Minor League Report: The Vancouver Canadians need four more wins to clinch their third straight appearance in the Championship Series
Sep 3, 2024, 13:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 4, 2024, 01:13 EDT
There is just one more series remaining for the Vancouver Canadians.
On Monday, there were no games for the Blue Jays affiliates, but it is worth looking at what’s going on in the minor league system, specifically the Vancouver Canadians.
With a 34-26 record in the second-half, the Canadians are 3.5 games behind Spokane for the division lead. However, Spokane won the first half, meaning that if they win the second-half as well, the second-placed team will play them in the Northwest League Championship Series.
That’s exactly where the Canadians sit with six games left to play this season. Coming into last week’s series, they had a significant lead over the Hillsboro Hops, who sit third in the division. However, they dropped five of six games against the Arizona Diamondbacks’ affiliate and now only have a three-game cushion.
This week, the Canadians host the Eugene Emeralds, who sit tied for last in the six-team division with a 24-36 record and a -52 run differential. The Hops will also be taking on a 24-26 team, as they’ll head to Tri-City to face the Dust Devils.
To make their third consecutive Northwest League Championship Series, the Canadians have to win four games to mathematically eliminate the Hops.
Elsewhere in the Jays’ minor league system
The Buffalo Bisons still have three more weeks left this season, and they’ll host the Lehigh Valley IronPigs starting on Tuesday. They sit 15 games behind the International League leading Columbus Clippers, needing to pass all but one team in the league. With that being said, the call-ups to the big league team have really ruined their season.
On Tuesday, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats start a seven-game series against the Portland Sea Dogs in what will be their final home stand of the season. Coming into Tuesday’s game, they have an eight-game losing streak and are 18-37, by far the worst team in the Eastern League. In fact, their .339 win percentage in the second half is the fourth-worst in any of the “A” leagues. That’s out of 120 teams.
Like the Canadians, the Dunedin Blue Jays play their final series this week, heading to Tampa to face the Tarpons, who’ve won their last five games. Over their last 10 games, the D-Jays are 4-6 and sit five games back of the division lead, with the first-placed Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (33-22) playing the second placed Lakeland Tigers (35-25). Even if the Jays’ Single-A team sweep the six-game series, there is no way they can win the division.
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