The Vancouver Canadians and Spokane Indians - an affiliate of the Texas Rangers - opened a three-game series at Nat Bailey Stadium. There was a playoff atmosphere to this one as the C's attempted to take another step to reaching the post-season for the fifth consecutive year.


A concerning moment for starter Jairo Labourt, who appeared to have some sort of hand, finger or blister problem in the first inning. Catcher Michael De La Cruz holds Labourt's wrist. Third baseman Alexis Maldonado heads to the mound.

It's playoff hunting season in the minor leagues. Dunedin are in the playoffs and three other teams are chasing a spot. There was mixed news for the affiliates on Friday. Vancouver won to put them a game ahead for the last playoff spot. Lansing won but five teams are within a game of that spot, they likely need to run the table. Buffalo lost are on life support.

Sean Nolin was decent for Buffalo but the hitters were held to two runs. Gustavo Pierre had a big, ninth inning, two run home run for the Fisher Cats. Lansing scored eight more runs as they are red hot right now. Brad Allen pitched well. Vancouver had a big win and Bluefield won their last game of the season.

Anthony Gose was fantastic, Lansing moved a step closer to the playoffs, and the GCL squad wrapped up a disappointing season.

On Wednesday the affiliates were 3-6, with wins coming from Buffalo, Lansing and Vancouver.  Vancouver scored 14 runs in victory, while Ryan Borucki had another excellent start.  Buffalo split a double header with Scranton and remain 1.5 games out of the Wild-Card with 5 games remaining.  Lansing snuck by with a run in the top of the 9th, to win 3-2.

The Vancouver Canadians and Boise Hawks wrapped up their five-game series at Nat Bailey Stadium last week. Here's a look back at the final two games of that series.


Zak Wasilewski got the start for the C's Friday afternoon and it did not go well. He struck out the first and last batter he faced in the first inning but only went one out further. Four of his five runs were earned on three hits and five walks. Wasilewski's velocity was in the 79-89 MPH range.

Another 3-4 record posted by the affiliates Tuesday. Buffalo and Lansing took another hit to their playoff hopes. Vancouver is still in control of their own destiny as one of their players joins a unique 30-30 club. New Hampshire got a nice boost from a player who was up with the big club this year and a pitcher making his first start in Double-A. Bluefield reached double digits in the run column to get a win on the road.

The affiliates won three out of seven Monday night. Buffalo and Lansing took a step back in their playoff drives while Vancouver took a step forward. Bluefield's playoff hopes are dashed. Dunedin nearly gave one away but hung on while the boys on the Gulf Coast got a win on the road.

The Vancouver Canadians and Boise Hawks have had their share of memorable battles after duking it out in the last two Northwest League championship finals. The middle game of this five-game series added another chapter to the rivalry.


This game featured the debut of Richard Urena, called up from Bluefield. The 18 year-old Dominican throws out Victoria native Jesse Hodges but a run scored on the play to make it 2-0 Boise. Urena was inserted into the lineup at shortstop and handled a couple of tough hops flawlessly. He would go 0-for-5 with a walk but he made the Hawks pitchers work for it by working deep counts in each plate appearance. You may have noted Urena wears #6, the same number 2014 first round pick Max Pentecost wore earlier this year in Vancouver.

On Sunday Jays affiliates went 3-2, with wins coming from Bluefield, Lansing, and Buffalo.  Brett Wallace had a monster game for the Herd, with 3 HR, and with the a walk-off grand slam in the 12th for the Bisons.  With the win the Bisons now are tied for a wild-card spot with Pawtucket.

Lane Thomas was 19 today and he got to play in a doubleheader. Thomas had five hits between the two games, two doubles and a walk. Thomas is the top performer so far for the Jays 2014 draft class. Bluefield split the doubleheader. Buffalo exploded for 19 hits, Ryan Goins led with 4. Of note Dalton Pompey had three hits and Kevin Pillar had two including a three run home run. Vancouver won with good performances from Roemen Fields, Franklin Barreto and Chase Mallard.

New Hampshire were one hit, Dunedin and the GCL Jays were three hit and Lansing were seven hit. All four lost. Sean Reid-Foley pitched well for the GCL Jays.

Friday brought three wins and four losses. George Kottaras hit the go-ahead home run for Buffalo among his three hits. Dalton Pompey picked up a couple of hits. Lansing's David Harris drove in the first four runs of Lansing's eight. The Lugnuts also won. The final winners were Bluefield who rode a seven run first innings to victory.

New Hampshire lost a close one. Dunedin wasted a good Matt Boyd start with a bullpen blow up. Zak Wasilewski got hit early and often and Vancouver lost. The GCL Jays lost another one.

Daniel Norris continued his sensational season and Roberto Osuna had his most impressive start off TJ. Several prospects made their debuts tonight at new levels as the affiliates went 4-3.

Here's a quick look back at a few games the Vancouver Canadians played this week as they continue their drive for the Northwest League post-season.

Matthew Smoral works in relief Wednesday night in Vancouver. He pitched four innings of shutout ball with just one hit and two walks while striking out five. Smoral's first pitch registered at 92 miles per hour.

On Wednesday the affiliates were 2-5, with wins coming from the DSL Blue Jays, and a walk-off win for Buffalo.  Performances of the day came from Miguel Castro in Lansing, Marcus Knecht for Dunedin, and PJ Walters in Hew Hampshire.

The affiliates won just three of eight games Tuesday night. The lowlights were two double-digit losses. The highlights were a shutout win and two victories of the one-run variety.