Dust Devils shut out for 3rd straight game, set up bizarre playoff scenario
Ben Sheckler dealt 8 strong innings, but the Tri-City Dust Devils were shut out by the Vancouver Canadians for the second straight night Saturday at Gesa Stadium, this time by a score of 2-0 in the penultimate game of the regular season.
Sheckler had a two-hit shutout going through five innings, but surrendered an RBI single to Logan Warmoth in the sixth and a solo homer to Brock Lundquist in the seventh to seal the victory for Vancouver (21-16 second half, 42-33 overall).
Tri-City (20-17, 40-35) recorded just four hits on the day, and the Vancouver pitching staff set down the final 15 batters they faced in order. The Dust Devils finished the game on a 33-inning scoreless streak, stretching back to their 5-2 win over the Hillsboro Hops on Tuesday.
Despite losing three in a row, Tri-City’s playoff hopes aren’t dead heading into Sunday’s finale, but they are ... weird.
The Dust Devils are eliminated from winning the second-half NWL North championship, as they trailed the Spokane Indians by two games after Saturday. However, the first-half champ Canadians could catch the Indians (22-15, 38-37) by completing the sweep of the Dust Devils, and would win the division over Spokane on head-to-head tiebreakers.
If a team wins both halves of the division race, overall record decides the second playoff berth, which Tri-City has already clinched over Spokane.
So, to recap, the only way for the Dust Devils to make the playoffs for the second time in three years is if they lose to the Canadians on Sunday, and if the AquaSox (19-18, 36-39) beat the Indians.
Now you’ve seen everything.
Canadians 2, Dust Devils 0
Vancouver | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg |
Pruitt cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .229 |
Polizzi lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .189 |
Warmoth ss | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .314 |
Clemens 1b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .274 |
Adams c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .305 |
Taylor 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .308 |
Lundquist rf | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .251 |
Barreto 3b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .243 |
O’Brien dh | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .250 |
Totals | 31 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
Dust Devils | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg |
Podorsky lf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .302 |
J.Lopez ss | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .244 |
Melean 3b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .224 |
Asuncion dh | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .268 |
Carter cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .233 |
Batten 2b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .206 |
Mattison 1b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .225 |
Seagle c | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .229 |
Burgos rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .243 |
Totals | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
Vancouver | 000 | 001 | 100 | – | 2 | 5 | 0 |
Dust Devils | 000 | 000 | 000 | – | 0 | 4 | 0 |
LOB–Vancouver 3; Dust Devils 4. 2B–Lundquist (13). HR–Lundquist (2) off Sheckler. RBIs–Warmoth (19); Lundquist (18). SB–Carter (16) 2B. CS–Batten (1) 2B. S–Pruitt; Burgos. RISP–Vancouver 1-for-4; Dust Devils 1-for-4. Runners left in scoring position–Barreto; Clemens; Melean.
Vancouver | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
Dillon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.96 |
Logue | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.75 |
J.Espada W,1-3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5.14 |
Pascual S,6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.18 |
Dust Devils | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
Sheckler L,3-3 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2.60 |
Zimmerman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.69 |
GS–Dillon 45; Sheckler 74. Pitches-strikes–Dillon 17-9; Logue 15-10; J.Espada 78-57; Pascual 11-8; Sheckler 103-81; Zimmerman 11-10. WP–J.Espada; Sheckler.
T–2:29. A–3,386.
Dustin Brennan: 509-582-1413, @Tweet_By_Dustin
This story was originally published September 3, 2017 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Dust Devils shut out for 3rd straight game, set up bizarre playoff scenario."