However, when it came down to crunch time, the Canadians won the games when it mattered the most, including their final contest of August when they won 4-2 in Tri-City on the 31st to stay ahead of the Spokane Indians in the overall standings (first half and second half standings).
Then on the second-last day of the season, on Sunday September 1st, the Canadians clinched a playoff spot when the first-half winners of the North Division, the Everett AquaSox, defeated Spokane and Vancouver took care of business by once again beating Tri-City. Those two outcomes clinched the second-half pennant for Everett, meaning that by Northwest League rules the second playoff spot for the division goes to the team with the next best overall record.
That team: the Vancouver Canadians, whose victory improved their overall record to 39-36, eliminating Spokane and its 38-37 mark. Since the Canadians own the tie-breaker over the Indians, Spokane can no longer catch Vancouver in the standings with one game remaining, putting the C's in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
Second-Half Standings on September 1
North Division
Team W-L Pct GB
*#Everett 20-17 .541 -
Spokane 18-19 .486 2
x-Vancouver 17-20 .459 3
Tri-City 14-23 .378 6
*denotes first-half division winner
#denotes second-half division winner
x denotes second-half playoff participant
Overall Standings, September 1
North Division
Team W-L Pct GB
Everett 43-32 .573 -
Vancouver 39-36 .520 4
Spokane 38-37 .507 5
Tri-City 33-42 .440 10
And the drama continued on into the final innings in both games on Sunday.
In Everett, the AquaSox and the Spokane Indians were scoreless through the first six innings--with Spokane starter RHP Eric Brooks tossing six no-hit innings with 11 strikeouts and only two walks--before the visitors broke through with a run in the top of the seventh on Evan Van Hoosier's RBI double. The Indians then added a second run in the top of the eighth when Jordan Akins hit his fourth homer of the summer, and looked to win their 39th game of the season as they went into the bottom of the eighth with a 2-0 lead.
The AquaSox, however, refused to cooperate, plating three runs in the last half of the eighth inning to stun the Indians. After being no-hit for the first six innings by Brooks, the AquaSox had gotten two hits in the bottom of the seventh off reliever Abel De Los Santos but failed to score. In the eighth, they would not let De Los Santos off the hook.
Phillips Castillo doubled off De Los Santos to open Everett's half of the eighth inning. A wild pitch moved Castillo to third base before he scored on a groundout. 2-1 Spokane. De Los Santos' wildness, meanwhile, continued as he then proceeded to walk Ian Miller. Reliever John Straka took over for De Los Santos on the mound, but Chantz Mack homered to right-center for a two-run shot, and the Indians were suddenly behind 3-2.
In the top of the ninth, Spokane put two men on with two outs, but Joe Jackson struck out swinging to end the game, as the Indians went down to a stunning 3-2 defeat. With the loss, the Indians dropped to 38-37 overall on the season with one game remaining. If the Vancouver Canadians won one more game, then Spokane would be eliminated from playoff contention.
Meanwhile, in Tri-City, the Dust Devils led 1-0 over the Canadians going into the top of the eighth inning, with the only run of the game coming in the third on a wild pitch by C's starter LHP Alonzo Gonzalez. Dust Devils RHP Ryan Warner had shut down the C's offense throughout the evening, yielding only one hit over five shutout innings while surrendering only two walks.
However, in the top of the eighth inning, the C's struck for the tying and winning runs off reliever Johendi Jiminian. Ian Parmley singled to left to open the inning and stole his 23rd base of the season, putting himself in scoring position with none out. Chaz Frank followed with a triple, tying the score. David Harris then doubled home Frank, giving the Canadians a 2-1 lead and putting the dagger into the hearts of the Spokane Indians.
Though Andy Fermin lined into a double play to end the C's threat, the two runs were more than enough as Tri-City could not rally in their final two at-bats. Reliever RHP Drew Permison, who was a big part of the Canadians' 2011-2012 back-to-back championships, tossed 1.2 innings to earn his first win of the summer with Vancouver after rejoining the team in mid-August. C's won 2-1, officially eliminating the Indians and putting Vancouver back into the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
Two dramatic eighth-inning rallies in two different cities, and Vancouver is in, Spokane is out.
The Canadians will wrap up their regular season with one more game in Tri-City before heading home to Scotiabank Field for their playoff opener against Everett on Tuesday, September 3rd.
* * * * *
The Canadians went on to win their third consecutive Northwest League Championship in 2013. Congratulations to C's skipper Clayton McCullough for winning his second championship in his second season managing the ballclub.I always enjoyed speaking with McCullough as he is not only an excellent manager but also a terrific person. As a tribute to his managing the team to the 2013 championship, here is a vintage video from the previous season where he and I talked baseball:
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