AquaSox surge into 1st place behind stellar pitching

The Everett AquaSox pitching staff was all about the zeroes last week.

Everett played five games last week, and two of them were shutouts as the Sox surged into first place in the Northwest League’s second-half standings.

Everett hosted the Eugene Emeralds five times last week — the sixth and final game of the series was scheduled for Monday night — and won four of those. The source of that success was a pitching staff that allowed just 15 runs in the five games, including a 1-0 blanking of the Emeralds on Thursday and 5-0 shutout of the Emeralds on Sunday.

Things haven’t come easy for Everett’s staff this season, as the Sox are allowing 5.35 runs per game, and coming into the week Everett had just one shutout in 69 outings. But it all came together for Everett’s pitchers last week, particularly during the shutouts.

Thursday’s shutout was a two-hitter by the quartet of Bernie Martinez, Raul Alcantara, Sam Carlson and Logan Rinehart in which only one Eugene baserunner advanced as far as third base. Alcantara did the heavy lifting. Originally scheduled to start, Alcantara was late arriving to Funko Field because his car ran out of gas. Therefore, Martinez was used as an opener for an inning to allow Alcantara sufficient time to warm up. Alcantara then tossed six no-hit innings, walking four and striking out seven.

“The biggest thing for Raul is if he’s able to limit the walks,” Everett manager Ryan Scott said. “He still walked four guys, but he was able to spread them out and not load up on walks in one inning. When he’s over the plate his stuff is so good that he’s going to get outs. We preach to him that as long as he’s around the zone he’s going to get weak contact, and once he gets to two strikes then he can get guys to chase. That’s when Raul is at his best.”

Then in Sunday’s shutout Jimmy Joyce, Jordan Jackson, Jarod Bayless and Rinehart combined on a four-hitter, again with just one Emerald advancing as far as third. Joyce, making his fifth start since returning from a forearm strain that delayed his start to the season, set the tone as the starter, striking out 10 in five innings while allowing three hits and one walk.

“Jimmy’s been awesome,” Scott said. “When Jimmy takes the mound he’s a bulldog out there. He goes right after guys and attacks the heck out of them, and he’s able to get swings and misses because his stuff is so good. He has that right-at-them mindset, and we can just sit back and watch him compete.”

The hot streak improved Everett’s record to 6-2 in the second half (40-34 overall), moving the Sox past Vancouver for first place by a half game.

Players of the week

Hitter: Alberto Rodriguez. The 22-year-old right fielder from the Dominican Republic had another fantastic week, batting .500 with six runs, one home run and six RBI in five contests as he was named the Northwest League’s Hitter of the Week. Seven of his 10 hits went for extra bases, giving him a gaudy 1.050 slugging percentage. For the season Rodriguez, ranked No. 26 among Seattle Mariners prospects by MLB.com, is batting .305 with 11 homers and 49 RBI, and his .973 OPS ranks third in the league among qualifiers.

Pitcher: Alcantara. It was a tough choice between Alcantara and Joyce, but Alcantara gets the nod for not allowing a hit and throwing one more inning. The 22-year-old left-hander from the Dominican Republic has had a rough time of it this season (8.40 ERA in 54.2 innings), mainly because of control issues. But Thursday’s outing, for which he was named the Northwest League’s Pitcher of the Week, showed what Alcantara’s stuff (67 strikeouts in those 54.2 innings) can do when he gets the ball over the plate.

The week ahead

Everett has no off days this week, as the Sox head straight to Spokane for a six-game series beginning Tuesday. After that the league shuts down for four days for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Spokane, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, is 4-5 in the second half (37-37 overall), which is good for third place in the Northwest League, 2.5 games behind Everett. The Sox are 5-7 against Spokane this season.

Spokane is the highest-scoring team in the league at 6.18 runs per game, and the offense has been fueled by the power duo of outfielder Jordan Beck (.289, 18 homers, 66 RBI) and first baseman Zach Kokoska (.309, 14 homers, 45 RBI) — though the third member of the band, outfielder Yanquiel Fernandez (.319, 17 homers, 64 RBI), was recently promoted to Double-A. Spokane has also been without shortstop Adael Amador (.302, nine homers, 35 RBI), MLB.com’s No. 25 prospect in all of baseball, who’s been on the injured list since June 23.

Spokane’s pitching staff is allowing a league-worst 6.07 runs per game, but left-hander Carson Palmquist (4-1, 3.80 ERA, 70 strikeouts in 47.1 innings) has been a bright spot.