Three first-inning HRs propel Canadians to win

Luis De Los Santos belted a home run and had four RBIs for the Vancouver Canadians on Thursday. Photo: Vancouver Canadians/Twitter

August 19, 2021

Official Vancouver Canadians News Release

HILLSBORO, OR – Three consecutive two-out home runs in the first inning spurred the Vancouver Canadians to a 9-4 win over the Tri-City Dust Devils Thursday night at Ron Tonkin Field.

With runners at second and third and two outs, Luis De Los Santos slugged his team-high 12th home run of the year to dead centre field to make it 3-0 Vancouver. Will Robertson followed with a solo shot on an 0-2 pitch before Davis Schneider smacked his seventh dinger of the season for back-to-back-to-back jacks, the second time the C’s have hit consecutive homers in the last week (Zac Cook and Rafael Lantigua did the honours on Sunday in Everett).

After Tri-City got a solo home run of their own in the second, the Canadians got that run back in the third. Spencer Horwitz doubled to extend his hitting streak to nine straight games, went to third on a fly out then scored when De Los Santos hit a grounder to third base that put Vancouver ahead 6-1.

The Dust Devils scored a run in the fourth and two in the fifth to pull within two, but that would be the closest they’d come. A run scored in the bottom of the fifth on a balk, Andres Guerra doubled home a run in the sixth and Horwitz brought in another score that inning with a sacrifice fly to make it 9-4 C’s.

On the mound, Paxton Schultz (W, 4-4) was solid through five innings in which he scattered seven hits, allowed four runs, K’d five and didn’t walk a batter. Will McAffer (North Vancouver, B.C.) (H, 3), Hagen Danner and Roither Hernandez combined on four scoreless innings of relief and allowed just one hit between them.

Vancouver aims to even the series on Friday night. CJ Van Eyk gets the nod for the C’s and will be opposed by 2021 first round pick Sam Bachman. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.