EVERETT — In 12 starts with two different teams, Everett AquaSox pitcher Enyel De Los Santos has accomplished something this season that few have matched in professional baseball.
He has yet to be a losing pitcher.
De Los Santos, a 19-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, began the season with Peoria of the Arizona League, and then was promoted to Everett a month ago. He was 3-0 in five starts with Peoria, and on Thursday night he improved to 3-0 in his seventh start for the AquaSox in a 4-3 victory over the visiting Salem-Keizer Volcanoes.
In seven innings, De Los Santos gave up six hits and two earned runs while walking none and striking out six. He pitched to only one hitter over the minimum through six innings, and even though he labored in the seventh — he gave up a single, a long home run to right field by Salem-Keizer’s Chris Shaw and another single — he was able to finish the inning leading 4-2.
The Volcanoes got a run in the eighth to close within one, but reliever Joe Pistorese got out of the inning with a pivotal strikeout — with two runners on he fanned Shaw, the top draft pick of the San Francisco Giants this year — and then got the save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
The win improves Everett’s record to 17-12 in the season’s second half. Everett began the night with a 21/2-game lead over Vancouver in the North Division race with nine games left to play.
In the first, Shaw stroked a long double to left field, but otherwise De Los Santos kept the Volcanoes in check through six innings. The only other hits by Salem-Keizer in that stretch were a swinging bunt by Brad Moss in the third and a single to left in the sixth by Christian Lichtenthaler.
“(De Los Santos) was outstanding,” said Everett pitching coach Jason Blanton. “He was very competitive. He attacked the strike zone, which keyed his delivery really well. For a 19-year-old kid that can be a little hectic, but he’s been solid.”
In the seventh, De Los Santos gave up three hard-hit balls to start the inning, and the home run hit by Shaw was crushed to deep right field. But De Los Santos’ pitch count was still low, and the sharp hits were about “pitch selection more than anything,” Blanton said.
Signed as an undrafted free agent last year, De Los Santos waited until this year to make his pro debut. With a fastball in the high 80s and low 90s, which he combines with a curve and changeup, he has impressed with his poise and savvy.
“He’s got a great future … a very high ceiling,” Blanton said. “Time will tell, of course. We don’t have crystal balls, but he’s a good one to bet on. He’s definitely one to keep an eye on. He’s a great young man with a lot of ability.”
Everett roughed up Salem-Keizer starting pitcher Logan Webb in the first inning with three runs, including two with two outs.
Drew Jackson led off with a double to center field and moved to third one out later on an infield single by Arturo Nieto. Jackson scored on a wild pitch, alertly sprinting home when the ball bounced a few feet away from Moss, Salem-Keizer’s catcher. After a strikeout, Alex Jackson and Conner Hale walked to load the bases for Logan Taylor, who delivered two runs with a sharp single to center.
Yordi Calderon gave the Sox an important insurance run in the fourth with a line drive homer to left field.
Drew Jackson continued his chase of a .400 season batting average and, perhaps, a Northwest League record (.403) by going 2-for-4, boosting his average to .391. Jackson’s first hit was a soaring double off the wall in straightaway center field, and after two subsequent groundouts he beat out a bunt single in the seventh.
The Sox continue their homestand Friday night with the first game of three against the Tri-City Dust Devils. Everett then wraps up its regular season with three games at Spokane and three at Vancouver.
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