The affiliates were 4-5 on the back of strong pitching down on the farm.

The Vancouver Canadians turned the tables on the Eugene Emeralds by taking four of five at Nat Bailey Stadium this week. That was after Eugene did the same to the C's just over a week ago in Oregon. Here's some notes and photos of the series clinching victory at Nat Bailey Stadium Tuesday night.



C's starter Evan Smith won his second straight game against the Cubs affiliate by extending his scoreless innings streak to 11, pitching six frames of four-hit ball and striking out five.

Four wins and two losses. Daniel Norris and Miguel Castro helped Buffalo win. Lansing and Vancouver won their afternoon games. Bluefield won with lots of hitting. Yeltsin Gudino continued his recent hot streak at the plate.

Dunedin lost despite four hits from Rowdy Tellez and three by Richard Urena. New Hampshire were blown out. The GCL Jays were rained out.

It is well past the mid point of the minor league season so I am late getting to review the season to date performances of some of the top prospects. I have discussed in prior years how evaluators expect one third of a teams prospects to take a leap ahead, a third to fall back and a third to remain unchanged. I will look at the Jays top 30 prospects in this way, or should I say the top 27 prospects as Franklin Barreto, Kendall Graveman and Sean Nolin are in Oakland. I finish with some names to watch who were not on the top 30 at the end of last season.

The affliates split their eight games down the middle on Tuesday. Pitching carried the day and it is reflected in today's three star selections.

The Toronto Blue Jays begin their West Coast swing in Oakland as Josh Donaldson looks to make a triumphant return. Brett Lawrie and Kendall Graveman will also look to prove something against their former team.

The Famous Chicken returned to Vancouver for the first time in three years and was coaching first base when the C's had their big inning to win their second straight against the Eugene Emeralds at Nat Bailey Stadium Monday night.



C's starter Tom Robson spins a breaking ball in the first inning. Robson survived a walk in the first and struck out the side in the second as part of a five strikeout performance over three scoreless innings.

A busy Monday night saw the affiliates win eight out of nine and if not for one bad inning, they could have gone 9-0. Highlights included three shutout victories, a come-from-behind extra innings triumph and a doubleheader sweep.

To salute Vancouver's 20 hit attack, here are 10 more photos of Sunday's game against Eugene.

Leadoff man Andrew Guillotte gets another base hit to right in his second at-bat of the first inning to tack on the extra point for a 7-0 lead after J.C. Cardenas singled home the sixth run.

The Vancouver Canadians were looking for redemption after dropping the series opener against Eugene at Nat Bailey Stadium Saturday night.



The tone was set for the day when the scoreboard at Nat Bailey Stadium flashed the good news about Toronto blanking Tampa Bay 4-0 at The Dome.

Vancouver scored ten runs in the first inning without a triple or a home run. Fourteen hitters came to the plate. The C's finished with 20 hits and a big win. Buffalo were the other winners, Dalton Pompey with the 12th inning walk-off single. A Matt Hague three run home run got the Bisons to extras and Matt Boyd had a nice start. New Hampshire, Dunedin and Lansing were all easily defeated while Bluefield were rained out.

The Blue Jays get back at it for the second half of the season tonight with a three-game set against Tampa Bay at The Dome.

Aaron Sanchez did little to ease fan concerns about our pitching as he was wild in Buffalo. Pitching was easier to come by further down the line though. Nick Wells was pretty darn good in Bluefield. Your affiliates were 4-4 on the night.

Some people work very hard

But still they never get it right

Well I'm beginning to see the light

The all-star break continued for the AAA and AA teams. Bluefield were rained out leaving four teams in action. Lansing had a nice come from behind win. Vancouver took the lead in the first inning, lost it, but won late. The GCL Jays won in a rain shortened game. Dunedin took the only loss as they were shut out.