Aug 29, 2021 4 min read

When it rolled into Washington on Friday morning, Equipe Quebec was on quite the streak. The Frontier League’s Atlantic Division leader had won 11 consecutive games and its offense was pushing across home plate an average of 10 baserunners per game during the streak.

When the bus pulled out of Wild Things Park on Sunday night, Quebec was having trouble just generating a baserunner.

Four Washington pitchers combined to hold Quebec hitless over the final six innings, left fielder Grant Heyman homered and drove in three runs and first baseman Andrew Czech had a two-run double as the Wild Things defeated Quebec 7-1 in the series finale. Washington won two of the three games in the series.

The only bad news for the Wild Things was that Northeast Division-leader Sussex County was an 11-9 winner at Tri-City, which keeps Washington one game behind the Miners with 13 remaining. Quebec remains a half-game ahead of Tri-City in the Atlantic.

Washington starter Darren Osby (4-4) allowed only five hits and one unearned run in six innings. He walked one and struck out six. Relievers B.J. Sabol, Zach Strecker and Dan Kubiuk each followed with one scoreless inning. With the help of a caught stealing, Washington pitchers retired each of the last 19 Quebec hitters.

It was the first time Quebec has held to fewer than three runs since Aug. 13.

“We pitched it well tonight and we pitched it well Friday. When we didn’t pitch it well Saturday (an 8-5 Quebec win), and they made us pay,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said. “We got a great start from Daren Osby.”

“He went right after guys,” Heyman said of Osby. “He threw strikes, kept the ball in play. That was a big win for us.”

Washington forged a 3-1 lead in the third inning and broke the game open with a four-run fifth.

“We knew coming in that Washington had one of the top two team ERAs in the league. They pitch it well and are tough to beat here,” Quebec manager Pat Scalabrini said. “Osby pitched well, our guy didn’t pitch well and we didn’t generate any emotion.”

In the fifth, Washington caught a break when former major league shortstop Gift Ngoepge booted a routine grounder off the bat of Bralin Jackson with one out. Heyman followed by belting a line-drive two-run homer down the right-field line off Quebec starter Codie Paiva (5-5). It was Heyman’s 10th home run of the season.

Center fielder Hector Roa followed with an infield single, catcher Trevor Casanova laced a line-drive single off Paiva’s calf and Czech drove both home with a double that rolled all the way to the wall in left centerfield and made the score 7-1.

Washington’s left-handed hitters, which included Nick Ward, Scotty Dubrule, Heyman, Casanova and Czech, combined to go 7-for-18 with six RBI. Dubrule was 3-for-5.

“I think what has happened with our lineup is everybody has accepted what their role is. That has spiked our production,” Heyman said. “It also has helped that we haven’t made many changes. Our lineup has stayed pretty much the same over the last month, which has helped our confidence.

“I think we have a unique lineup, in that from Nos. 1 through 9, there is not a spot where a pitcher can coast and just throw the fastball down the middle of the plate and get outs. There’s not a soft spot in this lineup.”

Washington took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Ward, Dubrule and Jackson singled and Heyman lofted a sacrifice fly.

Quebec’s only run came in the third on three singles and a ball that went off Ward’s glove at shortstop on an infield hit and dribbled to the outfield, allowing L.P. Pelletier to score and make it 1-1.

Washington answered in its half of the third. Andrew Sohn led off with a triple to right centerfield and scored on a Dubrule single. An error, flyout and wild pitch scored Dubrule.

Washington begins a three-game series at home Tuesday night against New York before embarking on a seven-game road trip that begins with four contests at Sussex County. Quebec will try to help its cause, and Washington’s, too, when it hosts Sussex County starting Tuesday. Quebec has six games remaining against the Miners.

“I like our schedule,” Scalabrini said. “We play nine of our last 12 at home, plus we’ll be activating a couple of pitchers. We control our destiny. If we win, then we’ll be in the playoffs.”