We have playoff baseball in Vancouver for the first time since 2017! Excitement levels are high as nothing beats meaningful baseball this time of year. If the weather is cooling, and the bright lights are coming on a little earlier at the ballpark, it means it’s been a good season. The Canadians will have some fall playoff ball at Nat Bailey Stadium having enjoyed a solid campaign this year with a 67-62 record between both halves of the season. Their efforts have bought them a ticket to face off against the first-place Eugene Emeralds (81-48) in a best-of-five series. First pitch gets rolling on the road tonight at PK Park in Oregon at 7:05 pm.
And we go!
Game 1 of the Northwest League Championship Series. @Abdiel1943 on the mound. First pitch at 7:35pm.
Lineup presented by @BCLC. pic.twitter.com/jxrPHlddn1
— Vancouver Canadians (@vancanadians) September 13, 2022
The Canadians will have their hands full taking down a very well-rounded Emerald’s ball club. I attended one of their last games of the season against Eugene, and I was impressed with the Emerald’s approach at the plate. Their bats frustrated Canadian’s pitchers all night, taking a lot of pitches and working them deep into counts before capitalizing on the pitch they were waiting on. One of the keys to the Canadian’s game plan must be getting ahead in the count. Eugene’s patient approach at the dish puts a lot of pressure on the opposing pitcher to come into the strike zone as they don’t chase a lot of junk off of the plate.
The Canadians will be relying on some hot bats staying that way in the postseason. First baseman PK Morris has been sizzling down the stretch. In the last two weeks of the season, his average is sitting around .330 with 4 home runs and 11 RBI. Third baseman Rainer Nunez has also been a steady presence in the lineup for the playoff push, and the Canadians will be relying on them to provide some pop at the plate now that they are in the tournament. Here’s hoping this trip to the postseason is as successful as 2017’s when they went all the way and won the Northwest League championship.