The Quebec Capitales were able to count on an inspired performance from their pitchers and sprung up at the very end of the duel to beat the Tri-City ValleyCats 3 to 1, Tuesday at Canac Stadium.
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After ending a painful streak of eight losses by beating the Trois-Rivières Aigles in sparkling fashion on Sunday, Patrick Scalabrini’s men seem to have truly turned the page on this dark chapter of their campaign.
Still well positioned in first place in the Eastern section of the Frontier League, the “Caps” are however one game behind the Washington Wild Things, who dominate the general classification.
In today’s duel, the two teams waged a fierce defensive battle until the eighth inning. The visitors’ starting pitcher, Joey Gonzalez, gave way to reliever Adam Hofacket, and the latter managed to remove Yoelkis Guibert and Yordan Manduley without too much difficulty. He did, however, allow a double to David Glaude and a long ball to Jeffry Parra in quick succession, paving the way for a victory for the hosts.
It’s an unfortunate result for Gonzalez, who had been masterful on the mound for seven innings. He allowed just one earned run on three hits, in addition to striking out five batters.
Guibert took advantage of his only moment of weakness to register the other point of the “Caps”, reaching home plate following a bad throw.
Miguel Cienfuegos was also dominant as a man of confidence for the team in the Old Capital. Despite a misstep in the third inning, when Brantley Bell sent his offering out of bounds, he fulfilled his mandate by allowing one earned run and six hits over six innings.
Relievers Ian Codina, Samuel Adames and Nick Horvath then joined forces to nail the coffin for the ValleyCats. None of them allowed an opposing player to reach first base.
Although they failed to produce any runs, Glaude and Manduley did shine at bat with two hits. The visitors also only saw two of their players achieve more than one strike from the safe place: Bell and Cito Culver.
The Tri-City team will try to extend the suspense by winning the second game of this three-game series, which will take place on Wednesday.