EVERETT — Chris Sorce is primed for the playoffs.
The Everett AquaSox right-hander showed he’s ready to take the ball when the postseason arrives next week, tossing seven scoreless innings to lead the Sox to an 8-0 victory over the Eugene Emeralds on Monday night at Everett Memorial Stadium.
“It was a really good outing for Sorce,” Everett manager Jose Moreno said. “He was excellent at attacking the zone, threw a lot fastballs, pitched to contact. It was a very solid outing, a very good performance.”
Sorce was the picture of efficiency Monday. Using a fastball that had a little extra zip, he walked no one, went to a three-ball count just once and needed just 85 pitches to complete his seven innings. He allowed just four hits.
“Early in the year I was throwing a lot of pitches in my outings,” Sorce said. “Rich (Dorman, Everett’s pitching coach) has preached all year to pitch to contact, and these last three or four starts I’ve really been focusing on pitching to contact, letting them put the bat on the ball. Whenever you can get guys out on one, two, three pitches, you’re going to keep your pitch count down and you’re going to be able to go deep in ballgames.”
The victory improved Sorce’s record to 8-2. The eight wins are the most by an Everett pitcher since Shawn Nottingham won eight in 2004.
If the Sox stayed true to their rotation Sorce would start one more time before the end of the season. However, Everett is planning on using spot starters in its final two games. That would give each rotation member a couple extra days of rest in preparation for the offseason. It would also set up Sorce, a steady presence in Everett’s rotation all season, to start during the best-of-three division series that begins next Monday in Vancouver.
It’s an assignment Sorce is eagerly anticipating.
“I have a lot of confidence right now and I know our team does, too,” Sorce said. “We’ve been playing great baseball all year, and once the playoffs come around everybody’s going to have a little extra.”
Said Moreno: “He’s so consistent, he deserves it. We’re going to give him the opportunity to be there.”
Kevin Mailloux continued his power binge Monday, smacking his league-leading 15th homer of the season to lead Everett offensively. Eric Thomas pitched two scoreless innings of relief to complete a five-hitter.
The victory completed a three-game sweep for Everett (18-14 second half, 45-25 overall), which is now the winningest team in AquaSox history, topping the 44 wins by the 2002 team. That 2002 team is the only other Sox team to make the playoffs in the 16 years since Everett joined the Seattle Mariners farm system. The Everett record for wins is 49 by the 1987 Giants, a total still attainable by this year’s team.
Chris Tremblay was 2-for-4 and was the only batter with more than two hits for Eugene (15-17 second half, 30-40 overall), which was officially eliminated from playoff contention.
The game was a scoreless pitching duel between Sorce and Eugene starter Mauricio Tabachnik until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Everett struck. With a runner on first and one out, Terry Serrano drilled a line drive to center. Center fielder Rico Noel was playing shallow and the ball got over his head. Robbie Anston scored from first on what ended up being a double, giving the Sox the lead.
One out later, with Serrano having taken third, the Emeralds brought in lefty Ryan Hinson to face the left-swinging Kevin Rivers. Rivers answered with a check-swing, excuse-me single just past the glove of diving third baseman Paul Bingham, giving Everett a 2-0 lead.
The Sox then unloaded in the seventh. Mailloux belted a two-run homer to dead center to start the fun. The homer was Mailloux’s 15th of the season, giving him the league lead on his own.
Everett continued to pile on. Steven Baron pulled a two-run double into the left-field corner, and Anston added another two-run double to right-center, increasing the Sox’s lead to eight.
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