VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- In the middle of a season already noted for its rash of late-inning fades, the Yakima Bears may have suffered the worst one of the bunch Thursday afternoon.
Starting quick and holding a lead through seven innings, the Bears' defense broke down in the eighth with five unearned runs, allowing Vancouver to steal a 7-4 victory at Nat Bailey Stadium.
It was a doubly painful way to end a five-game series in Vancouver, where the Bears dropped four games against what was the Northwest League's last-place team in the West Division.
Yakima's infield committed two of its four errors in the crucial eighth, when a miscue by shortstop Justin Parker opened the door for the Canadians' big two-out rally. Vancouver finished with only five hits, but one was a two-run home run by Michael Lissman to cap the comeback.
The outcome spoiled a decent outing for starter Houston Summers, who worked around six walks to allow only two runs in five innings, and a stellar show by Amado Rosario, who followed up with two hitless innings of relief.
Jordan Meaker came on in the eighth for Rosario and even though he yielded three hits and was saddled with the loss, again, all five of Vancouver's runs were unearned.
While the Bears were able to get to Vancouver's pitchers early on, even chasing the starter in the second inning, the Canadians' staff worked well at the end with six of its 11 strikeouts over the final three innings.
Alfredo Marte gave Summers support right away with a two-run double in the first inning, and Joseph Ayers added another two-run, two-bagger in the fifth for a 4-0 lead.
The Bears played an afternoon contest Thursday to make time for its long trip back to Yakima, where they will open a five-game homestand against Eugene today.