Sep 12, 2024 By Chris Dugan 4 min read

The Wild Things’ best-of-5 Frontier League championship series against Quebec is tied at 1-1 as it shifts to Canada for Game 3 tonight (7:05). Washington, however, is right where it wants to be. More specifically, right where the Wild Things have done their best work.

Including the postseason, the Wild Things have a ridiculous 37-11 record in road games.

“Somebody told me that’s the best record by a road team in the history of the league,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said following an 11-6 loss Wednesday in Game 2 at Wild Things Park.

“One of our strengths has been the way we go about our business when we’re on the road. What it comes down to now is a best-of-3 series.”

Jordan DiValerio (10-2, 3.39) will pitch Game 3 for Washington. Quebec can go with either righthander Abdiel Saldana (10-2, 3.60) or lefty Harley Gollert (6-6, 3.79).

“(Game 2) didn’t turn out the way we wanted. It would have been nice to sweep, but it boils down to a 2-out-of-3 situation,” Vaeth said. “One goal that we’ve had since Day 1, and it hasn’t changed, is to win every series – win two out of three. We’ve done a good job of that all year. This situation is nothing new.”

Washington, however, hasn’t played in Quebec since June of last year, when the Wild Things won two out of three. Where the Wild Things played on the road this year really doesn’t compare to Stade Canac, the Capitales’ 4,300-seat ballpark that opened in 1939. It’s old, it’s loud and it’s usually filled by Quebec’s loyal fans.

“It’s a small stadium, but it’s the loudest small stadium you’ve ever been to,” said Quebec manager Pat Scalabrini. “The way it’s built, the fans are right on top of you – they are super close. The fans get into it big time. They love the playoffs.”

That’s because Quebec usually wins in the postseason. The Capitales are the two-time defending Frontier League champions and won six Can-Am League titles before that league was absorbed by the Frontier League after the 2019 season.

“Baseball in Quebec City is growing nicely,” Scalabrini said. “We don’t have other pro sports in Quebec City, and it’s a city of almost one million people.

“After 2004, when the Expos left Montreal, we hit a big drop in baseball popularity. Kids stopped playing and the sport struggled for a while. Football got more popular for a few years, but recently the high school baseball programs started getting better.

“Part of that is we have an inflatable dome (on Stade Canac). It’s about 80 feet high and the distance to the fence is 240 feet, so you can play baseball there in the winter. … The number of kids playing baseball has tripled in the last 15 years.”

Washington will go into Game 3 likely without center fielder and league Most Valuable Player Caleb McNeely, who left Game 1 with a hamstring issue. He did not play in Game 2. Designated Hitter Tyreque Reed was limping in Game 2 after making a slide into third base. Vaeth was worried about not having his club at full strength.

“I have some guys who I don’t know about their availability,” Vaeth said. “We have some guys who are hurting.”

One area Washington must improve is getting an out against Quebec’s first batter of an inning. In the first 12 innings of the series, the Capitales’ leadoff hitter reached base eight times. Four times they have come around to score.

Extra bases

Washington third baseman Tommy Caufield, who was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle in Game 1, is 5-for-8 in the series. He homered in his first at-bat of Game 2. … The Wild Things will hold watch parties for the games in Quebec. Fans can go to Wild Things Park, bring their lawn chair and watch the games on the video board. Concessions will be available and no ticket is necessary.