VANCOUVER, B.C. – Blame Canada Day.
On the evening Canada celebrated its 137th birthday, the Vancouver Canadians shut down the hot-hitting Everett AquaSox 2-1 Thursday night before a monster crowd of 6,971.
Canadians pitcher Mike McGirr stifled an Everett team that came in batting .328. McGirr allowed just two hits, both singles, through six strong innings.
McGirr’s throwing error allowed the first batter of the game – Everett’s Brent Johnson – to reach base, but the right-hander settled down quickly. McGirr retired the next 11 batters he faced before Brandon Green’s two-out single to left-center field in the fourth.
The Sox never really threatened with McGirr on the mound, reaching second base in just two of the six innings he pitched. McGirr, who struck out three, raised his record to 2-0 and dropped his earned-run average below 1.00.
The AquaSox did give the sellout crowd a scare in the ninth. Green and Marshall Hubbard singled off Canadians reliever Stephen Schilsky, leaving runners at first and second with no outs.
After a wild pitch moved both runners up, Yung-Chi Chen struck out. Casey Craig then grounded to second base, scoring Green and advancing Hubbard to third. But that was as close as the Sox would get as right fielder Mike Wilson grounded out to second to end the game. Schilsky picked up his first save of the season.
Gregorio Petit provided all of Vancouver’s offense with a two-run triple off the left-field wall in the fourth that scored Tom Everidge and Nicolas Blasi. Petit, who also had a double, finished the game 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Frogs starter Ruben Flores (1-1) demonstrated a knack for wiggling out of trouble.
After hitting two batters and walking another to load the bases with one out in the second, Flores got Chalon Tietje to hit a comebacker to the mound, which Flores turned into an inning-ending, pitcher-to-catcher-to-first double play.
Flores again pitched out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the fifth, getting Everidge to pop out and Blasi to ground to short.
Flores hadn’t allowed a run in 11 innings before Petit’s triple in the fourth.
Vancouver (6-8) left nine men on base, seven in scoring position.
Everett stranded seven runners. The AquaSox left runners in scoring position in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings.
The Frogs play two more games in Vancouver before returning home to play host to the Canadians in a three-game series that begins July 4.
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