Jun 6, 2021 4 min read

An evening that appeared as if it was heading all Washington’s way started going south with one swing of Jack Barrie’s bat Saturday night at Wild Things Park.

And Barrie wasn’t even in Quebec’s starting lineup an hour before the game.

Quebec scratched leadoff hitter Elliot Curtis from lineup in the minutes leading up to the game, moved L.P. Pelletier from the bottom to the top of the batting order and inserted Barrie as the designated hitter in the No. 9 spot.

All Barrie did was deliver a game-tying two-run, two-out single in the seventh inning, and he was in the middle of Quebec’s ninth-inning push that netted a 3-2 win over the Wild Things.

“That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” Quebec manager Pat Scalabrini joked about the decision to insert Barrie into the lineup.

“A perfect word to describe our game is grinding. We have a lot of guys who grind out quality at-bats late in the game.”

That was evident in this one. Washington led 2-0 after a fast-paced six innings, but Quebec’s hitters slowed the game to a snail’s pace over the final three innings, working deep into counts, fouling off good pitches and delivering several key singles against Washington relief pitchers.

In the seventh, against reliever Jesus Balaguer, Quebec loaded the bases with two outs when Barrie dropped a perfectly placed single into right centerfield, scoring Riley Pittman and Jonathan Lacroix to tie the score.

It remained 2-2 into the ninth, when Quebec got a one-out infield single from newly activated Ruben Castro and took advantage of a balk by reliever John Murphy (0-1) that moved Castro into scoring position. Barrie then singled Castro to third base and Pelletier followed with a high chopper that left Washington second baseman Nick Ward with no choice but to throw to first base for an out as Castro scored what proved to be the winning run.

It was the fourth one-run win by Quebec in its 10 games.

“That’s not good for my already receding hairline,” Scalabrini said.

The loss overshadowed what was another spectacular outing by Washington rookie starting pitcher Ryan Hennen. Making his second professional start, the lefthanded Hennen took a no-hitter into the sixth inning but came away with no decision. A two-out single in the sixth by former Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Gift Ngoepe broke up Hennin’s no-hit bid. It was the lone hit he allowed in six innings.

“We stole one from them tonight,” Scalabrini said. “They controlled the game and their starting pitcher was dominant.”

Through three games, including two starts, Hennin’s numbers are staggering: 13 innings pitched, only two hits allowed.

“He has a simple delivery,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said. “There are not a lot of moving parts and he’s not afraid to compete in the strike zone. He was getting ahead of guys.”

Washington staked Hennin to a 2-0 lead by scoring single runs in the third and fifth innings. In the third, Ward was hit by a pitch from Quebec starter Ben Hoffman, moved to third on a single by Derek Reddy and scored when Bralin Jackson laced a single to left field. In the fifth, Brian Sharp drew a one-out walk, stole second base, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Grant Heyman.

Washington, however, squandered several chances to stretch the lead. The Wild Things left six runners on base – five in scoring position — in the first five innings, and had a leadoff double by Ward in the seventh but stranded him at third.

“Situational hitting – we’re not a good situational-hitting club,” Vaeth said. “That’s why we’re losing a lot of one- and two-run games. It would have been nice if we could have added on, like we did (Friday) night.”

Extra bases

Marshall Shill (1-1) pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings of relief for the win. Andrew Case got the final three outs for his third save. … Washington right fielder Hector Roa threw out David Glaude trying to score from second base on a single in the eighth inning. … Despite not getting a hit until the sixth inning, Quebec outhit Washington 8-7. Center fielder Derek Reddy (2-for-4) was the lone Wild Things player with more than one hit. … In 2003 and ’04, Scalabrini played for Winnipeg, where Vaeth was the team’s hitting coach. Scalabrini hit 34 doubles and 20 home runs in 2004. “He made me look good as a hitting coach that year,” Vaeth said.