AquaSox walk off Spokane to cap Bryce Miller’s rehab assignment

Published 12:00 am Saturday, April 25, 2026

EVERETT — Axel Sanchez tried to take as much pressure off the situation as possible.

With the Everett AquaSox tied 1-1 with the Spokane Indians in the bottom of the ninth at Everett Memorial Stadium on Friday, the 23-year-old infielder stepped up to the plate right after fellow infielder Luis Suisbel ripped a line-drive double to get into scoring position with no outs. AquaSox manager Ryan Scott substituted speedy outfielder Curtis Washington Jr. in as the pinch-runner.

With a chance to win the game with one swing, Sanchez kept the process simple.

“I was just looking for a pitch to do some damage, make contact,” Sanchez said, translated by outfield coach Edgardo Rivera. “I was not thinking of, ‘I have to win the game,’ I was just looking for a pitch to make contact and hope the team wins.”

After Sanchez fouled off the first pitch, Spokane reliever Francis Rivera spiked one into the dirt that bounced over catcher Alan Espinal’s head, which allowed Washington Jr. to advance to third. Sanchez took another ball to go up 2-1 in the count before finally getting another pitch he could hit.

The Navarette, Dominican Republic native got his bat on a pitch in the lower inside corner of the zone and popped it up to the outfield. Washington Jr. waited to tag up, then sprinted down the third base line before sliding headfirst into home to give Everett a 2-1 win.

Somehow, the walk-off finish was not the most exciting part of the evening for fans in attendance: Returning to Everett for the first time since 2022 on a rehab assignment, Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller started on the mound for the AquaSox.

Limited to three innings, the 27-year-old righty put together an efficient outing with just one hit and one walk allowed as well as six strikeouts. Miller said he is 100% recovered from the oblique injury that landed him on the IL right before Opening Day in late March, and he compared his status to being in “Week 2 of spring training.”

“Everything felt good, located everything well,” Miller said. “I mean, I think I got all seven pitches in and located them well. Got ahead pretty good, so happy with it.”

Miller reached 98 miles per hour on each of his first four pitches before dropping it down to 84 to strike out Spokane leadoff hitter Tevin Tucker. He needed just nine pitches to get through the next two batters, and he pitched another clean inning in the second.

Spokane managed to get two runners on in the third with an Espinal single and a Tucker walk, and the runners advanced to second and third on a passed ball to unintentionally give Miller more of a high-leverage rep. He responded by throwing three straight strikes to end the frame, and his night.

“Bryce is an A-plus human and A-plus teammate,” AquaSox pitching coach Bryan Pall said. “He’s just another one of the guys when he walks in. He doesn’t believe that he’s bigger than anyone, and he fits right in. He does a great job with our young guys, and some old teammates and some old friends, so it’s great to have him in our locker room, especially for the first-year guys as well to see how he operates and what a big-leaguer looks like right up in person.”

One of those first-year Everett pitchers, Colton Shaw, took over for the remaining six innings and put together a similarly impressive outing with four hits, one walk and one run allowed on top of seven strikeouts.

It was the first time out of the bullpen as a professional for the Mariners’ 2025 seventh-round pick, who appeared in three games for Single-A Modesto last year and entered Friday with three starts in Everett, but he had done it before in summer ball.

“I know how it’s done, but I was just trying to keep my routine the same,” Shaw said. “Just push it back a little bit, and go out there and do what I do.”

Indians starter Everett Catlett tossed seven strikeouts across 4 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and five walks. As such, the game remained scoreless until AquaSox catcher Josh Caron led off the fourth with a solo home run, fouling off three pitches before clobbering the seventh of the at-bat.

Spokane tied it on an RBI-double from second baseman Roynier Hernandez in the fifth. Shaw hit Tucker with a pitch to put two runners on, but induced two grounders to get out of the inning.

“I was trying to do a little too much, getting a little sped up,” Shaw said. “Just keep it simple, do my thing, and good things will happen. Keep the ball on the ground.”

Shaw shut things down over the remaining four innings, facing the minimum 12 batters. Espinal hit a single in the seventh, but was thrown out by Caron attempting to steal second right after Hernandez struck out to end the inning.

“Colton’s one of those guys that, like, nothing fazes him,” Pall said. “It is taking him out of his routine, and that’s normal for pitchers and something that he’s mature enough to handle, and as you saw, it didn’t affect him too much.”

Everett loaded the bases in the fifth on three straight walks, but could not get a run across. The bats remained quiet until Suisbel led off the ninth with his double, which marked the team’s first base hit since Caron’s home run and only the third of the game.

The AquaSox have won all four games against the Indians with two games left in the homestand on Saturday and Sunday.

“(We just need to) have quality at-bats as a group,” Sanchez said. “Put traffic on the bases, and try to— If I don’t get it done, the next guy, he got my back. That’s the mentality we’re having right now. Just pass the baton, and keep having quality at-bats as a group.”