It’s hard to get more competitive than the Everett AquaSox’s recently-completed series against the Tri-City Dust Devils.
The Sox and Dust Devils faced one another six times last week at Funko Field. Five of those games were decided by one run, and the sixth game was decided by two. Four of the games saw the go-ahead run scored in the eighth inning or later, with two going to extra innings and two ending in walk-off fashion. Even the game decided by two, Saturday’s 3-1 victory, had drama right to the end as Blake Rambusch and Cole Young combined to throw a runner out at the plate for the final out.
Everett wound up winning the series 4-2, despite holding a slender 34-31 edge in runs.
“I thought it was a fantastic series,” Everett manager Ryan Scott said. “Obviously if you look at all the results of the games, we were playing close games every single night, and I think that was really good for us as we move through the second half. The resiliency the guys showed through the whole series was really cool to see.”
The walk-offs, both won by Everett, came in Wednesday’s 12-11 victory and Friday’s 8-7 triumph. On Wednesday the Dust Devils nearly pulled off an unbelievable comeback, scoring nine runs in the top of the ninth to take an 11-10 lead. However, the Sox saved themselves in the bottom half of the inning, with the game-winning run scoring after Gabriel Gonzalez beat out a potential inning-ending double-play grounder.
Then on Friday the Sox had to score twice in the ninth to force extra innings, then scored two more in the bottom of the 11th after Tri-City scored in the top half of the frame. Axel Sanchez’s two-run single to left ended the game, as Harry Ford slid home just under the tag with the winning run.
“Walk-offs are always fun,” Scott said. “Everyone gets out there, they bring the water cooler out, and the energy level is up in the locker room after the game compared to a normal win. The guys enjoy it, they go out there and get to be kids, which is kind of what it’s all about.”
The series victory meant the Sox kept pace with Northwest League-leading Vancouver. Everett is now 14-10 in the second half (48-42 overall), and the Sox remain in second place, three games behind the Canadians.
Players of the week
Hitter: Gonzalez. The 19-year-old outfielder from Venezuela, who joined the Sox less than two weeks ago after being promoted from Single-A, has done nothing but hit since arriving in Everett. Last week Gonzalez, now ranked by MLB.com as the Seattle Mariners’ third-best prospect, showed off the power bat as he slugged four home runs in six games, including going yard in each of the first three games of the series — and each of those three homers came in the first inning as Gonzalez staked the Sox to early leads. He added eight RBI and six runs while compiling a 1.002 OPS.
Pitcher: Jimmy Joyce. Raul Alcantara has a claim after fanning 13 in his start, but Joyce gets the nod for allowing fewer runs. The 24-year-old right-hander, who was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the 16th round of the 2021 draft, was imperious in Saturday’s 3-1 victory as he gave up just one run on three hits and one walk, striking out 10. Joyce has been lights out since joining the Sox in early June, as in nine starts he has a 1.60 ERA and a 54/10 strikeout/walk ratio in 39.1 innings.
The week ahead
Everett hits the road for the first time since the break for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, beginning a six-game road series against Vancouver, an affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, on Tuesday.
Vancouver (17-7, second half, 55-34 overall), which already clinched a spot in the league championship series by winning the first half, hasn’t slowed down at all during the second half as the Canadians have a three-game lead on the rest of the pack, which is led by Everett. However, the Sox have fared well against Vancouver this season, going 10-8 against the Canadians heading into the series.
Vancouver has allowed the fewest runs in the Northwest League this season, though several of the Canadians’ top pitchers have been promoted to Double-A. Right-hander Devereaux Harrison (4-2, 2.29 ERA, 28 walks and 56 strikeouts in 59 innings) has been solid since being moved from the bullpen into the rotation mid-season.
At the plate, the Canadians boast a trio of sluggers in infielders Cade Doughty (.258, 11 homers, 51 RBI) and Alex De Jesus (.252, 10 homers, 55 RBI) and outfielder Devonte Brown (.263, 10 homers, 40 RBI).
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