Statement time came loud and clear Tuesday night in the first game of the six game series.  The Vancouver Canadians left no doubt early when they defeated the Hillsboro Hops, 13-4.  The eventual winning run came in the fourth when Rafael Lantigua doubled home Sebastion Espino.  But, the barrage was so relentless that it all seemed to blend in with the other hits and runs.  Not only of the inning, but the whole game

Statement Time on the Mound

The other side of the game did a nice job as well.  Marcus Reyes (W, 1-0) took the win by being the pitcher on record when the fifth inning ended.  Sean Wymer started and lasted four innings on 70 pitches.  He allowed two runs and the Hops took their only lead of the night.  Wymer faced seven more batters and struck out five during his stand.

Marcus Reyes came on in the fifth to relieve and face loaded bases with one out.  The Hops scored one more run before he came to the mound but that would be all until one last Hops run in the eighth.  Reyes struck out the next two batters and ended the threat.

During the night, Canadian pitchers struck out twelve batters.  A feat matched by Hops pitching as well.  Connor Grammes (L, 0-1) started for the Hops and took the loss.  Hunter Haworth came on in the third and allowed only two hits and no runs in a little over two innings.  Kai-Wei Lin pitched the sixth and held the Canadians hitless on seven pitches.

Statement Time: First Inning

Nothing makes a good statement more than a good beginning.  That’s exactly what the Canadians did.  Tanner Kirwer led the game off with a single and scored on Cameron Eden’s RBI single.  The C’s threatened more with three singles total in the inning but scored no more.  They had made their statement.

The second inning saw the Hops score two runs and take their only lead of the night.  Tra Holmes led off with a single and scored on Alexander Hernandez’ RBI single.  To take the lead, Cam Coursey singled home Hernandez.  The lead lasted until the C’s came to bat again.

Statement Time: Third Inning

Vancouver sent ten men to the plate in the third and came away with six runs on two hits to give themselves a 7-2 lead.  Amazingly, it didn’t start until after two outs in the inning.  One reason why more runs than hits were the two walks issued by Grammes.  Both base runners scored.  But, they had plenty of help with Cameron Eden’s lead off single, Luis De Los Santos’ two RBI single, Ryan Gold’s RBI double, Sebastian Espino’s two RBI single and Rafael Lantigua’s RBI double.

The Hops didn’t give up.  They scored another run in the fifth when Ricky Martinez was hit by a pitch from Brayden Bouchy with the bases loaded.  But, after the first inning, for every run the Hops scored, the Canadians matched it with three of their own.

Statement Time: Seventh Inning

Another run of hits ended up with three more runs in the seventh.  With one out, Tanner Morris singled and scored on Ryan Gold’s second RBI double of the game.  De Los Santos singled and scored on Espino’s sacrifice fly to left.  Even one of their outs produced an RBI.  Then Gold scored on Tanner Kirwer’s RBI single.

Vancouver followed that with more of a blip instead of a statement when they came to the plate in the eighth.  Yaramil Hiraldo came to the mound and walked the next two batters.  After a mound visit, Hiraldo left with shoulder discomfort.  Kyler Stout came on in relief and, after loading the bases with a walk of his own, ended the inning with only one of those base runners scoring.

Statement Time: Ninth Inning

Kyler Stout stayed on to finish the game.  But, not before he loaded the bases again with two singles and a walk.  Before he could stop the bleeding before it started, Tanner Morris’ two-RBI single scored two more runs for the final score.

Again, the Hops didn’t give up.  Will McAffer closed out the ninth but not before walking the first two batters.  However, he made up for it by striking out the side after that.  Mercifully for the Hops, the game ended.

Stats and Standings

All Canadian batters got a hit.  Three batters led the way with three hits apiece: Cameron Eden, Tanner Morris and Ryan Gold.  Gold ended up going 3 for 5 with two RBI doubles and one RBI single.  He also scored twice.

With the win, the Vancouver Canadians (W, 9-4) remain in a tie with Eugene for second place, one game behind Everett.  The loss dropped the Hillsboro Hops (L, 5-8) to five games back from the leader.  Both teams meet Wednesday night for game two of the six game series at 6:35 PM.  Vancouver takes the early lead 1-0.

If you can’t watch the game on MiLB.tv or listen to it on 620 AM, you can follow me on Twitter for half inning updates.  Until then, read my summary of week two, Hopes & Perks, for the Hops on Minor League Sports Report.

Box Score

By

Greg Stoker

@GDStoker