Opponent: Eugene Emeralds
When: 4:05 p.m.
Where: Everett Memorial Stadium
Radio: KSER (90.7 FM)
Probable starters: Everett right-hander Aaron Jensen (5-2, 5.20 earned run average) vs. Eugene right-hander Alfredo Fernandez (2-3, 5.04)
Jinxed?
Friday the 13th might not have affected the AquaSox as far as concerns the result of their game against the Eugene Emeralds, which Everett won 15-4.
However, the unlucky date did take it’s toll on the AquaSox from an injury standpoint as three Everett players suffered some sort of mishap Friday.
“That’s what you hope in life, that you don’t have days like that,” AquaSox trainer Spyder Webb said. “It’s been a while since we had a day like that. Certainly yesterday was very interesting.”
The biggest blow was suffered by starting pitcher Ruben Flores, who took a hard liner off his right (pitching) hand in the first inning. He was taken to the hospital for X-rays, which indicated a potential problem. Flores was scheduled to be re-evaluated this morning.
The bad luck began earlier. During batting practice, infielder Brandon Green took a bad-hop grounder off his right eye that scratched his eyeball. He was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons, but was cleared and returned to the park in time to enter the game in the seventh inning. He was back in the starting lineup Saturday.
“I was sitting in the (emergency room) for three hours waiting,” Green said. “I didn’t even want to be there in the first place, but they made me go anyway. I got back around the fourth inning and it was pretty crazy. I wasn’t expecting to go into the game.”
Green had to enter the game when Asdrubal Cabrera, who was playing shortstop, dove for a grounder in the hole and reaggravated a back injury that’s plagued him all season. Cabrera didn’t play Saturday and is listed as day-to-day.
Changing roles: The AquaSox pitching staff has undergone a fair amount of change the last two weeks.
The most recent was putting right-hander Mumba Rivera, who made the Northwest League All-Star Game as a reliever, into the starting rotation and sending starter Kendall Bergdall to the bullpen.
Everett pitching coach Marcos Garcia said Bergdall, a left-hander, is more valuable to the team as a reliever.
“Right now we have no left-handers in there (the bullpen),” Garcia said.
Also, when Jason Snyder joined the team in the last week of July, right-hander Mark Lowe returned to the bullpen, where he is now sharing closer duties with Aaron Trolia. Lowe has three saves since the move.
Short hops: Everett’s 20 hits in Friday’s game were the most by an AquaSox team since the team began keeping track of that record in 1996. The previous best mark was when Everett had 19 hits against Yakima on July 30, 1997. … Everett’s six stolen bases in Friday’s game was a season high.
Nick Patterson, Herald writer
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