The season has reached the critical juncture for the Everett AquaSox.
The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, leaders of the Northwest League’s West Division, are next up for the Sox, coming to town for a three-game series beginning Wednesday.
And with the season entering the final stretch, it’s now or never if the Sox are going to make a move.
Going into Monday night’s game, Everett trailed Salem-Keizer by 51/2 games with 16 remaining; the Sox also are behind second-place Eugene by three games.
If Everett fares well against Salem-Keizer, it could make for a thrilling final two weeks. However, if the Volcanoes have their way with the Sox, Everett could be left just playing out the string.
Everett manager Jose Moreno didn’t want to get too caught up in the importance of the Salem-Keizer series.
“That’s going to be real big, but right now we need to focus on game-by-game,” he said prior to Monday’s game. “Right now we’re five games behind, so we have to go day-by-day and see what happens after. We just have to concentrate on doing our best every day.”
Everett and Salem-Keizer have been a near match offensively. The teams have scored a comparable number of runs (299-291 in favor of the Volcanoes before Monday), and neither team has displayed much power (33 home runs for Everett, 24 for Salem-Keizer).
The difference has come on the defensive side of the ball, where the Sox had allowed 326 runs compared to 277 by the Volcanoes. The majority of that can be chalked up to fielding rather than pitching. Defensive miscues led to 64 unearned runs charged against the Sox, whereas the Volcanoes gave up just 36 unearned runs.
Offensively Salem-Keizer is led by sluggers Michael Ambort (.327, eight homers) and Mike Loberg (.321, eight homers). Mike Loree (3-2, 2.91 ERA) and Ari Ronick (4-0, 3.04 ERA) have been the Volcanoes’ top pitchers, with Edwin Quirarte (1.48 ERA, 11 saves) a dependable closer.
Rotation moved back: In an effort to give a little relief to the entire starting rotation, Doug Salinas was given the start Monday in place of scheduled starter Kenn Kasparek.
Kasparek, who struggled just to make it through one inning in his previous start, is not being skipped. Instead, he’ll just be pushed back one game, starting Wednesday’s game against Salem-Keizer. With the off-day today, it gives all the starters an additional two days of rest.
“There’s nothing wrong with (Kasparek’s) arm, we just want to give him an extra couple days,” Moreno said.
“Right now (the starters) have been pitching a lot,” Moreno added. “They’ve been doing a lot of work, so I think it’s a good idea for them to get some good rest.”
Short hops: Today is the last of three off days for the Sox this season. It is the first time the off-day has fallen in the middle of a homestand, rather than between home and away series. … The “Black CD” is back at full volume during pregame at Everett Memorial Stadium. The CD full of Latin music became a fixture during Everett’s seven-game winning streak during the previous homestand. After losing four of five at Yakima with the Black CD left behind, Everett won two straight back at home with the Latin beats once again blaring from the public address system.
Opponent: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
When: 7:05 p.m.
Where: Everett Memorial Stadium
Radio: KRKO (1380 AM)
Probable starters: Everett right-hander Kenn Kasparek (2-3, 5.47 ERA) vs. Salem-Keizer TBA
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