Wild Things pull away late, top Quebec
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
It’s a celebration at home plate for the Wild Things' Wagner Lagrange (6) and Ian Walters (18), both driven in on a double by Hector Roa that gave Washington a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning of Friday’s game against Quebec.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Wagner Lagrange slides home ahead of the throw to Quebec catcher Jeffry Parra, scoring the Wild Things’ first run on a single by Hector Roa Friday at Wild Things Park.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Wild Things designated hitter Hector Roa lines up a single, driving the first run for Washington.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Wagner Lagrange arrives safely at second base with a double ahead of the tag from Quebec’s Yordan Manduley.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Having made the forceout on Kyle Crowl (11), shortstop Chris Eusay makes the throw to first base in the second inning.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington starting pitcher Kobe Foster gave up only two runs over six innings against East Division-leader Quebec at Wild Things Park on Friday.
From the first meeting of the Frontier League’s two division leaders we learned that Washington’s Kobe Foster pitches well on 12 days of rest.
And Wild Things outfielder Wagner Lagrange hits well after 11 days of rest.
And rest, that is what many of the players at Wild Things Park Friday night wanted.
Foster pitched six innings, Hector Roa drove in four runs and the Wild Things edged Quebec 6-2 in a battle of travel-weary teams.
Both the Wild Things and Capitales, the league’s West and East Division first-place teams, respectively, played games Thursday night in Canada and then spent more than a combined 1,300 miles on buses traveling to Washington for this series opener. The Wild Things returned from Ottawa at after 8 a.m. while the Capitales didn’t arrive from Quebec City until 2:30 p.m.
It was, however, two Washington players who didn’t make the recent trip to Canada who played key roles in this victory.
Foster (4-1), making his first start since July 16, pitched six innings and left with a 3-2 lead. The lefty scattered nine hits – all singles – but issued only one walk and struck out three,
Lagrange went 3-for-3, reached base four times and scored twice in his first game since July 17. He doubled off the wall in right field against Quebec starter Miguel Cienfuegos (8-2), who entered the game with a league-leading ERA of 1.78, and scored when Roa singled up the middle to tie the score at 1-1.
Cienfuegos, who was 3-1 against Washington last year including a victory in Game 3 of the division finals, gave up six hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out four.
In the fourth, Lagrange led off with a single and moved up when Ian Walters followed with a single through the right side of the infield. Roa then laced a two-run double up the alley in right centerfield to give Washington a 3-1 lead.
Quebec pulled to within 3-2 in the sixth on an RBI single by first baseman Garrett Takamatsu, but Foster was able to strand runners on second and third by getting an inning-ending popout.
Foster turned the game over to the Wild Things’ bullpen and two relievers secured the win. Jake Pilarski pitched a scoreless seventh inning and Christian James got the final six outs for his second save.
The Wild Things gave their bullpen some margin for error by padding the lead in the bottom of the eighth by scoring three runs. With Tristan Peterson on first base and one out, Lagrange and Ian Walters hit back-to-back triples. Lagrange smacked one that rolled to the wall in right centerfield and Walters hit a hard grounder over the first-base bag that went into the Washington bullpen.
Roa, who matched Lagrange by going 3-for-3 and reaching base four times, drove in Walters by singling up the middle against a draw-in infield to make the score 6-2.
Extra bases
The Wild Things had to make a flurry of roster moves prior to the game, the result of some of their players not making the trip to Canada because of that country’s COVID and visa rules. Washington activated Lagrange and catcher Alex Alvarez from the inactive list and Foster from the injured list. Catcher Devon Fisher, who had been signed for the Canada road trip, was kept on the active roster and relief pitcher Kaleb McCullough was placed on the 14-day IL. Outfielder Breland Almadova, who batted .304 in the six games in Canada, was put on the inactive list. … Qubec second baseman Kyle Crowl, the No. 7 hitter in the Capitales’ batting order, went 4-for-4. … Quebec is 27-6 at home and 18-13 on the road. … This is Washington’s final series against East Division opponents. The Wild Things’ last 30 games will be intradivision contests. … Former Wild Things pitcher Michael Austin (7-2, 3.80) is scheduled to pitch Saturday for the Capitales. Washington has not announced who its starting pitcher will be.