Opponent: Tri-City Dust Devils
When: 7:05 p.m.
Where: Everett Memorial Stadium
Radio: KSER (90.7 FM)
Pitchers: Everett right-hander Mark Lowe (0-2, 6.35 ERA) vs. right-hander John Tetuan (1-4, 7.14).
The life of a backup
It was hard at first, but Brian Schweiger is getting used to life as a third-string catcher.
Most players on the Everett AquaSox roster have spent most of their lives as dominant players who played every day. Things change for some when they reach the professional ranks, which was tough at first for Schweiger.
“At the beginning it really was (difficult),” said Schweiger, a 16th-round selection out of Cal State San Bernardino in 2003. “But I’ve talked to the coaches and I know my role. My role is to, when I go in there, play hard and do what I can.”
For much of the season, Schweiger’s role has been to warm up pitchers in the bullpen and give starting catcher Omar Falcon a day off once in a while. Schweiger has started six of Everett’s 37 games this season. Falcon has started 23. Rob Johnson, who spends most of his time playing other positions, has started five. Since-departed Miguel Olivo played the other two games.
Schweiger made the most of Sunday’s opportunity. With a long-time family friend watching in the stands after arriving from San Diego – on a day Schweiger actually got in the game – Schweiger hit his second home run of the season to cut his team’s deficit to 5-4. He laughed when asked if he’d try to convince his friend that he hits homers every day.
“No, I don’t think so,” said Schweiger, whose .290 batting average is 49 points higher than Falcon’s. “I’d rather go 0-for-4, we win 3-2 and I block 30 balls in the dirt. That’s just the way I am. I’ll take defense over my offense any day.”
Bring the heat: Sunday’s temperatures may have been cooler, but the AquaSox got to look at some heat that was well into the 90s.
Tri-City starter Juan Morillo’s fastball reached 96 several times on the Everett Memorial Stadium radar gun. Closer Jim Miller hit 95.
AquaSox third baseman Brandon Green said that might have had something to do with Everett’s garnering only six hits, but he believes the Frogs can hit that type of heat.
“A lot of us are pretty proud of our ability to hit fastballs as a team,” Green said. “Fastballs aren’t tough to hit unless they’re spotted well. A fastball across the plate is probably going to get busted up.”
Not over until it’s over: Everett reliever Mumba Rivera struck out three Dust Devils in the third inning of Sunday’s game, but allowed a run when Tri-City’s Nelson Robledo scored as Jud Thigpen struck out while swinging at a wild pitch that allowed him to reach first base.
Aaron Coe, Herald Writer
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