EVERETT — The AquaSox returned for Thursday’s home opener after starting the season 3-3 on their season-opening road trip.
“It was a very good road trip,” Sox manager Rob Mummau said. “The kids played hard and got after it. We’re just trying to get everybody up to speed with all the new stuff for the new players.”
The road trip was so successful for pitcher Marvin Gorgas and outfielder Gus Craig that both were called up amid myriad roster moves prior to Thursday’s opener. Gorgas earned the five-out save in Wednesday’s 6-4 win at Vancouver and was promoted to long-season Class A Clinton (Iowa), while Craig is now with Advanced A Bakersfield (Calif.)
Gorgas retired all 16 hitters he faced this season with seven strikeouts. Craig hit. .286/.370/.571 with three extra base hits including a home run in six games.
In addition, pitchers Michael Rivera and Brandon Stephens were sent to the Arizona Mariners along with infielders Ivan Gonzalez and Greifer Andrade.
More new faces
With six players headed out of Everett Monday the AquaSox welcomed the arrival of pitchers Thomas Burrows, Reggie McClain and Tim Viehoff from the Arizona Mariners.
Burrows was the Mariners’ fourth-round choice in this year’s draft, Viehoff was this year’s 12th-rounder and McClain was taken in this year’s 13th round.
“Now we have a couple new guys coming and we’ll see,” said Frogs pitching coach Moises Hernandez, whose starters are subject to strict pitch counts this early in the season. “We need it because the starters don’t have too many pitches. We have to use the bullpen early in the season.”
The bullpen, under Hernandez’s direction, has been outstanding so far this season. Everett relievers have combined for just four earned runs in 301/3 innings this season. In Wednesday’s win the bullpen combined to throw 51/3 scoreless innings.
“I had zero expectations coming into it with all new guys,” Mummau said. “You never know what you’re going to get, but they’ve done an outstanding job.”
The AquaSox also got strong starts from Luiz Gohara in last Saturday’s 1-0 win at Tri-City, and seven shutout innings from Ljay Newsome in Monday’s 10-0 win at Vancouver.
Newsome threw 80 pitches in his start.
“I call him ‘the quiet guy,’” Hernandez quipped. “He doesn’t talk too much, but when he’s on the mound he’s amazing.”
Getting that timing back
For recently drafted former college players, the time between their seasons ending in late May and the Northwest League season beginning in late June represents a long layoff. It can take hitters several games to adjust to seeing live pitching again.
Everett third baseman Nick Zammarelli, this year’s eighth-round Mariners pick broke out in a big way with three hits in Wednesday’s win to bump his slash line up to .294/.400/412.
“After getting a few games under my belt it started to click,” Zamarelli said. “My timing started to come back and I started to put some better swings on better pitches.”
Zammarelli is a Rhode Island native that Seattle drafted out of Elon University in North Carolina. He worked out for several teams prior to the draft including the Mariners, and said that trip to Seattle was the only time he’s been that far west until joining the AquaSox.
So far he’s been enjoying his first taste of pro ball.
“We’re all here and we all have the same goal, which is to play the game we love and make it as far as we can,” he said. “So the team chemistry is already great and (we’re) getting along great, and it shows on the field.”
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