EVERETT – Rob Hudson lay prone across home plate, face in the dirt after Fabian Jimenez had toppled over on top of him.
The image served as a perfect metaphor for Tuesday night’s Northwest League game between the Everett AquaSox and the Eugene Emeralds. Jimenez and the Emeralds may have seemed to had the upper hand, but it was the AquaSox who did the dirty work necessary to earn the victory.
Everett overcame Jimenez’s no-hit bid, and the AquaSox scratched out their runs in a 3-0 victory before an Everett Memorial Stadium crowd of 1,463.
“We didn’t really hurt that guy in any way,” Everett manager Pedro Grifol said of Jimenez. “We got a base hit up the middle, another hit and then were able to run the bases on two wild pitches. I like the way this club has come together and I like the way everybody’s ready to play.”
In a tidy game that lasted just 2 hours, 5 minutes, pitchers Nick Allen and David Asher combined on a five-hitter as the AquaSox (27-21) posted their second shutout in three nights.
That kept Everett alive against Jimenez. Jimenez was essentially perfect for 52/3 innings, not even allowing one hard-hit ball. the only baserunner Everett managed was J.B. Tucker’s walk – and he was erased one pitch later on a double play.
But Hudson broke up the no-hitter by grounding a single up the middle, then later dashed home on a wild pitch for the breakthrough run.
“We knew he threw a lot of balls and walks a lot of guys, so we wanted to go up there pretty conservative,” Hudson said. “Today he was really on and his stuff was hitting the strike zone.
“We never got him into the stretch,” Hudson added. “He’s a different guy when he’s in the stretch. We got a few more hits and that got him into the stretch because he was really effective in the windup.”
Allen wasn’t quite as sharp as Jimenez, but he matched Jimenez zero for zero. In six innings he gave up four hits, three walks and stranded six. He also struck out four and lasted just long enough to register his league-leading sixth victory.
“I was just trying to go out there and go out-for-out with (Jimenez) and get us back in the dugout quickly to try to get us back in the batter’s box,” Allen said.
“I feel like after a couple bad outings I’m back to my old self,” Allen added. “It feels good to go out there and put zeroes on the board and get a W.”
Asher threw three scoreless innings of relief for his third save. He gave up just one hit and struck out five.
Jimenez left after six innings, having given up two runs – one earned – on two hits and one walk. He struck out five.
Jimenez, in his first start since being demoted from Fort Wayne of the full-season single-A Midwest League, was effectively perfect through 52/3 innings. But the wheels fell off for Jimenez once he lost his no-hitter.
With two out and nobody on in the bottom of the sixth, Hudson grounded a full-count pitch up the middle for a single, ending the no-hit bid. Casey Craig lined the next pitch to left to put runners at first and second.
Then Jimenez lost control. A pitch behind Jeff Flaig allowed the runners to move up, and another wild pitch, this time in the dirt, sent Hudson dashing home. Hudson slid head first to the plate, just as Jimenez, covering home, fell on top of him. Hudson was safe and although shaken up on the play, eventually picked himself up and remained in the game.
“That’s the thing about this level, you have to see what he’s going to do,” Eugene manager Roy Howell said about Jimenez. “How’s he going to react after the guy gets a base hit? He lost his concentration a little bit and he has to battle there, so that’s all the learning process.”
Flaig then proceeded to ground to third, but Chase Headley’s throw to first was in the dirt and skipped past first baseman Daryl Jones, allowing another run to score and Everett to go ahead 2-0.
Everett tacked on an insurance run in the eighth. Trevor Heid led off by grounding a double down the left-field line. One out later Hudson dropped a single to right, and when right-fielder Santiago Guerrero triple-clutched, Heid scored uncontested to make it 3-0.
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