A SMITH SLAM 🤯 Austin Smith gives your C’s the lead with a titanic blast! #AtTheNat
Blue Jays: Vancouver Canadians take Game 1 of NWL Championship Series
Photo credit: Vancouver Canadians PR
Sep 9, 2026, 18:15 EDTUpdated: Sep 9, 2026, 17:38 EDT
The Vancouver Canadians are just two victories away from winning their second Northwest League Championship Series in the past four years.
On Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays’ High-A affiliate kicked off the best-of-five series against the Eugene Emeralds with an 8-7 victory. The Emeralds got on the board first, scoring twice thanks to an error and a pair of doubles in the top of the second. In the following inning, the Emeralds made it 3-0.
However, the C’s returned fire in their half of the third thanks to a sacrifice fly by Maddox Latta. Two innings later, Austin Smith hit a grand slam to give the C’s a 5-3 lead, but that didn’t last long as the Emeralds put up a four-spot of their own in the top of the sixth to wrangle the lead back.
But again, the lead didn’t last long as David Calabrese hit a lead-off triple in the bottom of the sixth. That was followed by a pair of RBI doubles by Jaxson West and JoJo Parker, tying the game at seventh.
The deciding run came in the bottom of the eighth, as West and Parker hit back-to-back singles, with a throwing error leading to both runners heading into scoring position. Up stepped Ryan Sprock, who hit a sacrifice fly to put the C’s up 8-7. Parker made a terrific play in the top of the ninth, and the C’s eventually won.
JOJO PARKER MASSIVE CATCH TO KEEP A RUNNER AT FIRST IN THE NINTH UP 1
Parker accounted for two of the C’s 10 hits in this game, making one of the biggest plays of the game. The biggest play has to belong to Smith, whose grand slam flipped the game on its head. Smith had a two-hit game, as did West, who walked twice and scored three runs as well.
On the mound, lefty Dasan Hill threw two innings, striking out four and allowing two runs (one earned). Holden Wilkerson gave up five earned runs in his three and two-thirds innings, but Jack Eshleman picked up the win and Bradley Wilson struck out two for the save.
The C’s are back in action on Wednesday in British Columbia, with Game 2 starting at 10:05 PM ET. Troy Guthrie is the team’s expected starter.
Two other Blue Jay affiliates were in action on Tuesday. The Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats lost big, falling 11-1 to the Harrisburg Senators. It wasn’t Johnny King’s best start, giving up four earned runs in three and one-third innings, but the southpaw managed to strike out five. Alex Amalfi struck out six over three and two-thirds innings.
Offensively, Peyton WIlliams hit a home run, his 16th of the season. He’s now hit a home run at all four “A” levels, I don’t think I’ve seen that happen before.
The Iowa Meat Truck goes yard! 🚀
Up a level, the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons fell 4-1 to the Charlotte Knights. Josh Stephan was tagged with the loss, giving up four earned runs over six innings of work. They mustered just four hits, with Josh Kasevich’s 23rd double of the season being the lone extra-base hit.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, DFOEdmonton, and DFOCalgary. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
Breaking News
- Blue Jays: Vancouver Canadians take Game 1 of NWL Championship Series
- Instant Reaction: Blue Jays’ offence quieted in 2-0 loss to Athletics
- AL Wild Card race update: Blue Jays, Guardians, and Rangers all pick up a win
- September 9 Gameday: Blue Jays seek fourth consecutive series victory in series finale against Athletics
- Buck Martinez praises Brett Bateman’s baseball IQ ‘he anticipates the play very well’