EVERETT – Ever heard of an earworm?
It’s a slang term for having a song stuck in one’s head. Over and over the earworm throbs inside the brain, refusing to leave and driving its unfortunate victim crazy.
That’s pretty much what the Everett AquaSox are currently experiencing. However, for the Sox the sensation is worse than the annoyance of a mere song.
Everett’s losing ways – as well as the manner of those losses – continued Sunday afternoon as the AquaSox fell to the Vancouver Canadians 6-2 at Everett Memorial Stadium.
The loss was Everett’s third straight and seventh in its last eight games. And home has been anything but sweet for the Sox (13-20), who are now 1-5 in their current eight-game homestand.
“It gets frustrating,” Everett outfielder Joe Dunigan said. “No one likes to lose. I personally just hate losing.”
Sunday’s script had an ominously familiar feel. The worst team batting average in the league, Everett’s nine hits were largely punchless. The wildest pitching in the league, Everett’s hurlers handed out another 10 free passes. And once again the Sox found themselves playing from behind throughout.
“It’s getting repetitive out there,” Everett manager Mike Tosar said. “It’s time for some of these guys who have been around here in this league and came from Wisconsin (of the full-season single-A Midwest League) to start putting things together.”
Danny Hamblin homered and Dustin Napoleon and Michael Richard each added two hits for Vancouver (17-15). Jose Guzman earned the win with a strong effort in relief, tossing 32/3 scoreless innings.
“I thought we played well enough to win,” Vancouver manager Rick Magnante said. “There were certainly some areas we could have improved upon. But I thought our starting pitching was good and I thought Guzman pitched well out of the pen and we were the beneficiaries of some miscues.”
Ogui Diaz went 2-for-4 with a homer to lead the Sox. Dunigan and Roberto Mena also had two hits for Everett. Rob Harmon again struggled with his control, taking the loss.
Everett’s season has spiraled downward. After opening 9-5, the Sox have won just four of their last 19 and now trail West Division-leading Salem-Keizer by a whopping (141/2) games. Everett is 51/2 games behind its nearest competition, Vancouver.
“You look at a team like Salem and their record is pretty amazing,” Dunigan said. “You know they come to the ballpark every day with a big smile on their face. We’ve got to come to the ballpark and work as hard as we can to try and get out of this funk and get back into the groove like these other teams.”
Harmon was effective when he got the ball over the plate, but he continued to struggle with his control.
The big right-hander walked five and threw three wild pitches in his four innings, which along with four hits led to three Vancouver runs, though just one was earned. He did strike out five.
Harmon has now walked 27 in 292/3 innings this season.
Vancouver grabbed the lead in the top of the second, rallying for two runs after Harmon struck out the first two batters of the inning. Napoleon, who doubled earlier, scored on a passed ball. Josh Horton then ripped an RBI double off the left-field wall, giving the Canadians a 2-0 lead.
The Canadians tacked on another run in the third when Matt Ray’s fly ball to left carried over left fielder Dunigan for an RBI double, making it 3-0.
Vancouver then secured its lead with three more in the fifth. Hamblin began by floating a fly ball over the fence in right-center for a solo home run, his fifth of the season. A second run scored when Corey Brown stole third and came home when catcher Jeff Dunbar’s throw sailed into the outfield. Napoleon later added an RBI single as the Canadians increased their lead to 6-0.
Everett finally got on the board in the fifth. Diaz ended the shutout bid, leading the inning off by blasting a high fastball over the wall in left. Later Gregory Halman came around to score on Dunigan’s groundout to second, making it 6-2.
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