, Vancouver isn't much farther ahead than when I was away. None-the-less, the C's took two of their final three games against the Hawks from the hometown team, and one of those games (tonight) featured three Canadian homers, one by Dan Hamblin for his 7th of the season, and one each for Walter Correa and Shane Keough, both did not register a dinger before today's game.

Friday night:

DH J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
SS Michael 'Rocket' Richard
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
RF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
LF Matt 'Authentic' Sulentic
3B Walter '404' Correa
2B 'Stinging' Matt Ray
CF Shane 'Housewive' Keough
C 'Bonjour' Dusty Napoleon
SP Leonardo 'Magician' Martinez

Vancouver failed to get any runs on the board early in this one, but J.D. Pruitt led off the game being DINGED...hit-by-a-pitch in english terms. Boise sort of freaked out the C's in the bottom of 2, when with two out Josh Donaldson (who was walked on base) advanced to 2nd on Marc 'Tom' Sawyer's single. Bill 'Green Grass' Moss also singled, and cashed in the Duck Donaldson before Dylan Johnston struck out to end the inning. 1-0 Hawks.

Shane Keough led off the 3rd with a single, and headed to 2nd base on a missed catch on a steal attempt by Tom Sawyer. This was lucky, because Napoleon and J.D. Pruitt each got out. Keough advanced to 3rd base, like all good housewives do, but didn't come around to score, due in part to Mike Richard's ground out. Even 'The Rocket' couldn't beat out the throw.

Dan Hamblin led off the 4th with a walk, and advanced to 2nd on Matt Sulentic's one-out single. Hamblin came around to score on Walter Correa's single, that followed Sulentic's base knock and then two strike outs by Matt Ray and Shane Keough ended the inning. 1-1 was the score after four.

Vancouver had more action in the 5th. After J.D. Pruitt took a one-out walk, Mike Richard bunted into batter interference and then on a bad pickoff attempt, J.D. Pruitt ended up scoring with Dan Hamblin at the dish. Hamblin walked but he was caught stealing 2nd base to end the C's portion of the 5th inning.

Boise had a monstrous 5th inning off of Leo Martinez, in which they scored 5 runs. Jose Guzman relieved his fellow South American for the final out of the inning, but the damage had been done. 6-2 for the hometown team.

Stephen 'Venti' Vento replaced Dustin 'Sassy The' Sasser in the 6th as Boise's pitcher, and that proved a bit costly for the birds. Matt Sulentic doubled with one out, and advanced to 3rd on Walter Correa's second single of the ballgame. Matt Ray hit a sac fly to center to score his Authentic friend, before Shane Keough struck out to end the inning.

Vancouver tried, but they couldn't come back from a three-run deficit en route to losing once again, this time 6-3. After Leonardo Martinez was looking like an MVP candidate early in the season, his early has risen to 6.55, and he now stands at 2-3. Guzman, who has been sent to the bullpen in favour of Brad Hertzler (who can blame this move), meanwhile has gone 1-0 in 7 innings without allowing a run since being transported to the bullpen last week. Is it time to move him back into a starting position, or is he good where he's at?

Saturday:

LF J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
SS Michael 'Rocket' Richard
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
RF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
DH Matt 'Authentic' Sulentic
3B Walter '404' Correa
2B 'Stinging' Matt Ray
C Julio 'El Kid' Rivera
CF Shane 'Housewive' Keough
SP 'Deadly' Inoel Deaza

Dan Hamblin, Corey Brown and Matt Sulentic each went down swinging for the first three outs of the ballgame, and Inoel Deaza did much of the same for the Hawks, striking out two of the three outs in the 1st.

Vancouver had plenty of chances to score in the 2nd, with a single by '404' to lead off the inning, followed by a walk by the Stinger, and a sac bunt by Julio Rivera that advanced the runners up a base. Shane Keough reached on an error that allowed him to go to 2nd, and score Correa while Ray stayed at 3rd. J.D. Pruitt walked to load up the bases, and then Mike Richard grounded into a double play to end the first inning and a half. 1-0 C's.

The 3rd was much of the same for Vancouver. With two outs in the inning, Matt Sulentic and Walter Correa hit back-to-back singles to start a mini-rally before Matt Ray also hit a single into center. Matt Sulentic tried to score from 2nd base, but the throw from Jon Wyatt beat him out to end the inning.

Inoel Deaza ended up pitching 5 innings before being replaced by Charles 'Kerplunk' Kerfoot. The Kerplunker struck out one, got one to ground out, and got Kyler 'Sitcom' Burke to fly out to J.D. Pruitt in his first inning of work.

The 7th inning was more déja vu for Vancouver, who got two runs past homeplate. After Shane Keough reached on an error, and J.D. Pruitt struck out, Michael Richard hit a single advancing our housewive to 2nd. Dan Hamblin singled next, to Jon Wyatt in center, and this brought in Keough and Michael Richard from 1st base. Dan Hamblin took a gamble, and lost when he was out at homeplate on a throw from Tom Sawyer at first base. 3-0 Vancouver after six and a half.

Boise managed a run in the 9th, but Kerfoot got out of the jam en route to a Vancouver victory on the road, 3-1.

Sunday:

SS Michael 'Rocket' Richard
2B 'Stinging' Matt Ray
LF Matt 'Authentic' Sulentic
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
RF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
3B Walter '404' Correa
DH Justin 'Pounding' Frash
CF Shane 'Housewive' Keough
C 'Bonjour' Dusty Napoleon
SP Brad 'Hurdle' Hertzler

Vancouver first got on the board in the 2nd. Dan Hamblin led things off, and then back-to-back singles by Corey Brown and Walter Correa brought Hamblin into score. Frash lined into a dp when Walter Correa was doubled off at first base on the catch.

Nothing exciting happened up until the 6th inning. 'Venti' Vento replaced 'Abused' Huseby in the top of that inning, and it was a decision the Hawks will regret. With two out in the inning, and no one on base, Dan Hamblin belted his 7th homer of the season to center field, over the head of 'Wailing' Wyatt. After Corey Brown singled, Walter Correa blasted the ball into left field for his first pro dinger in the NWL. Brown also scored on the play, 4-0.

Brad Hertzler was pulled going into the bottom of 6, after surrendering 4 hits, one walk and striking out three in his five innings of duty. His ERA now stands at 1.57, and if Hertzler had pitched the minimum amount of innings to be on the NWL Pitching ERA Leaders chart, he'd be #1. Bryan 'Tee' Collins replaced Hertzler, and got the three outs in the 6th without surrendering any runs.

All nine Canadian batters stepped up to the plate in the 7th inning, and only three crossed that same plate later on that inning before the 7th inning stretch. Shane Keough led things off with his first pro homer to right field, and that meant all the fields had had a homer hit to them in the game. Dusty Napoleon walked, but was sent back to the dugout on Mike Richard's fielders choice, and the Rocket came into score on Matt Ray's double to left. This was it for Venti, because John 'Deutsch' Muller entered the game for the bad guys. He gave up two straight walks to load the bases, before Corey Brown singled-in Matt Ray to score. Correa and Frash both got out to strand the bases loaded. 7-0 C's.

After two innings of one-hit ball, Collins was yanked for Justin 'Favourite' Friend. Justin got the three outs in the 8th, and surprisingly got the boot in the 9th for Aaron 'Twang' Jenkins. After striking out Dylan 'BBQ' Johnston to lead off the inning, Jon Wyatt singled to center. Marquez Smith walked with only the one out, and that set up runners on first and second for Ty 'Do it' Wright. Do It, as Ben Stiller would proudly say, crushed the ball to left field for his 4th homer of the season to put Boise back in the ballgame, 7-3. It was, unfortunately for Boise fans, not enough as Vancouver cruised to victory.

At least they'll have something to cheer about on the very (12 hours to be exact) long bus ride back.

How good has he been? Walter Correa has been on fire lately, and we'll tell you how good he has been. Correa is 7-13 in his last three games, with a homer, and four RBI's. In his last six games, 'Fire' Correa is a combined 10 for 23 with two doubles, the dinger and 6 RBI's while only striking out five times (he has 26 on the season).

Join us tomorrow for full player reviews up to this point in the season, which is one game over the halfway mark. Find out how your favourite players are living up to expectations and more, before Everett rolls into town to kickoff an 8-game C's homestand Tuesday night.

C's lose two to hometown Hawks

Well, the C's season is pratically over in terms of the standings. Vancouver sits a long way back of first place Salem Keizer, 11 and a half games back of the Giants affiliated team, and are still 5 and a half back of 2nd place Eugene. Thank god the C's will play Salem and Eugene a combined 12 more times, so that if the NWL has miracles this would be one in the making.

After 'Early' Earl Oakes allowed Dylan Johnston to hit a walk-off home-run in Wednesday night's affair, Lance Sewell who had been nothing by dynamite in his first three appearances allowed three runs in route to taking the loss in his fourth relief job since joining the club in early July.

Wednesday:

LF J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
2B Michael 'Rocket' Richard
3B Josh 'Hornet' Horton
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
RF 'Bona Fide' Matt Sulentic
SS Walter '404' Correa
DH 'Stinging' Matt Ray
C Julio 'El Kid' Rivera
SP 'Vote for' Pedro Figueroa

After a boring first inning for both teams, Corey Brown led off the second with a towering solo home-run over Vancouver's bullpen to give his team the early lead. 1-0 Vancouver after two.

The 3rd inning didn't have much action, except J.D. Pruitt was walked. This is not an uncommon thing for Pruitt, who has been walked almost 30 times in the shortseason (that's almost averaging a walk a game, when he's still being hit-by-a-pitch more times than you can hear Homer Simpson going DOH!)

After Dan Hamblin and Corey Brown each walked off of Boise pitcher Julio 'Juiced' Castillo, Matt Sulentic hit a shot to shortstop, but Dylan Johnston was there for the out. Walter Correa walked to bring the bases loaded, and that was the end for our steroid using friend, because Audy 'Olympic' Santana entered the ballgame.

Matt Ray struck out, and in his mind he was stinging mad, because that put runners on all bases with two away. El Kid was up at the dish, and singled to center. Dan Hamblin came around to score, but it wasn't the gambling one who made a mistake. Corey Brown was tagged out at home on a five-man relay throw. 2-0 C's.

The 5th inning saw J.D. Pruitt take (another) one for the team after being hit-by-a-pitch, and he came around to score after a wild pitch, a sac bunt and a sac fly by Josh Horton. 3-0 Vancouver.

John Quine 'Must Die' entered the game in the 5th for Vancouver, after 4 innings of two-hit ball for our Napoleon Dynamite friend. Quine walked two, and had two wild pitches in his first inning of duty, but he struck out two as well leaving runners on base.

But Boise would get back at the movie star in the 6th, with a lead-off double followed by a triple, and then came a walk. Two runs eventually came across in the inning, and that marked the end for Quine who got nailed by the Hawks.

Two fielding errors by Boise set the C's up perfectly, but Josh Horton's epic at-bat ended up popping out to end the inning. Why epic you ask? He's in Kane County right now and won't be in a C's uniform until he starts a huge slump, and that 7th inning AB was his last as a member of a Canadian team.

'Early' Earl Oakes came into pitch for the visitors in the 7th and although he allowed just one run, he gave permission to the Hawks to hit two doubles in the inning. 3-3.

With the game tied in the bottom of 9 and Oakes still on the mound, he allowed a game-finishing homer to Dylan Johnston that just cleared center field and Corey Brown, giving Boise a 4-3 win.

Thursday:

DH J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
SS Michael 'Rocket' Richard
LF 'Bona Fide' Matt Sulentic
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
RF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
3B Justin 'Found' Frash
2B 'Stinging' Matt Ray
C Julio 'El Kid' Rivera
CF Shane 'Housewive' Keough
SP 'Amazing' Scott Hodsdon

This was game one for the rest of the season where the C's were without the service of Josh Horton, who batted 2-4 in his Cougar debut. Corey Brown opened his second consecutive game with a dinger in the 2nd inning, this one was his eighth and cleared right field. 1-0 Vancouver heading into the bottom half of the inning.

Unfortunately for Vancouver, Josh 'Canard' Donaldson also hit a home-run to right field to tie the game up in the home half of the inning. 1-1 after two.

Another Hawk run came into score in the 5th, this time it was Andrew Rundle who brought the Hawks lead up to 2-1.

Lance Sewell, who in three innings hadn't allowed an earned run this season, allowed his first pro homer to Kyler 'Airborn' Burke. Even more unfortunate for the C's, Tony Thomas Jr was on base at the same time so it was double the trouble. 4-1 Boise.

With two out in the 7th, Shane Keough drew a four-pitch walk, as opposed to being hit, and that was one of the only lucky breaks for the Canadians in the game, because J.D. Pruitt hit his first homer since June 20th at Nat Bailey Stadium. This one was hit to center field, and hallelujah the C's were back in the game. But the inning wasn't over. Michael Richard later came into score, tie ball game going into the home half of the 7th.

But what do you know, Boise scored three more runs in their half of the inning to take a 7-4 lead that the C's would never catch up on. Lance Sewell opened the inning, and Aaron Jenkins finished but even those two dominant lefties couldn't hold Boise. Game over.

NOTE:

Josh Horton made his Cougar debut last night, and moving up from the midwest league was 'Iron' Mike Affronti who batted 1-4 in his first game as a Stockton Port.

Rant time

Wow. So long since I've blogged, but it's been worth the wait. The team is picking up where Salem left off last season, winning their past three games heading into Thuesday's matinee in Everett, with some clutch home-runs and some good pitching. This is Vancouver baseball.

Wondering what I've been doing? Baseball has not been out of my mind to say the least. I saw the Jays and Mariners Sunday and Twins vs the Toronto team last night (more on those in a minute) and witnessed the West Michigan Whitecaps defeat the Kane County Cougars on the road last Thursday.

Before I get onto the C's I'll (rant) on those games. Thursday night was great seeing old faces in new uniforms. Guys like Gustavo Rosendo and Alex Valdez who didn't talk much english last year were engaging in conversations with me at the team's hotel, and talking with James Heuser and Derrick Gordon made it seem like 2006 all over again.

This is what minor league baseball is all about. Talking with players, who are just a few years older than you, is single-a ball at its finest. Do you think Mark Mulder would have been like that if Vancouver remained AAA? Doubt it.

Anyways, Kane County got their butts kicked, but it was worth making the 6 hour trip down south. Scott Deal pitched very well, and a relief inning by John Herrera did no harm to his club on the hill. Ramiro Mendez made a fielding mistake in the middle of the game, but that wasn't the turning point as the Whitecaps were just too strong.

Sunday afternoon was an 8-0 thumping for Toronto over the visiting Mariners, in a game that showed Roy Halladay at his finest. Halladay went nine innings allowing three-hits against Ichiro and Seattle. Another former NWL player (Ryan Rowland Smith of Seattle) pitched an inning of relief, and allowed a run or two.

Aaron Hill and Greg Zaun were two players who hit dingers, Troy Glaus being the other, en route to their second consecutive victory.

Monday night was a game more favoured to the Jays, who beat up the Twins 6-4. Shaun Marcum put on an average performance as the Jays starter, but out-dueled Johan Santana who did not look like his Cy-Young self.

There were a total of 7 homers in this game, with two going to Canadian Justin Morneau, and two more being dished out to the Big Hurt Frank Thomas, who crushed career dingers #502 and 503. Alex Rios, Reed Johnson and Aaron Hill each hit them over the fence, totaling for 5 Jays homers on the night.

Now, onto the C's. They've been kicking some NWL butt in the six days I haven't blogged, and the one major highlight is Brad Hertzler's five-inning perfect game against Spokane before the game was suspended due to rain. Vancouver took game two of the five-game set 1-0.

Wednesday:

2B Michael 'Rocket' Richard
SS Josh 'Hornet' Horton
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
RF 'Bona Fide' Matt Sulentic
3B Walter '404' Correa
DH Justin 'Lost' Frash
C Julio 'El Kid' Rivera
DH Shane 'Housewive' Keough
SP Brad 'Hurdle' Hertzler

The game lasted 1:30 in time, but there was a 1:30 rain delay, making it a three-hour affair. Hertzler's perfect game was the highlight, but Justin Frash's out to score Dan Hamblin was the only run of the ballgame, and went a long way in a low-scoring affair, to say the least.

Thursday:

DH J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
SS Josh 'Hornet' Horton
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
RF 'Bona Fide' Matt Sulentic
3B Walter '404' Correa
C Dante 'Brotherly' Love
LF Shane 'Housewive' Keough
2B Michael 'Rocket' Richard
SP Justin 'Lavalife' Friend

Vancouver lost this 6-2 affair to Spokane, but scored both of their runs in the bottom of the ninth in what could've been a great rally. Steve 'Quack' Marquardt hit a dinger for the Indians, and J.D. Pruitt was twice hit-by-a-pitch.

Friday:

Postponed to Saturday making the day a double-header with two seven-inning games.

Saturday Game 1:

LF J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
SS Josh 'Hornet' Horton
RF 'Bona Fide' Matt Sulentic
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
3B Justin 'Lost' Frash
2B 'Stinging' Matt Ray
C Julio 'El Kid' Rivera
DH Michael 'Rocket' Richard
SP 'Fabulous' Scott Hodsdon

Corey Brown hit a three-run shot, his sixth of the season, and J.D. Pruitt lived up to his nickname, being beaned by the Injuns as Vancouver thumped Spokane 7-3.

Saturday Game 2:

Cancelled. This game should be made up September 6th in Vancouver, but could be done on a NWL off-day (July 31st preferably for the C's).

Sunday:

DH Michael 'Rocket' Richard
SS Josh 'Hornet' Horton
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
RF 'Bona Fide' Matt Sulentic
3B Justin 'Lost' Frash
2B 'Stinging' Matt Ray
C Dusty 'Simpson' Napoleon
LF Shane 'Housewive' Keough
SP Leonardo 'Magician' Martinez

Vancouver took game 1 of the three-game series 6-2, in thanks to Dan Hamblin's fifth homer of the season, and no thanks to Everett's Ogui Diaz' third of 2007. Jose Guzman and Leonardo Espinal combined for almost 5 innings of scoreless relief pitching, and Michael Richard brought his season average to .314 as a middle infielder. Josh Horton left the game after hitting into a double play, and was immediately removed from the game, and did not re-appear in the series.

Monday:

LF J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
SS Michael 'Rocket' Richard
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
RF 'Bona Fide' Matt Sulentic
3B Justin 'Lost' Frash
DH 'Stinging' Matt Ray
2B Walter '404' Correa
C Julio 'El Kid' Rivera
SP 'Deadly' Inoel Deaza

Dan Hamblin blasted a 3-run dinger, bringing his season home-run count to six (tied with Corey Brown for the team lead) and Julio Rivera added one of his own, which was his first as a Vancouver Canadian, as Vancouver took a 2-0 series lead with a 9-3 thumping of the hometown Aquasox. And the best part? J.D. Pruitt was hit by the leather.

Tuesday:

DH J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
SS Michael 'Rocket' Richard
RF 'Bona Fide' Matt Sulentic
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
3B Justin 'Lost' Frash
2B 'Stinging' Matt Ray
C Dusty 'Simpson' Napoleon
LF Shane 'Housewive' Keough
SP Brad 'Perfect' Hertzler

Vancouver lost the finale of this series 5-2 to Everett, and one of the high points of the game was J.D. Pruitt being hit one more time. Michael Richard improved his average to .316 going 1-2 against the Aquasox, and Brad Hertzler's ERA is now at 2.00 after allowing a couple of earned runs.

Vancouver sits 10 games back of Salem going into the Volcanoes game tonight, and will hopefully bring the Volcanoes lead down a couple games in Boise this week with their five-game set.

Brad Hertzler throws shortened perfect game

Originally posted by OZ at NFTN:

The Vancouver Canadians took on the Spokane Indians today on a rare rainy summer day in V-Town in which ducks were damn happy and the Kits beach volleyball crowd were pissed.

In the Majors, they’d have just called the game off when the skies opened up and stayed open all day, but in the minors, if folks buy tickets and the field isn’t knee deep in run-off, you play ball - at least until you’ve got a result in the books.

That was good news for Canadians fans, as well as bad news for Canadians fans. Good in that the game was called with the C’s a run ahead, but bad in that starting pitcher Brad Hertzler [seen left] was on target for that most rare of rarities - the perfect game - when the umps went home.

The game started with the C’s looking like they had somewhere to be, and they wanted to be there with a win on the board, but getting guys from 3rd base to home plate is a little harder than getting them from home plate to 1st.

In the bottom of the first inning, Runway Richard and Josh Horton opened proceedings with a base hit and walk, but a Danny Hamblin liner saw Richard doubled up at 2nd. That took the ‘RBI’ off Corey Brown’s double, and after Matt Sulentic got hit by a pitch to load the bases, Walt Correa presented himself at the plate with a view to cashing in some runola.

Of course, this would be the same Walt Correa who is 2-32 in his last ten games. Fly-out to right, inning over.

The 2nd inning was more of the same as Shane Keough stole 2nd base, then found himself on 3rd as Richard notched his second base hit of the day before stealing 2nd with Josh Horton at the plate. Alas, The Hornet looked as ‘Lost’ as Walt Correa, striking out swinging with the scores still sitting at blank.

A double from Danny Hamblin and a walk to Sulentic with one out set the table nicely in the 3rd before Walt Correa his 2nd walk (of the month) to load the bases. The C’s had obviously been in this situation before, but even Justin Frash’s infield ground-out couldn’t keep the Ambler from scoring the go-ahead run.

On the mound, meanwhile, Hertzler was a stone cold monster. 5 innings pitched, no hits, no walks, 3 Ks, and he wasn’t even relying on big time defense to keep it going - everything was ground-outs, pop-flies and the occasional outfield-bound fly-out, along with some well performed K action.

But the C’s needed that sort of pitching effort, because in the bottom of the 4th, they once again pulled the ’so close and yet so far’ routine, with Corey Brown’s swinging strikeout stranding Richard and Horton once more.

We got the win. That’s nice. But man, it would have been interesting to see where Hertzler was headed over 9 innings, wouldn’t it?

C's back at .500 with loss to Spokane

DH 'Beaned' Pruitt
2B 'Rocket' Richard
SS 'Hornet' Horton
1B 'Gamblin' Hamblin
CF 'Uptown' Brown
RF 'Excellentic' Sulentic
C 'Lost' Love
3B Justin 'Missing' Frash
LF Shane 'Housewive' Keough
SP Inoel 'Death' Deaza

The one game where I was planning a huge recap is one that is not worthy. Well, worthy yes but the game had no action compared, for example, with the 18-7 beating the C's took Sunday night.

J.D. Pruitt was 0-1 with a hit-by-pitch in the first inning, but it wasn't until the 9th when Vancouver proved threatening to the Indians.

After Spokane had scored three runs off of Deaza and Earl Oakes, who has done a great job of being the go-to guy this season, Matt Sulentic looked to turn the game around in the 9th.

Corey Brown struck out to start off the bottom half of the 9th, but Sulentic and Dante Love exchanged back-to-back hits, scoring Excellentic on Love's double. Justin Frash grounded out but advanced Lost Love to 3rd, putting the tying run at home plate, and a runner at 3rd for Shane Keough with two out.

Our in-house housewive hit to shortstop Andres 'Jesse' James, to end the game.

3-1 Spokane was your final.

Game notes:

'Rocket' Richard stole his 14th base tonight, something a backup doesn't usually do by game 28 of the season.

Vancouver's average as a team is probably around .220 after this game, and although it must suck for them, they are getting close.

Nooner at the Nat today, game 2 of this five game set.

Canadians fall eight back of Volcanoes after Oregon road trip

I'm sorry I haven't been posting individual recaps of the Canadians since Friday, but to be honest I don't see a point right now. The team is eight games back of Salem in the west division going into their five-game home series that starts tonight against Spokane. This series is key for the C's to gain ground on Salem, trying to dust up Eugene and Everett. Grant Desme should make his pro debut, and Lance Sewell will make his Nat Bailey stadium debut during this series.

Vancouver has gone through some tough times under manager Rick Magnante over his two years of service, but it's certainly not his fault. Rick was the manager for South Africa at the inagural World Baseball Classic, and is the best manager I have witnessed since being a C's fan.

Coaches Chris Pritchett and Jimmy Escalante have been extra-ordinary in bringing players averages up, and ERA's down. Corey Brown, who had a dismal average two weeks ago, is now batting around .280 and leads the team in home-runs. Josh Horton has found his stride after a week in pro ball, and Matt Sulentic has found his groove after a tough stint in Kane County.

Ok, Walter Correa has been in a slump since the opening series, and Shane Keough has yet to remind people why the press follows him around, but seriously, you can't match Salem Keizer right now. Where is a cross-over into the East Division? Fourth-place Everett is a better team than first-place Spokane and the rest of the East. Every single year, Salem is a dominating force. Last year Vancouver finished 15-20 games back of the Volcanoes, and they were in third place. Third place and they were that far back!

Thursday night I'm breaking down the C's so far in 2007, and I will have a recap of tonight's game up tomorrow (I'm posting the recap of the road trip in this post) but don't lose your hope yet. We're not halfway through the 76-game season and some people are writing this team off. Sure it's one hell-of-a streak they'll have to have in order to touch Salem Keizer, but it is not impossible. In their next 13 games (5 against Spokane, 3 against Everett and 5 against Boise), if they take 10 of those lucky 13 games, they'll be in contention, with 6 games against the Volcanoes left in the season.

Josh Horton is a relatively new face, and surely a slumping player in Kane County will be moved down shortly to make room for Matt Sulentic or Dan Hamblin (I'm thinking along the lines of Haas Pratt), bringing leadership to an already veteran club.

We need to improve. With only three players above .270 on the batting average list, it shows you why we're not #1, but also why we're not the Aquasox at lonely #4.

July 11th recap:

LF J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
2B 'Stinging' Matt Ray
RF Matt 'Excellentic' Sulentic
CF 'Uptown' Corey Brown
3B Walter '404' Correa
SS Josh 'Hornet' Horton
C Julio 'El Kid' Rivera
1B Dusty 'Springfield' Napoleon
DH Shane 'Housewife' Keough
SP Leo 'Magician' Martinez

Four homers by Salem Keizer in the first two innings ended Vancouver's night early, despite just two Volcano hits in 6.2 innings of relief pitching by 'Lost' Scott Hodsdon and Lance 'Fire' Sewell. J.D. Pruitt was hit-by-a-pitch and Corey Brown hit a two-run homer in the 6th but eight runs in the first two innings ended the C's hopes of sweeping the division leaders. 8-2 was your final.

July 12th:

DH J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
2B Michael 'Rocket' Richard
RF Matt 'Excellentic' Sulentic
CF 'Uptown' Corey Brown
3B Walter '404' Correa
SS Josh 'Hornet' Horton
C Dante 'Lost' Love
1B Dusty 'Springfield' Napoleon
LF Shane 'Housewive' Keough
SP Inoel 'Death' Deaza

Salem hit two homers in the second inning off of the deadly Deaza, but it was the six runs 'Call me' Earl Oakes allowed in just over an inning of relief that set down the Canadians. 'Beaned' was hit by another pitch, and Dusty Napoleon hit his first home-run in the 7th but once again the Volcanoes were too strong for the team from up north.

July 13th:

2B Michael 'Rocket' Richard
SS Josh 'Hornet' Horton
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Uptown' Corey Brown
RF Matt 'Excellentic' Sulentic
DH J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
C Dusty 'Springfield' Napoleon
3B Justin 'Missing' Frash
LF Shane 'Housewive' Keough
SP Brad 'Hurdle' Hertzler

Salem-Keizer managed nine runs off of Herzler, Brent Lysander and Fabian Gomez before Corey Brown hit a solo blast in the ninth, which was obviously not enough to avoid getting sweeped. Lance Sewell pitched his second score-less inning in the pros and Chad Rothford hit his third homer for the Volcanoes in the 4th off of the hurdler. 9-2 Volcanoes.

July 14th:

LF J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
SS Josh 'Hornet' Horton
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Uptown' Corey Brown
2B Walter '404' Correa
RF Matt 'Excellentic' Sulentic
C Julio 'El Kid' Rivera
DH Dusty 'Springfield' Napoleon
3B Justin 'Missing' Frash
SP 'Vote for' Pedro Figueroa

Vancouver came close to taking their first win of the road swing, but a five-run 3rd inning for Salem ruined those chances before the game was half-way through. Josh Horton hit a solo blast for dinger #1 of the season, and J.D. Pruitt walked twice in the 9-7 loss to Eugene but Mitch Canham's grand slam off of Figueroa was just one of many Emerald highlights on the night.

July 15th:

LF J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
SS Josh 'Hornet' Horton
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
DH 'Uptown' Corey Brown
2B Walter '404' Correa
RF Matt 'Excellentic' Sulentic
C Dante 'Lost' Love
3B Justin 'Missing' Frash
CF Shane 'Housewive' Keough
SP Jose 'Pond' Guzman

The biggest loss of the season came at the hands of Eugene in game 5 of six in Oregon, and was highlighted by a 8-run first, 5-run second and one-run third. Only one out of the C's six pitchers didn't allow a run, and that was Lance Sewell who pitched another score-less inning.

July 16th:

DH J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
SS Michael 'Rocket' Richard
2B Josh 'Hornet' Horton
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Uptown' Corey Brown
RF Matt 'Excellentic' Sulentic
C Julio 'El Kid' Rivera
3B Justin 'Missing' Frash
LF Shane 'Housewive' Keough
SP Leo 'Magician' Martinez

It looks as though Josh Horton was hit in Vancouver's only win of the roadtrip Monday night, after being hit-by-a-pitch. The Hornet was replaced by Matt Ray and Josh came into score on Dan Hamblin's early homer before leaving the game. Corey Brown also hit a shot of his own, and J.D. Pruitt was hit twice by a pitch. The 10-8 victory should serve as momentum heading into their homestand against the Spokane Injuns tonight at the Nat.

C's lose first two against Volcanoes

Hey everyone, sorry for the delay in posting lately. Notesfromthenat.com hasn't been either (just because the C's haven't been playing well enough to warrant a post-game report, and right now I'm in Toronto on day one of a two-week vacation. Vacation, schmaction. I'll still be blogging the Canadians, but don't expect it when you're going to bed, more like when you wake up in the morning. Expect a couple of interviews in the coming days, including post-game reports from a couple Jays games next week, and a report from Grand Rapids, Michigan where I'll witness the Whitecaps take on the Kane County Cougars. A couple int's will come out of that game.

Anyways, the C's suck lately. I'm being nice. They're a great bunch of guys, playing their butts off, but they're not delivering. Mr. Reliable J.D. Pruitt has been batting .155 and hasn't exactly been Mr. OBP like the start of the year, and most of the team is batting around .250.

It's just been unlucky breaks lately, and this leaves the team 6 games behind Salem-Keizer heading into tonight's contest against the Volcanoes.

I'll have a post-game report for tonight's game later, but tonight and tomorrow don't expect huge ones. After that, they should be just as good as my regular reports, even if they don't say how many pitches Shane Keough fouled off before getting on base with a single. (If you know what I mean)

Listen, as I mentioned I'll be witnessing Kane County for the first time next week, and if there's any player you want interviewed for this site, please leave a comment under this post before next Tuesday, or email me at roadkillsports@hotmail.com.

If not, well you'll be stuck with whomever I choose.

The C's are looking to turn their season around in a three-game set with Eugene starting tomorrow night, and will look to bash up the Spokane Indians next Monday with game 1 of a five game set at Nat Bailey Stadium.

Until the next report (check back tomorrow A.M.), have a good one!

Emeralds tie-up series with a thumping of the C's

After a late night game Saturday, the Canadians and Emeralds returned to action Sunday afternoon for the first weekend ‘Nooner’ of 2007 at Nat Bailey Stadium. The fans were in cheering mode, the section 10 bleacher-bums were topless once again, and this meant Vancouver was ready to watch the C’s try and go 2-0 against Eugene.

Here’s how the Canadians stacked up:

LF J.D. ‘Beanball’ Pruitt
RF Matt ‘Excellentic’ Sulentic
1B ‘Amblin’ Dan Hamblin
CF ‘Uptown’ Corey Brown
3B Walter ‘Lost’ Correa
SS Josh ‘Hornet’ Horton (left)
C Julio ‘The Kid’ Rivera
2B Matt ‘Manta’ Ray
DH Michael ‘Runway’ Richard
SP ‘Vote for’ Pedro Figueroa

After a one-hit half inning by Eugene in the first, J.D. Pruitt shocked the C’s nation by getting hit-by-a-pitch! This was followed up with a Matt Sulentic single, and a Dan Hamblin double that brought in Pruitt from 2nd base. Corey Brown and Walter Correa each struck out, and Josh Horton, in his first pro at-bat, grounded out leaving Sulentic on 3rd base.

The 2nd inning saw a combined four strike outs, bringing the total of six between the two teams in just the first two innings, you’ll later see why this is being brought up.

There was two strike outs in the 3rd and 4th innings, both by C’s players (Brown and ‘The Kid’) but this brought a pitching change with the Emeralds staff. Robert ‘Watergate’ Woodard, the ace of the Emeralds bullpen, got Michael Richard to ground out, ending the 4th inning with eight strike outs in the four innings.

Three strike outs in the 5th brought July 8th’s total to 11 in five innings, before Eugene got on the board in the 6th.

After Mitch Canham lead the 6th with a double, Luis Martinez sent him to 3rd on a ground out, before ‘Souvlaki’ Kulbacki walked, putting runners on the corners. This is when John Quine replaced ‘Vote for’ Pedro Figueroa. Quine got off to a start he’ll likely want to forget, throwing three consecutive wild pitches to Justin ‘Guam’ Baum and Justin Pickett, scoring Canham and Kulbacki. On Andrew Parrino’s single, ‘Guam’ came into score, 3-1 Emeralds.

Shane Presutti entered the game in the 8th inning, making his first appearance as a Canadian since last season, hoping to earn a quick promotion back to Kane County. His lead-off walk to Justin Pickett won’t help that, and then Presutti’s throwing error on a pickoff attempt advanced Pickett to 2nd base. Pickett scored on Andrew Parrino’s double, and Parrino later came into score on Luis ‘Dodge’ Durango’s single. This inning may just look like two runs came across, but Presutti missed home plate at least five times pitching, making for a disastrously tiring day for back-catcher Julio Rivera. ‘The Kid’ proved he was tired, going 0-4 with 3 K’s at the dish Sunday.

5-1 Eugene was your final, and now I’ll explain about the strike outs.

There were 23 strike outs in today’s game, 8 of them are credited to Jeremy ‘Hefty’ Hefner who pitched three innings. I didn’t make a mistake, 8 of the 9 batters he retired went down on strikes. Another notable pitching performance is that of Bob Woodard, who struck out half of the batters he faced, while picking up his first pro win.

The final game of the series goes tomorrow night for Vancouver Athletics night, where the C’s will celebrate the 2010 games.

Canadians take extra-inning affair on lucky night

While most people were out celebrating triple-sevens on the calendar at weddings and other celebrations, just over 3,600 people crammed into Nat Bailey Stadium to watch the first of three games between the Eugene Emeralds and Vancouver Canadians, Saturday night.

The C’s:

LF J.D. ‘Beanball’ Pruitt
SS Michael ‘Runway’ Richard
RF Matt ‘Excellentic’ Sulentic
1B ‘Amblin’ Dan Hamblin
CF ‘Uptown’ Corey Brown
3B Justin ‘Ham’ Frash
C Julio ‘The Kid’ Rivera
2B Matt ‘Manta’ Ray
DH Shane ‘3-0′ Keough
SP Brad ‘Hurdle’ Hertzler

Eugene got off to a promising start in this one, with Ray Stokes and Luis Martinez on first and second base with two out and Mitch Canham at the dish. ‘Cannon’ hit a ball to Matt Ray, but the Mantanian one couldn’t field it correctly, forcing the scoreboard operator to put up the first error of the ballgame for the C’s, when Ray Stokes came into score. 1-0 Emeralds after half an inning.

Vancouver looked to reply in the bottom half of the first, but with Michael Richard at second base with two away, Dan Hamblin struck out swinging.

In the top of the 3rd the Emeralds looked to have gotten to Hertzler, with Luis ‘Dodge’ Durango’s lead-off single. Durango cruised to third base with two gone in the inning, before Rick Magnante went to the bullpen, in favour of Hertzler pitching to Luis Martinez. ‘Hurdle’ pitched two and two-thirds innings of two-hit ball, and you can be sure that reliever Brent Lysander (who came into the ballgame) was looking to send down Martinez to avoid Hertzler being given an earned run. Lysander did just that, striking out Martinez to end the inning.

With Shane Keough on first base with one out (Keough reached on an error by ‘Guam’ Baum), J.D. Pruitt singled up the middle, advancing Keough a base with Michael Richard at the dish. Keough went to 3rd base on an error by Baum during Richard’s at-bat, and ‘3-0′ ended up scoring later in the A.B., thanks to Richard’s tarmac double into left field. Keough scored, and later did Pruitt (as well as Richard) on Matt Sulentic’s (get this) triple to center field. This brought the score to 3-1, and that’s the way the inning would end thanks to Dan Hamblin’s inning-ending double-play.

We now head to the top of 7, where Vancouver’s pitching change did more harm than good. Bryan Collins came into pitch, and after getting Luis Durango to ground out, he hit Ray Stokes and walked Kellen Kulbacki, before Justin Friend entered the game. Friend allowed a quick single to Luis Martinez, that scored Ray Stokes, before walking Mitch Canham to load the bases with one gone in the inning. ‘Guam’ Baum struck out, but Dan Payne singled to Richard at short to tie the game up at three. Luckily for Vancouver, Andrew Parrino grounded out, 5-3 to end the inning.

After a couple of boring innings, the two teams entered inning #10, tied three-a-piece, now in extras. Charles Kerfoot was the C’s pitcher in the first extra-inning, and allowed a lead-off single to Andrew Parrino, before getting Brian ‘Old Fort’ Lauderdale to strike out. Our resident car expert Luis Durango grounded into a force out, putting himself on first base (while teammate Parrino was sent to the dugout) before stealing two bases with Ray Stokes at the dish. Stokes didn’t take advantage of Durango standing on third base, striking out to end the inning.

Vancouver brought in lefty Fabian Gomez in the 11th to replace Kerfoot and got off to a good start, striking out Martinez, and getting ‘Souvlaki’ Kulbacki to ground out. He hit the ‘Cannon’ Canham, before giving up a single to ‘Guam’, but pinch-hitter Keith ‘Cancer’ Conlon couldn’t muster it up to keep the drive alive, striking out ending the top half of the 11th.

New pitcher Matt Huff ‘Puff’ hit Matt Sulentic to lead-off the 11th, before giving up a walk on four balls to Dan Hamblin. Corey Brown advanced Matt Sulentic 3rd base on his fly out, and then Justin Frash hit a single to right fielder ‘Souvlaki’ to win the C’s the game in the 11th inning.

Canadians suffer second straight defeat in Spokane

It is no secret the Vancouver Canadians have been going through some difficult times in the last two series', but as they headed into Thursday night's game, the C's were looking to respond to their Independence Day washout on the road. Leonardo 'Sayonara' Martinez took the hill for Vancouver and opposed Michael Kirkman of the Indians.

The C's stacked up like this:

DH J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
2B 'Stinging' Matt Ray
RF 'Eccentric' Matt Sulentic
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
3B Walter 'Pina Coladas' Correa
C Dante 'Brotherly' Love
LF Shane 'Layin Low' Keough
SS Michael 'Rocket' Richard
SP Leonardo 'Sayonara' Martinez

The bases were loaded with just one out in the top of the first (J.D. Pruitt, Matt Ray and Dan Hamblin walked) for Corey Brown, who was at the dish, and brought J.D. home with a sac fly. Now with two out, Walter Correa reached base on an error by SS Andres James, that allowed Matt Ray to cross home plate. Dante Love hit a peaceful shot to right field that ended the top half of inning #1.

With two outs in the bottom of 1, Leonardo Martinez must have been sure he was getting out of the inning without allowing a run, but Renny Osuna said, "I'm not saying Sayonara to you" and hit a single to left field. Jon Greene was hit-by-a-pitch to keep the inning going, and Ian Gac hit a clutch double that brought in Osuna, before Steve 'Quack' Marquardt grounded out to Matt Ray. 2-1 Vancouver.

The bottom of 3rd saw Spokane tie the game up with Ian Gac's second clutch hit of the ballgame, this time a home-run to center field off of Martinez, but luckily no one else was on base. The game was at 2 a piece. J.D. Pruitt came up to bat in the 4th for the 3rd time in the game, and for the second consecutive time, he got out, this time hitting a grounder to third. 0-2 with a walk isn't the kind of stuff that'll get you to Stockton, but his OBP of almost .600 is something that'll make noise in Oakland's columns.

After Kyle Murphy led the bottom of 5 off with a single to left off of Leo, and the dreaded movement by Manager Rick Magnante to bring in the righty pitcher had to happen, and this meant that 'Lost' Scott Hodsdon entered the game. Things didn't get off to a great start for Hodsdon, who hasn't had great stuff on the mound this year, as he walked Renny Osuna, followed by a Jon Greene double that brought Murphy into score. 3-2 Spokane, but it wasn't over. Ian Gac grounded out but Osuna still came into score and Jon Greene also came into score on Quack's single. 5-2 Injuns.

Vancouver got a run back in the 6th inning, all thanks to Corey Brown who led the inning off with a double, before the next two batters Correa and pinch-hitter Justin Frash grounded out respectively. Shane Keough doubled home Brown, and advanced to 3rd on Mike Richard's bunt single, but J.D. Pruitt continued his slump by popping up to Renny Osuna.

5-3 Spokane going into the 8th and the C's got things started the same way they started two innings ago. Julio Rivera hit a double in his first at-bat of the game, and was at third base with two out for J.D. Pruitt, who hit another pop up, this time to Chris Dennis that ended the threat.

Vancouver brought in Charles 'Kerplunk' Kerfoot to relieve 'Lost' Hodsdon but Kerfoot allowed an astonishing 4 runs in the bottom of 8, including a homer to Johan Yan that ended the C's hopes of tying the game in the 9th.

Spokane takes it 9-3.

Notes:

J.D. Pruitt is sporting a .189 batting average, despite having an on-base-percentage of almost .600 going into tonight's game. Although he's getting on base, J.D. needs to find his hitting abilities, rather than always relying on walking.

Matt Sulentic dropped his batting average to .255 after going 0-5 with 3 strike outs.

Game 5 of the series goes tomorrow night in Spokane, and look for either Inoel Deaza, Shane Presutti or Fabian Gomez to start the game.

Vancouver suffers another loss at the helm of the Spokane Injuns

After a promising victory Tuesday night, Vancouver returned to action on Independence Day only to lose a lop-sided game to the home team, Spokane 'Injun' Indians.

C's:

LF J.D. 'Highest OBP in all of baseball' Pruitt
RF Matt 'Eccentric' Sulentic (Before you leave the blog after reading his nickname, it's because he sucked in Kane County, which is unusual for him)
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Heading Downtown' Corey Brown
3B Justin 'Ham' Frash
DH Dante 'Powerful' Love
C Julio 'Bona Fide' Rivera
2B 'Stinging' Matt Ray
SS Michael 'Rocket' Richard
SP Jose 'Goose' Guzman

Heading into Wednesday night's affair, J.D. Pruitt led the Northwest league in on-base-percentage. He also led the minor leagues. Oh heck, he leads all of professional baseball! So how would Pruitt respond in his first at-bat in game 3 of the 5 game set? "Take your base." J.D. would be sent to the dugout on Matt Sulentic's force out, but Dan Hamblin put Eccentric on 2nd base with a single. Corey Brown flew out, but Justin Frash showed some good hitting skills, singling to right field, advancing Hamblin to 3rd, Sulentic home and putting himself on second base thanks to Victor Barrios' throw. 1-0 Vancouver.

Jose Guzman was making his fourth start with the C's, and it is one he will likely forget. After putting lead-off man Matt Lawson on first with a walk, and then with one out allowing Victor Barrios to single, Jon Greene took full advantage hitting a 3-run shot to right field. 3-1 Spokane.

The top of 2 didn't see any runs score for Vancouver, but an interesting note (at least for those who think J.D. Pruitt getting walked is awesome), Beaned walked for the second time in the ball game, before (with the bases loaded) Dan Hamblen hit a fly ball to 'Action' Barrios.

Michael Richard became 2-2 in the game (this is the 4th inning) with his one-out single, and when J.D. Pruitt was called out on strikes, the Rocket used his fire power to steal second base. This put him in scoring position for Matt Sulentic, who singled and brought M.R. home with the two out base knock. 3-2 Spokane.

Although Vancouver got closer to tying the game, Spokane responded with a huge 4th inning. Jon Greene (who already had a homer Wednesday) singled to lead-off the inning, and Ian Gac hit a base hit of his own, followed by Chris 'Wacko' Gradoville's double that brought in 'Grass is' Greene, and Ian Gac scored on Tim Rodriguez' ground out. That's two runs with one out. Johan Yan doubled to bring in Wacko, and that marked the end of the game for Goose Guzman. Brent Lysander came in, and got Andres James to fly out, but gave up a single to Matt Lawson that brought in Yan. Kyle Murphy grounded out to end the inning, after four of his teammates had come around to score. 7-2 Spokane.

After Michael Richard hit his 3rd single of the game with none out, J.D. Pruitt bunted into a double play, ending any hope of getting back in the ball game before the 7th inning.

After Brent Lysander pitched 2.2 innings, allowing just two hits, Aaron 'Twang' Jenkins entered the game, hoping to strike out as many Spokanians (is that what they are) as possible. Well, in the 7th he did just that, striking out Victor Barrios, Jon Greene and Andres James. After Vancouver couldn't manage a run in the 8th, Jenkins wouldn't let Spokane get on base, getting Ian Gac to fly out, and he did some work of his own on the mound, striking out Wacko and Tim Rodriguez to end Spokane's hitting portion of the game.

Vancouver had some life in the 9th, after Matt Sulentic led things off with a double. Dan Hamblin struck out, but Corey Brown hit a triple to score Eccentric and put himself in good position to score, but a Justin Frash strike out and Dante Love ground out ended the chances of tying the game up. 7-3 Spokane was your final. Look for Leonardo 'Sianara' Martinez to pitch tonight for Vancouver, in game 4 at Avista Stadium.

C's snap losing streak with a slaughtering of the Indians

After losing two in a row (Sunday and Monday's recaps would have been only the box score, so here is a full recap), and a handful of promotions and demotions before Tueday night's game, the Canadians wanted to come across with a victory in game 2 of the 5 game series at Avista Stadium.

The C's starting lineup:

SS Michael 'Rocket' Richard
LF J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
1B 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
3B Walter 'Pina' Correa
C Dante 'Strong' Love
DH Dusty 'Fondue' Napoleon
2B 'Stinging' Matt Ray
RF Angel 'Cake' Sierra
SP John Quine 'Must Die'

Spokane Indians:

2B Matt 'Lying' Lawson
DH Renny 'Sushi' Osuna
RF Victor 'Boundary' Barrios
1B Ian 'Gagging' Gac
CF Kyle 'Ditz' Murphy
LF Steven 'Quack' Marquardt
SS Davis 'Age of the' Stoneburner
3B Johan 'Bate' Yan
C Billy 'Drillin' Killian
SP 'Living life with' Derek Holland

Michael Richard has been the lead-off man a couple of times this season, and he hasn't done a fabulous job. Either grounding out or striking out has been the tradition that the Rocket brings, and he continued that trend Tuesday, grounding out to start the game. J.D. Pruitt was batting in the two hole, and walked to get on base. This was lucky for Pruitt, because Dan Hamblin responded to Sean Doolittle's promotion by knocking a two-run shot to left field, and suddenly Vancouver had a 2-0 lead.

After Corey Brown and Walter Correa failed to get on base, the Injuns were up at the dish and wasted no time in trying to bring a runner of their own home. Matt Lawson doubled to right field, followed by a Sushi walk to put runners on first and second. Victor Barrios flew out to Angel Sierra, but the two runners (Lawson and Osuna) did a double steal on the C's, ruining the force out at first or second. Ian Gac walked, to load the bases and that re-added the force but you have to congratulate them on the D.S. (NOT!). Ditzy Murphy grounded out, but Lying Lawson managed to score, before the Duck grounded out to end the inning. 2-1 Vancouver.

The top of the 3rd saw Vancouver's top of the order for the second time tonight, and who would've thought that Michael Richard would have started the inning with a fly out? J.D. Pruitt walked for the second time tonight, and a wild pitch with Dan Hamblin at the dish allowed Beaned to head to 2nd base. Hamblin hit Pruitt to 3rd on a fly out, and Corey Brown doubled to bring in the U of Montevallo graduate. This brought a pitching change for the Injuns, and in came Keisuke 'Let's play' Ueno. He got Walter Correa to strike out for the second time in the game and that ended the chances of Corey Brown scoring to add to the lead. 3-1 Van-city.

Now in the top of 5, Angel Sierra started things off with a double to right, followed by a Rocket strike out, and J.D. Pruitt was next up. Pruitt, who was 0-0 with two walks in the game, was hit-by-a-pitch and keeps his hopes of breaking the NWL record by August in tact. Dan Hamblin flew out, making there two outs, but Corey Brown kept the hopes alive with a walk that loaded the bases. But, Walter Correa must have had too much Pina Colada before the game because he struck out for the 3rd time in the ballgame.

After Johan Yan and Billy Killian got on base with none out, 'Call Me' Earl Oakes replaced starter John Quine on the hill. Quine in my opinion pitched really well, allowing just two hits in four innings, walking four and allowing two earned runs (Johan Yan came around to score with Oakes pitching). 3-2 Vancouver after five.

With Daniel 'Leave it to' Sattler coming into pitch for Spokane, Vancouver saw this as an opportunity to get some runs on the board and they wasted no time in trying. Dante Love walked to lead-off the inning, and was at 2nd base before Dusty Napoleon grounded out. Matt Ray singled putting Love one bag away from home, and Angel Sierra hit a ground out to score Dante as well as putting Stinging Ray in scoring position at 2nd.

Michael Richard was hit-by-a-pitch and saw something he hasn't been used to this season, first base. J.D. Pruitt walked to load the bases, (that's 0-0 with 3 walks and a HBP for Pruitt) and that brought another change of pitchers for Spokane, with the appearance of Jose 'Jesse' Jaimes. Dan Hamblin said "Hello Jesse Jaimes, I'm going to school you up!" and hit a double to left field that scored the Rocket and the Sting, in addition to putting J.D. Pruitt on 3rd base. Unfortunately, those were all the runs Vancouver would manage in the inning, thanks to Corey Brown striking out for the second time in the game with two out already. 6-2 visitors.

With the first two batters in the 8th inning (Matt Ray and Cake) striking out, Michael Richard opened the real inning with a single to left field. Richard stole two bases, putting him on 3rd base when J.D. Pruitt walked for the fourth time in the game ,and he stayed put when Dan Hamblin walked to load up the bases. Jordan 'I'm not Shannon' Stewart came from the home team's bullpen, he got Corey Brown to hit into his defence, but Ian Gac did a gag and allowed all the runners to move up a bag on the 1st baseman's error. Michael Richard came around to score, but Walter Correa continued his already 0-4 night by grounding out, ending the inning as well as bringing his box score to 0-5. 7-2.

Brad 'Country' Hertzler replaced Earl Oakes in the bottom of 8 and struck out two of the three batters he faced in the inning (Victor Barrios popped up) but you have to thank Oakes for a great performance, two hits and two strikeouts in three innings.

The top of 9 saw one hit from the Canadians, and it was a dinger by Matt Ray, whose hands must have been stinging after his shot to the small right field at Avista Stadium. 8-2 Vancouver.

With Brad Hertzler pitching the 9th, he got Ditzy Murphy to strike out to start the inning, and despite a single by Stoneage Stoneburner, he got Johan Yan to go down on strikes to end the game.

C's win! Tonight the C's will probably put lefty Jose Guzman on the hill in game 3, after a refreshing day at the team's luxurious hotel.

Canadians get first major shake-up of season

It is around this time of year every season that a couple of players are moved up and down Oakland’s minor league system, mostly when the high draft picks sign on with the big club. The Vancouver Canadians have had two shake-ups already this season, only 14 games into their 76 game season, and that can only mean a bunch of new signees are making their way up north to play in red, white and blue.

Last week it was Keith Eusebio, Edgar Tejada, Angel Corporan and Javier James going south to Arizona, followed by Pascuel ‘El Gigante’ Manzueta who made two appearances this year, and now there are four more players leaving Canada, maybe for good.

Lefty Carlos Hernandez was sent down to Arizona, something he can’t be thrilled with. Hernandez had an 11.57 ERA with the C’s, in just two appearances where he allowed 4 runs in 2.1 innings. Hernandez’ last showing almost lost the Canadians the game Saturday night, thanks to an error of his own and some timely hitting by Salem-Keizer.

While Hernandez was sent down, three of his teammates were sent up, making their dreams of playing with the big club more realistic. RHP Travis Banwart, LHP Nick Walters [seen top left] and 1B Sean ‘Doc’ Doolittle are now with Kane County thanks to sour performances by RHP Inoel Deaza and Shane Presutti with the Cougars, en-route to their demotion to Vancouver.

Banwart never played for Vancouver, but has been with the team since the end of the opening series. Walters on the other hand, has been pitching very well in tight situations this season, including last night when he pitched the last out of a disastrous 8th inning in Spokane. Walters finishes his Canadians career with a 1-0 record, accompanied with a 3.18 ERA and 4 K’s.

Doc’s promotion makes room for Grant Desme, an outfielder from Cal Poly who is expected to make his pro debut in the next two weeks, and this is a promotion Doolittle had to work especially hard for. Battling with Dan Hamblin for first base, Hamblin eventually had to move over to make room for Doolittle (Hamblin tried out third base while Justin Frash struggled with early form) and this move gives the big University of Arkansas slugger a chance to return to his comfort position and put some numbers on the board.

Doolittle batted .283 with Vancouver, in addition to driving in 6 runs and hitting 3 doubles in 46 at-bats.

The two new Canadians, Deaza and Presutti, are coming off performances they won’t be proud of from their time in Kane County, which for Deaza, included a stint on the DL. Inoel was 0-6 with a 6.65 ERA while with the Cougars, starting in 5 of his 13 appearances.

Presutti joined the Cougars from extended spring training in May, and while he didn’t take a loss in his couple of outings (nor a win for that matter), he had a 7.94 ERA in a crowded Kane County bullpen.

Meanwhile, recently promoted former C’s outfielder, Ramiro Mendez [seen right], is struggling with form in full season ball, anchored near the Mendoza Line with a .207 average after his first 38 at bats.

Canadians take game two in advance of the rubber match

Saturday night's baseball game featured two southpaws on the hill, Leonardo 'Sayonara' Martinez battled Craig Clark of the visiting Volcanoes. Salem won game 1 Thursday night, and Vancouver was looking for revenge in front of the 2,616 fans that showed up on a beautiful Vancouver night.

The C's shaped up like this:

LF J.D. 'Beaned' Pruitt
RF Matt 'Authentic' Sulentic
1B Sean 'Doc' Doolittle
DH 'Gamblin' Dan Hamblin
CF 'Downtown' Corey Brown
SS Walter '404' Correa
C Julio 'Bona Fide' Rivera
3B Justin 'Kicking' Frash
2B 'Stinging' Matt Ray
SP Leonardo 'Sayonara' Martinez

Leonardo Martinez got off to a good start on Little League Appreciation night, saying good-bye to the first two batters (Bruce Edwards and Matt 'Put' Downs). Garret 'Stone' Baker advanced to first base on a walk, but Michael 'Abort' Ambort flied out to end the first half of the inning.

Vancouver kicked off the bottom of the first with a BANG! when J.D. Pruitt was, you guessed it, HBP. Matt Sulentic hit another ground out, this time sending 'Beaned' to the dugout while 'Authentic' stood on first base with one gone. Sulentic was caught stealing second, and although Craig Clark hit his second batter of the inning (Sean Doolittle), Dan Hamblin ended the inning with a flyout to left field.

Sean Van Elderen, who while leading the NWL in batting was 0-5 last night, ended his cold streak by hitting a double to lMatt Sulentic in right field. The next batter Andrew Davis got the "Sayonara" from Leo Martinez, but Jackson Williams figured out the left-hander and got to first base on four balls. With runners on first and second, Jeremiah 'Bullfrog' Luster hit an infield fly to '404' Correa, and Correa tossed the ball to a Stinging Matt Ray for the 3rd out of the inning.

Vancouver had troubles hitting C.C. and the first two batters of the inning, Corey Brown and Correa, each went down swinging or grounded out respectively, before Julio Rivera took first base on a walk. Justin Frash, who can't buy a hit this season, continued hit struggle at the plate with a flyout to end the inning.

Leo Martinez ran into his first bit of trouble in the 3rd inning. After walking Bruce Edwards to start the inning, the lead-off man stole second base, before 'Put' Downs popped up to Julio Rivera for out number one. Garret Baker was hit by a pitch, and Edwards, along with Baker, each advanced one base on Michael Ambort's ground out to Walt Correa. On a passed ball, wild pitch, whatever you want to call it, Julio Rivera tossed the ball to Martinez who tagged Bruce Edwards out to fnish off the top of 3.

With one out already in the inning, J.D. Pruitt connected to center field for a single, followed by another base hit by 'Authentic' Sulentic who hit it in the same spot 'Beaned' did, and both of them were on base. Sean Doolittle grounded out, but Pruitt and Sulentic each advanced a base, despite there being now two out in the inning. Dan Hamblin was intentionally walked to load the bases with two gone, but that came back to haunt Salem-Keizer, when Corey Brown walked to score J.D. Pruitt. That was the first run of the ballgame, and it would be followed up by two more when Walter Correa singled into right field. Sulentic and Hamblin would score, in addition to advancing Correa and Brown to 2nd and 3rd respectively. Unfortunately, Julio Rivera ended the run streak at three with an inning ending groundout. 3-0 Vancouver.

In the 5th inning, Aaron 'Country' Jenkins replaced Martinez pitching for Vancouver, and in his first two inning he set down the Volcanoes without allowing a hit. In the bottom of 6 Vancouver got a key hit from Matt Ray, whose hands must've been stinging after his double that advanced Justin Frash to 3rd base, and the crowd was ecstatic after J.D. Pruitt walked to load the bases with two gone. Matt Sulentic was at the plate and hit a grounder to right field that would score Frash before the Doctor flew out to end the inning. 4-0 C's.

Carlos Hernandez pitched the 7th inning, and let's just say he didn't have his best stuff. After an error of his (Hernandez') own, Walter Correa and Justin Frash went through some mis-communication before an eventual three Volcanoes came into score. 4-3 Vancouver, and at this point we had ourselves a tight ballgame.

Vancouver took those runs back in the bottom of 7, with runs from Correa, Rivera and Frash before Nick Walters took the mound in the 8th. 7-3 for the good guys.

With two out in the top of 8, Chad Rothford came into pinch-hit, and hit a single to keep the inning alive. That was followed by a Bruce Edwards triple, and Matt Downs single, allowing Rothford and Edwards to score. 7-5 Vancouver.

The C's couldn't add onto their lead in the 8th, but Leonardo Espinal came into pitch the 9th, and was lights out getting Jeremiah Luster and Andrew Davis to ground out, and Sean Van Elderen to fly out, when the C's took game 2 of this series, setting up a rubber match for Sunday's game.

Game note:

Pascuel Manzueta is no longer with the C's, he has been sent down to the Arizona A's where he'll re-connect with former teammates Keith Eusebio, Javier James, Angel Corporan and Edgar Tejada.