EVERETT — The late innings have not been kind to the Everett AquaSox this season. Time after time they have been victimized as opponents rallied late and leads vanished as the game neared its conclusion.
So for the Sox, it was nice to do it to someone else for a change.
Everett erupted for seven runs over the course of the seventh and eighth innings, and the Sox turned a deficit into a rout by defeating the Vancouver Canadians 9-3 Tuesday night at Everett Memorial Stadium.
“We’ve been doing that this season,” Everett manager Jose Moreno said. “We have like 17 or 18 times where we were down and came back. I’m real happy for that because they play hard and the kids deserve the win.”
Manelik Pimentel drove in the tiebreaking run in the seventh as Everett (19-29) won the rubber game of the three-game series. It was just Everett’s third series win in 10 attempts. The victory also gave the Sox their first back-to-back wins since they beat Salem-Keizer on July 18 and 19. Everett defeated Vancouver 6-4 on Monday.
The Sox received solid pitching from Walter Suriel, Doug Salinas and Eddy Fernandez, who combined on a six-hitter. Newcomer Jharmidy De Jesus introduced himself by going 3-for-4, and Ben Billingsley went 3-for-5 with two RBI.
“It was very good,” Moreno said of the comeback. “We had big hits with men in scoring position, we were aggressive and we got a good result. Jharmidy De Jesus had a good first game over here, and Suriel was able to make the adjustment right away after struggling in one inning.”
That was the second inning when the Canadians scored all of their runs and took a 3-0 lead. It looked then as though it might be enough for Vancouver.
But after closing the gap to 3-2, Everett got a little help to take the lead in the seventh. With two out and a runner on second, Vancouver shortstop Jason Christian fielded Bennett Billingsley’s grounder but threw low to first. The ball got by first baseman Dusty Napoleon, allowing Tyson Gillies to score the tying run. Pimentel followed with an RBI double into the right-field corner to make it 4-3.
The Sox then blew the game open in the eighth. De Jesus drove in one run by ringing a double off the left-field wall. Ryan Royster and Billingsley later added two-run doubles.
And unlike in past games, Everett’s bullpen wasn’t in a giving mood Tuesday. Salinas and Fernandez retired all nine batters they faced, striking out five. Salinas, who came in with the Sox trailing by one, ended up with the win.
“I think it’s all about confidence,” Moreno said of his much-maligned bullpen. “They have to believe they can do the job. To be honest, that’s our weakness. … We still have a chance to win the division (six games back of Salem-Keizer), it’s not over yet, and they know we need it.”
Suriel entered what’s been uncharted territory for Sox starting pitchers of late. Since Everett instituted a 75-pitch limit for starters about 10 days ago, no Sox starter had lasted more than five innings. But Suriel was allowed to go six, and although he surpassed the limit (85 pitches), he got stronger as the game progressed, retiring the final seven batters he faced.
Suriel ended up surendering three runs — two earned — on six hits and a walk, striking out three.
Jeremy Barfield went 2-for-4 to lead Vancouver (19-29).
For the most part Suriel had Vancouver’s number, but one ugly second inning staked the Canadians to a 3-0 lead. Following back-to-back hits to lead off the inning, Sox right fielder Gillies misplayed Dante Love’s fly to right, the ball dropping out of his glove for a run-scoring error. That was followed by an RBI single by Marco Luis and a sacrifice fly by David Thomas.
Everett pulled back within one in the fifth, but missed out on a chance for more. Anthony Phillips smacked a two-run single to left to make it 3-2. Then the Sox reloaded the bases with one out, but Pimentel hit a one-hopper back to pitcher Fabian Gomez, who went home-to-first for an inning-ending double play.
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