FLCS Game 3 Primer - at Québec Capitales
QUÉBEC CITY, QUÉBEC, CA (Sept. 13) - The 2024 Frontier League Championship Series has shifts north of the border as the Québec Capitales get set to host games 3, 4 and 5, if necessary. Québec took game two 11-6 after Washington won the first game of the series 5-2 Tuesday night.
Québec scored 11 times in the first three innings of game two using a huge seven-run, seven-hit second inning to break the game open. In the second, the Capitales got four doubles and a two-run homer to help the effort. Around those frames, Tommy Caufield had Washington's lone multi-hit performance in the final home game of the season. Caufield homered in the first inning that also saw Andrew Czech pick up his first hit of the postseason, an RBI single. The Wild Things scored a run in the third on an error and brought in two on ground balls by Tyreque Reed and Wagner Lagrange in the seventh before Brandon McIlwain's RBI triple in the ninth made it 11-6.
Dariel Fregio and Malik Barrington were the ones to get the runs charged to them in the loss before Ryan Munoz (three innings), Zach Kirby, Brendan Nail and Nick MacDonald combined to finish the game. Between the four following Barrington, only two hitters reached base for the Capitales.
Jordan DiValerio makes the game 3 start for Washington following a scoreless inning in the ninth inning of the clinching game of the FLDS against Lake Erie in what was DiValerio's Frontier League playoff debut. During the regular season, DiValerio won his final six decisions and was 10-2 overall with a 3.39 ERA in 20 starts. The final start he made, September 1 in game one against Schaumburg, lasted 3.2 innings in the seven-inning contest: his shortest start of the season. Every single one of the other 19 starts lasted 5+ innings. He made seven straight quality starts from July 23 through August 25, including the start that was his first career shutout (and complete game) August 3 versus Sussex County. He faced just two over the minimum in that start and was named Frontier League Pitcher of the Week following the outing. It'll be his debut against Québec.
The Capitales plan to start righty Abdiel Saldana, who received a no decision in his 2024 playoff debut against Ottawa in Game 3 of the FLDS at home against Ottawa. Saldana was 10-2 with a 3.60 ERA in the regular season as he made 18 starts and logged 95 innings. He allowed 93 hits and 44 walks to 82 strikeouts. His last two starts of the season were quality starts and he made six overall: two against New England, two against New Jersey, two against Trois-Rivieres. Saldana is in his second season with Québec. He made 12 starts in 20 appearances in 2023 and was 7-2 with a 1.72 ERA in 78.1 innings. He's a former Astros framhand that made an appearance from the pen against Washington last season on June 10, throwing a clean inning with one strikeout.
The game figures to be pivotal in the best-of-five series tonight at Stade Canac at 7:05 p.m. Gates for the watch party at Wild Things Park open at 6 p.m. You can also watch the game with a subscription to FloBaseball or listen for free on the Wild Things' MixLR channel. Game 3, presented by St. Clair Health, will go live at 6:45 p.m. on the Wild Things Baseball Network.
