It was a week of extremes for the Everett AquaSox as they head into their break.
It was feast or famine for the Sox at the plate during last week’s six-game series at Spokane. Everett either put crooked numbers up on the scoreboard or barely made a ripple as they lost four of six to drop out of first place in the Northwest League’s second-half standings.
With all of baseball now getting four days off because of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Everett finds itself 8-7 in the second half (42-39 overall), which ties the Sox for second with Spokane, two games back of Vancouver.
Everett scored at least eight runs in three of its games in Spokane, winning two of those. However, the Sox scored just two runs combined in the other three and dropped them all. Everett’s pitchers did their part in those three contests, limiting Spokane to three runs in each, but those three runs proved too much to overcome.
“I don’t necessarily think there was any reason for that,” Everett manager Ryan Scott said about the hit-or-miss nature of the series. “We know Spokane is a team that normally comes out and puts up runs, they have a really good offense. In the past we’ve been able to score plenty of runs against them. This series we had games where our pitchers were able to hold them, but we weren’t able to put up runs of our own. It happens sometimes, I don’t think it’s anything troublesome.”
Everett had to play half the series without star catcher Harry Ford, but at least the reason for his absence was positive. Ford was selected to participate in the MLB Futures Game on Saturday at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, which showcased 50 of the best prospects across the minors. Ford, who’s ranked as the 26th-best prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com and No. 1 in the Seattle Mariners system, suited up for the American League team and started at catcher while batting cleanup. He went 0-for-1 before being lifted for a pinch hitter as the National League won 5-0 in seven innings.
“(Being selected for the Futures Game) is a very exciting thing,” Scott said about Ford, who’s triple slashing .246/.407/.397 with 15 stolen bases in 73 games with the Sox. “It shows the work he’s been putting in and the person he is. They don’t just give that honor to anybody. It’s a testament to the work he’s put in to get better in the years since he was drafted. He was excited when he found out he was going there, and we were excited for Harry.”
Also selected for the game was outfielder Jonatan Clase, who began the season with the Sox and went wild before being promoted to Double-A Arkansas. Clase started the game in center field and led off for the American League, going 0-for-2 before being replaced in the field.
Players of the week
Hitter: Blake Rambusch. The 23-year-old utility player, who was the Mariners’ 15th-round pick in the 2022 draft, was one of several batters who had solid weeks for Everett: .333 average, .977 OPS, four runs and three RBI in six games. What tipped the scales in his favor was the role he played in the decisive rallies in each of Everett’s two victories, as he drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning double in Thursday’s 12-10 victory, then scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning of Friday’s 8-2 triumph.
Pitcher: Sam Carlson. It’s been a long and difficult road for the former top prospect, who was Seattle’s second-round pick in the 2017 draft. Carlson’s professional career has been known mostly for his debilitating injuries, but the right-hander is still just 24 years old. It’s taken him a while to adjust to coming out of the bullpen this season, but he did so to great effect last week as he was unscored upon in three one-inning stints, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out seven in the process.
The week ahead
Following the four-day break the Sox return to action at home Friday with a three-game series against the Hillsboro Hops. Everett is 9-9 against the Hops this season.
The switch to the second half hasn’t done much to change Hillsboro’s fate. The Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate, which finished a distant last in the first half, is tied with Tri-City for last in the second half at 6-9 (30-51 overall).
Hillsboro does feature one of the league’s top sluggers in third baseman Ivan Melendez (.270, 18 homers, 43 RBI), who’s ranked by MLB.com as Arizona’s seventh-best prospect, while catcher J.J. D’Orazio (.308, eight homers, 37 RBI) has been a solid contributor. On the mound, left-hander Yu-Min Lin (1-3, 3.43 ERA, 22 walks and 76 strikeouts in 60.1 innings) has been the Hops’ best performer.
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