Vancouver Canadians playoff game postponed due to smoke

Sep 5 2017, 11:58 pm

The Vancouver Canadians will need to wait an extra day before playing their first postseason game in three years.

The C’s were supposed to kick off the first game of their best-of-three North Division final series on the road against the Spokane Indians tonight. Instead, the game has been postponed due to poor air quality caused by smoke from nearby forest fires, meaning the game will be moved to Nat Bailey Stadium tomorrow.

Air quality in Spokane has been described as “hazardous”.

All three games of the playoff series will now be played in Vancouver, with Spokane acting as the ‘home’ team in Game 1. Game 2 and 3 will take place with Vancouver as the home team on Thursday and Friday (if necessary).

The Canadians (43-33) had the best record in the Northwest League during the regular season and have their sights on the franchise’s fourth championship. Vancouver won three straight Northwest League championships from 2011 to 2013.

Spokane (39-37), an affiliate of the Texas Rangers, had to win eight of their final 10 games to clinch a playoff spot on the final day of the regular season. In contrast, the Canadians won the first half pennant, so they’ve been preparing for the postseason for over a month.

The Canadians finished with the league’s best record and have won four in a row. Their pitching staff is red hot, not allowing a run in the past 32 innings.

Vancouver had the edge in the head-to-head meetings with Spokane, winning nine of the 12 games between the two clubs.

The winner of this series will advance to the Northwest League Championship. Should the Canadians move on to the final, they would host Game 3, 4, and 5 (if necessary) of the best-of-five series September 10 to 12.

Right-hander Nate Pearson (0-0, 0.95) was scheduled to be the C’s starting pitcher in Game 1, with leftie Zach Logue (3-1, 1.75) taking to the mound for Game 2.

The Canadians were a hot ticket in 2017, setting another attendance record at Nat Bailey Stadium. As of Tuesday afternoon, tickets are still available for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday’s games.

See also
Rob WilliamsRob Williams

+ Offside
+ Baseball
ADVERTISEMENT