SPOKANE, WA – A relentless offensive attack and strong showings from a quartet of pitchers combined to put the Canadians on top of the Spokane Indians (COL) 11-1 Saturday night at Avista Stadium.
The scoring started in the top of the first. With two outs and a 3-0 count, #3 Blue Jays prospect Arjun Nimmala hit a tape measure blast that left the bat at 107 MPH and traveled 407 feet for his second homer of the year.
After Spokane scored an unearned run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game 1-1, the C’s took the lead for good with three in the top of the second. Tucker Toman singled to start the frame, Alexis Hernandez walked and Manny Beltre cashed in an RBI single with one out to put Vancouver in front for good. Brennan Orf followed with a two-run knock of his own to increase the lead to three runs.
Blue Jays prospect Johnny King (#4 on MLB Pipeline) carried the momentum he built in his last start into tonight’s game. The 19-year-old tossed 3.1 innings in which he allowed one hit, walked two and K’ed a season-high seven.
Leading 4-1, the C’s tacked on a run in the fourth when Carter Cunningham hit his league-best sixth homer – to give him a league-leading 21 RBI – and added another in the fifth on a walk and a two-out single from Matt Scannell that saw a run race home on an error in right field.
Newcomer Trace Baker finished the fourth for King and, despite filling the bases, struck out the potential tying run to end the frame. That was the closest Spokane would get; Holden Wilkerson (W, 2-0) entered to begin the fifth and mowed down the entire Indians lineup. The right-hander went four complete, surrendered one hit, walked one and struck out six.
A Toman two-run homer in the seventh preceded a two-run knock from Nimmala and another run-scoring hit from Toman – this time a single – in the eighth that put the proverbial nail in the coffin.
Jonathan Todd got the last three outs to lock down an 11-1 triumph.
All nine starters reached base, eight had a hit and four had multiple hits. Toman led the way with a 3-for-3 day, reached all five times he came to the plate and was joined by Nimmala in a three-RBI night.
With the win, the C’s have secured their first series split of the year and are now 5-9 on the year. They’ll go for the series win tomorrow afternoon when Austin Cates opposes #8 Rockies prospect Brody Brecht. Coverage begins with C’s On Deck at 12 p.m. on Sportsnet 650 then continues with the play-by-play on the Sportsnet 650 alt feed at 1:05 p.m.
For tickets and more information throughout the 75th anniversary season of The Nat, visit CanadiansBaseball.com, call 604-872-5232 and follow the C’s on social via @vancanadians.