EVERETT — Matt Carasiti made a slow walk to the mound as the Everett AquaSox infielders jogged in to stand behind pitcher Evan Truitt.
Truitt had just walked Spokane Indians outfielder EJ Andrews Jr. to load the bases with one out in the top of the fifth inning of a 0-0 game at Funko Field on Thursday. Truitt retired all but one batter through the first four innings, and this jam was the first real test of the afternoon.
Carasiti, the AquaSox pitching coach, did not have too much to say, according to Truitt. With how well Truitt had pitched all afternoon, Carasiti just wanted him to keep doing what he was doing.
“We were like, ‘Let’s get ahead (in the count) and then go for the punch out to help myself out,’” Truitt said, recalling the mound visit. “I just wanted to execute, get ahead.”
With Spokane outfielder Caleb Hobson at bat, Truitt dealt ‘Ball One’ outside. He moved inside for the second pitch and back to the outer portion of the zone for pitch three, both of which Hobson fouled off. The count evened to 2-2 after Truitt tossed the fourth pitch well outside, but he caused Hobson to whiff on the fifth pitch down the middle to get the second out.
When even a flyout could have led to Spokane scoring a run, getting a strikeout in that spot was huge for Truitt. Now with two outs, all the 22-year-old Maryland native had to focus on was GJ Hill at the top of the order.
Truitt said he “didn’t want to let (his) foot off the gas,” and focused on his placement to Hill. Truitt snuck the first pitch just inside the zone, but home plate umpire Dominic Romero called it a ball. Truitt put the next pitch closer to the middle, and Hill didn’t get enough on it as he flied out to left field to strand all three runners and keep the game at 0-0.
After a clean sixth inning, Truitt’s day was done. He allowed just three hits and one walk to go with five strikeouts, completing his first shutout appearance in High-A. In what has been a transitional year for Truitt, who has “changed everything” in his arsenal working with Carasiti, the former 12th-round pick is starting to feel comfortable.
The biggest focus for Truitt is using his sinker more, but he’s changed his sweeper, gyro slider and changeup as well. He even made tweaks to his four-seam fastball, all in an effort to throw more strikes.
“We’ve changed a lot of stuff, so it’s been good to like relax and know my stuff’s good,” Truitt said. “Just being able to compete and fill it up, and that’s kind of what we’ve talked about all year long.”
After his stellar outing on Thursday, which lowered his season ERA from 5.43 to 4.97, all Truitt needed was run support. He got that from Tai Peete, who blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to give Everett a 3-0 lead, which they would hang on to for a 3-2 victory.
Peete had fouled off a couple of pitches, down to his last strike with two outs in the inning, but he got all over the fourth pitch of his at-bat, launching it over the right field wall.
“I was just trying to stay alive, trying to compete,” Peete said in the postgame broadcast interview. “I figured the couple of guys in front of me (Colt Emerson and Suisbel), they competed and just getting on base for me, making something happen. And this team competes and they do what they need to do.”
After Ben Hernandez pitched a scoreless seventh, Shaddon Peavyhouse allowed two runs in the eighth, but limited the damage to prevent Spokane from tying. Gabriel Sosa notched the save in the ninth with two strikeouts, continuing an impressive three-game stretch for the AquaSox pitching staff.
Over the past three games, starters Ashton Izzi (seven strikeouts), Ryan Hawks (three) and Truitt (five) combined to allow 12 hits, one walk and zero earned runs across 19 collective innings. With 43 strikes on 72 pitches on Thursday, Truitt’s 59.7 strike percentage, remarkably, was the lowest of the three. Hawks had an absurdly efficient 80.3 strike percentage on Wednesday, while Izzi — who was part of the package in the Seattle Mariners’ trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks for Josh Naylor on Thursday — was similarly productive at 68.4 percent on Tuesday.
“Definitely just getting ahead and filling (the strike zone) up,” Truitt said about their efforts this week. “That’s what we’ve talked about in our pre-game meeting. Just like, ‘Izzi and Hawks had a lot of success throwing strikes, so don’t change it.’”
This week against Spokane has been a far cry from Everett’s brutal series against the Eugene Emeralds from June 24-29, in which they went 1-5 and were outscored 57-25. In June 29’s 19-8 blowout loss, Truitt threw just 14 strikes on 34 pitches (41.2 percent), walked four batters and allowed four earned runs in just 0.1 innings.
Carasiti expressed no concerns at the time, at least not publicly.
“It’s a long season,” Carasiti told The Herald after the June 29 game. “Stuff like that’s going to happen. We’ve been throwing the ball well overall, so I’m not worried about it at all.”
A month later, the AquaSox pitching staff is rounding into form as a collective for the first time since clinching the first-half title on June 19. Everett is 4-2 since returning from the All-Star break, and hopes to keep building despite already having their spot in September’s Northwest League Championship solidified.
“We’ve simplified things,” Truitt said. “And my plan is to attack and get ahead, so it’s been really good.”
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