Titans' Grills goes the distance to snap Capitales' 16-game winning streak

Left-hander Evan Grills (Whitby, Ont.) tossed a complete game for the Ottawa Titans on Thursday to lead them to a 5-3 win over the Québec Capitales. Photo: Ottawa Titans

June 12, 2025

Official Ottawa Titans News Release

Québec City, Que - A complete game from veteran Canadian left-hander Evan Grills (Whitby, Ont.) helped the Ottawa Titans snap a six-game slide with a well-deserved 5-3 win over the Québec Capitales on Thursday, avoiding the sweep.

In total, Grills recorded his first win for the Titans in almost three years, allowing three runs on five hits, not walking a batter, and striking out three. Grills retired 12 of the final 13 he faced, earning his second career complete game with the Titans.

Locked in a pitchers' duel, Marc-Antoine Lebreux (Montreal, Que.) smashed a two-run homer to break the scoreless tie to straight-away centre in the fifth to make it 2-0.

After leaving the bases loaded in the fourth inning, the Titans saw themselves with a second chance at it in the seventh inning. Victor Cerny (Winnipeg, Man.) started a two-out rally with a single, knocking starter Ty Buckner out of the game. Australian right-hander Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis allowed two to reach - setting up a game-tying two-run single from Michael Mugan. Next, AJ Wright picked up his team-leading eighth double of the year down the left-field line to score a pair, making it 4-2.

For good measure, Aaron Casillas cracked his first pro homer to lead off the eighth inning off of Franklin Parra to put the game out of reach.

Attempting a comeback, Kyle Crowl crushed his third homer of the series with a two-out solo shot to left to make it close.

Michael Mugan finished the night 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a stolen base, while Cerny picked up his second consecutive multi-hit performance by going 2-for-4 with a triple.

Not only did the Titans snap their six-game skid, but they also ended a 10-game losing streak on the road, and a five-game slide at Stade Canac (regular season and playoffs combined). For the Capitales, they saw their historic 16-game winning streak come to an end.

The Ottawa Titans head back home to start a three-game series against the Trois-Rivières Aigles on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. at Ottawa Stadium.