Opponent: Vancouver Canadians
When: 7:05 p.m.
Where: Everett Memorial Stadium
Radio: KRKO (1380 AM)
Pitchers: Everett right-hander Nick Allen (6-4, 4.87 ERA) vs. Vancouver right-hander Mike Madsen (5-1, 1.85).
Brand new ball game
With the Everett AquaSox and the Vancouver Canadians switching venues from Vancouver to Everett, a completely different brand of baseball is on display.
Everett and Vancouver played the first three of their six consecutive games at Nat Bailey Stadium, one of the best pitcher’s parks in the Northwest League. The final three games have moved to Everett Memorial Stadium, one of the best hitter’s parks in the league.
Therefore, it’s unlikely the teams will combine on scores like 3-2 and 5-3 the way they did in Vancouver.
“To be honest, I’m not sure what to expect here,” Everett manager Pedro Grifol said. “I’m going to go out there and enjoy these guys playing.”
In the three games at Vancouver, the teams combined to score 18 runs, which included five extra innings in the first game, Everett’s 3-2 victory in 14 innings. In contrast, when the teams played a three-game series in Everett earlier in the season, the teams put 31 combined runs on the board.
Everett fared much better in Vancouver, winning two of three, than the last time the AquaSox played in a pitcher’s park. When Everett traveled to Tri-City for a five-game series from Aug. 19-23, the Sox lost four of five, in large part because they struggled with the offensive adjustment.
But the success in Vancouver may have been in spite of the offense, rather than an indication the AquaSox adjusted better this time.
“No, I don’t feel we adjusted much better,” Grifol said. “I feel we pitched. We did some things fundamentally sound offensively. We bunted some baseballs, made some things happen, played some situational baseball. But the main thing is we pitched and we pitched well.”
In Vancouver, Everett scored first in all three games, then tried to hold on. It worked twice. That strategy may not be so effective in Everett.
“Two, three runs is not going to win games in this ballpark,” Grifol said. “So we’ve got to continue to keep putting the press on. If we’re able to get out to an early lead, we’ve got to continue to get quality at bats and keep pressing because no lead is secure in this park.”
Valbuena honored: Everett second baseman Luis Valbuena was honored by the league on Tuesday, being named to Northwest League All-Star Team.
Valbuenam a 19-year-old from Zulia, Venezuela, has had a stellar first professional season. Going into Tuesday night’s game, Valbuena was batting .268 and leading the league in both home runs (12) and RBI (48).
Valbuena also has excelled in other areas of the game. He ranked second on the team in stolen bases with 13, and he’s fielded a solid second base, committing just seven errors in 65 games.
The rest of the All-Star Team was unavailable.
Short hops: The AquaSox completed their three-game stint in their camouflage jerseys Tuesday. The AquaSox, in conjunction with the U.S. Army, created the camouflage jerseys for a fundraiser benefiting Camp Erin, a children’s grief camp. Tuesday marked the end of the silent auction for the jerseys. The players stripped off the jerseys, signed them and presented them to the auction winners following the game. … Vancouver’s roster includes catcher Ty Bubalo, the son of former Everett Giants manager Mike Bubalo. Ty Bubalo, from Beaverton, Ore., came into Tuesday’s game batting .204 with four home runs and 21 RBI.
Nick Patterson, Herald writer
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