FanPost

NWL Finals game 2, Recap (and other thoughts) Canadians 4 Hawks 2

Game recap/rambling. I now realise how great a job Tom and ML do.

Game 2 of the NWL championship (best of 3), against Boise the Cubs affiliate. Canadians loss the opener. Great crowd of Nat Bailey (4600+) on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

First thought of the day. This better not go in extra innings, Breaking Bad is on tonight.

Starting to understand that the fans are here for a mix of reasons, but majority are not big on prospects. This was made obvious when bottom of the first the guy behind me asked where Gretsky was (he actually got promoted). Furthermore if you are going to ask about a Hawks player no longer there, you might want to look for Kris Bryant. But well, yeah Gretsky is gone… So maybe watch Mitch Nay who was at bat at that point (best prospect hitter Canadians had all summer)

On offense Canadians got 4 runs on 8 hits. Mitch Nay continues to look fine at the plate since his call up with 2 solid singles, the first scoring Frank in the first. The big bat however belonged to Andy Fermin who went 2 for 4, with a 2 run triple in the 7th. Dawel Lugo went 1 for 4, with an RBI, but struck out 3 times. Someone must have talked to him about taking more pitches, however they might want to tell him he should learn to swing at the strikes, and take the balls (but credit is given, he is willing to learn, now pitch recognition next step)

Starting for the Canadians was Kyle Anderson, a junkballer lefty with a 87MPH FB. His 68MPH changeup was nice though. He was decent at best, in typical fashion. He gave a run in the 2nd and got in major trouble in the 4th, but somehow got out of it. Walked first 2 batter, but saved by an outstanding defensive play by 3B Justin Atkinson on a bullet down the line, who caught it, stood up and threw in time to first. Kyle then walked another batter, but got an inning ending double play to keep game tied at 1.

The bullpen did a great job. Matt Dermody was solid in 2.1 innings, keeping the ball on the corner the whole time. Righties did have a couple hard hit ball, and he ran out of steam in his 3rd inning. McCullough (manager) actually deserves credit for bringing his closer Chuck @closermentality Ghysels in the 8th with the game on the line. @closermentality of course loaded the basis for extra suspense, but struck out David Bote to end the 8th. Scott Silverstein 91-92 MPH lefty drafted this year, painted corners in the 9th sending an invitation to all in attendance to come back tomorrow for the final game of the season. Dermody and Silverstein are likely LOOGY pitcher prospects, but on this roster, this is ahead on 80% of team.

CoD: Fermin, Dermody and Nay probably have the number (no WPA in minor boxscores)

Suckage: LB Dantzler, 0 for 4, 2Ks

Kalfus would likely have suckage, but he looked like he injured himself trying to protect Atkinson on a hit and run, where the ball was 2 feet off the plate, head high and he extended and swung. He ended up awkwardly striking out 2 pitches later, and was replaced in the field.

2 Final notes.

First this was probably the best defensive performance I saw of the Canadians this year, they seem to do all the fundamentals well (has not been the case all year).

Lastly after the major #umpshow that was game 1, this one was better (strike zone was generously consistent); however we did have a questionable decision in the 5th. Kevin Encarnacion (no relation) CF for the Hawks was picked off first base, as he stood up he flung his helmet 4-5 feet in the air, and was thrown out while the helmet was still going up. In a playoff game this was really trigger happy.

Final game tomorrow night…. Tom Robson takes the mound for the Canadians in their attempt to win a third consecutive championship

extra 1: Boise are shorthanded coming over (visa and passport issues), so when Encarnacion was tossed they had to use a Pitcher as their CF for the following 3 innings.

Editor's Note: This is a FanPost written by a reader and member of Bluebird Banter. It was not commissioned by the editors and is not necessarily reflective of the opinions of Bluebird Banter or SB Nation.