Vancouver hangs on for Game 3 triumph

A 6th inning homer by Carlos Santana turned out to be the difference on Tuesday as Vancouver held on for a 4-3 win at Hillsborough in Game 3 of their first round Best-of-Five series.

The No. 3 seed, Vancouver takes a 2-1 series lead against sixth-seeded Hillsborough and could finish off the Hit Men in Game 4 on Wednesday. The must-win for Hillsborough probably will feature a rematch of Game 1 starters: Aaron Nola, who struck out 11 for the Iron First, and Justin Verlander, shelled for 8 runs in 2+ innings, for the Hit Men.

Hillsborough wasted no time jumping out to a lead in Game 3. Mookie Betts led off with a double, took 3rd on a wild pitch and scored on Aaron Hicks' single before James Paxton even got an out, eventually settling down to escape the 1st inning trailing 1-0. The Hit Men picked up where they left off in the 2nd inning. Danny Valencia led off with a single, Matt Davidson struck out but Tim Beckham then took Paxton deep to left for a 3-0 Hillsborough advantage.

Vancouver answered in the 3rd. Josh Reddick led off the inning with a double and advanced on a Jonathan Schoop fly ball to center. No. 9 hitter Jean Segura brought him home with a groundout to short, and the lead was cut to 3-1. Carlos Carrasco struck out Alex Avila to retire the side.

Like Hillsborough earlier, Vancouver tagged on more runs in the next inning. Charlie Blackmon stepped in with one out and Santana on 1st after singling to lead off the 4th and ripped a double to left center, scoring Santana and taking 3rd on a Beckham error. Another ground-out to short, this time by Matt Kemp, brought home a run, tying the ball game at 3-3.

Santana broke the tie in the 6th inning with a leadoff bomb to right center for a 4-3 Vancouver lead. The first baseman was claimed by Vancouver in July after being released by Philly, which had acquired him a month early in a seven-player deal with Blue Ridge. The Iron Fist wouldn't get much closer to plating a run the rest of the way while Hillsborough only threatened mildly. Juan Nicasio started the bottom of the 8th in relief of Paxton and struck out Eddie Rosario, who pinch-hit for Aaron Hicks.

When Kurt Suzuki followed up with a double, the Iron Fist weren't messing around, calling for Sean Doolittle with the tying run in scoring position. The big lefty struck out Miguel Sano but then walked Kris Bryant. He eventually got Danny Valencia to ground out to third to end the threat.

The 9th inning wasn't as tense but it wasn't without it's moments. Doolittle struck out Matt Davidson and then Christian Vazquez, who was pinch-hitting for Beckham, but lost Austin Barnes with a bases on balls, putting the tying run aboard. Betts then popped out to short, and Vancouver had a Game 3 win.

Both pitchers finished with solid lines. Paxton (1-0) struck out 8 and walked 1 over 7 innings, allowing 6 hits and 3 runs. 65 of 109 for strikes. Carrasco (0-1) went 8 innings, yielding 5 hits and 4 runs (3 earned) while sriking out 7. He did not walk a batter. 74 of his 110 pitches went for strikes. Shane Greene tossed a hitless 9th for the Hit Men.

Doolittle regstered the save, going 1 2/3 innings, with 3 strikeouts but 2 walks.