YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Yakima Bears lost 3-1 to the Vancouver Canadians Friday night at Yakima County Stadium. The win for Vancouver, coupled with a Eugene loss to Spokane Friday, made the Canadians the final team to qualify for the 2012 playoffs. The Yakima Bears and Everett AquaSox clinched in the first half and the Boise Hawks were the other team to win in the second half.
After the Bears fell behind in the fourth inning, Yakima tied the game in the fifth with a Josh Parr single that scored Michael Lang. The Canadians scored again in the sixth inning to take the lead for good and added another run in the eighth.
Bears starting pitcher Jose Martinez took the loss, as he allowed two runs on four hits and a walk in five and two thirds innings. Kyle Owings retired all four batters he faced and Enrique Burgos pitched a scoreless inning out of the bullpen, but, in between those two, RJ Hively gave up a run on three hits in his one inning.
The Bears were outhit in the game 8-4, with four different Bears each finishing with one hit. Joe Loftus had the only extra-base hit with a double. Josh Parr picked up his team-leading 32nd RBI and 14th stolen base.
The Bears have lost the series by dropping the last three games against the Canadians, but one regular season game remains. Saturday the Bears and Canadians will finish the five-game set with a game that's scheduled for a 7:05 start. Saturday is Fan Appreciation Night, with free parking, Bears logo baseballs for the first 500 fans, and a fireworks show to follow the game. Bears lefty Alex Carreras will go for his league-leading ninth win and is expected to be opposed by Roberto Osuna of the Canadians.
