Defeats don’t come much more difficult than the one the Everett AquaSox suffered last Tuesday.
In the opener of their six-game road series against the Vancouver Canadians, the Sox took a no-hitter into the 12th inning, but ended up losing 2-1.
Everett pitchers Raul Alcantara, Jimmy Kingsbury, Peyton Alford, Jarod Bayless and Leon Hunter Jr. were untouchable for 11-plus innings. Through 11 they allowed no hits, walked three and struck out 11. Alcantara allowed a runner to reach third base in the bottom of the fourth, but the Sox then retired the next 14 in order before Bayless issued a one-out walk in the ninth. That runner was erased in a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play, and Everett retired seven more straight after that.
However, the Sox were stymied themselves, and when they finally found the breakthrough in the top of the 12th on Hogan Windish’s RBI single, the Canadians answered in the bottom half of the frame, getting their first two hits of the game, including Michael Turconi’s walk-off two-run single that he grounded up the middle through a drawn-in infield.
“It was one of those games where everything was going so well on the defense and pitching side that we figured there was no way we were going to lose that game,” Everett manager Ryan Scott said. “But we weren’t able to push a run across until the 12th, and then they came back and got their first hits in the 12th — I think the first should have been an error, so for me the only real hit they had was the walk-off single, and if the infield wasn’t drawn in then maybe that’s an out. Still, our pitching staff dominated, they did a phenomenal job. There’s nothing more you can ask from your pitching staff and defense than that.”
Later in the series the Sox lost their ace starting pitcher as right-hander Jimmy Joyce was promoted to Double-A Arkansas. Joyce, who led the Northwest League in strikeouts in 2022, started this season almost two months late because of a forearm strain that cropped up during spring training. He rejoined the Sox in late May and gave Everett nine excellent starts, going 2-0 with a 1.60 ERA while walking 10 and striking out 54 in 39.1 innings.
“Obviously it’s tough to lose a guy like Jimmy, who is an absolute bulldog on the mound and gives you 100% every time he’s out there,” Scott said. “He’ll be a tough guy to replace in the rotation, but he more than earned his promotion to Double-A, especially after what he did in the league last year. If he’s healthy to start the year this probably happens way earlier in the season. It’s well deserved, Jimmy is going to kill it in Arkansas, and it’s just a matter of time before he’s in the big leagues.”
Despite the tough loss in the opener, the Sox rebounded to take two of six against league-leading Vancouver. Everett is now 16-14 in the second half (49-46 overall), which is good for second place in the standings, five games behind the Canadians.
Players of the week
Hitter: Harry Ford. It was slim pickings as the Sox had a rough week at the plate, batting .175 as a team and scoring just 12 runs. Ford, the 20-year-old catcher who was the Seattle Mariners’ first-round pick in the 2021 draft and is listed by MLB.com as Seattle’s top prospect, batted just .250. However, he hit one of Everett’s three homers in the series and also walked seven times. His .864 OPS was more than 200 points better than any other Sox player who appeared in more than half the games.
Pitcher: Alcantara. The 22-year-old left-hander from the Dominican Republic made two starts last week, allowing just one run in 11 innings on four hits and five walks while striking out 12, and he earned the win in Sunday’s 3-1 victory in the series finale. His no-hit performance Tuesday was the second time in a month he had a start where he tossed six no-hit innings, the other coming in a 1-0 victory over Eugene on June 29 in Everett.
The week ahead
Everett is back home this week with a six-game series against Spokane beginning Tuesday at Funko Field. Spokane is 13-17 in the second half (45-49 overall) and tied for fourth place in the league standings. Everett trails the season series 11-7.
Games involving Spokane, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, have had no shortage of excitement as Spokane has both scored and allowed the most runs in the league. Spokane’s offense, however, has been gutted as outfielders Jordan Beck (.292, league-leading 20 homers and 72 RBI) and Yanquiel Fernandez (.319, 17 homers, 64 RBI) were both recently promoted to Double-A, while shortstop Adael Amador (.302, nine homers, 35 RBI, Colorado’s No.1 prospect as rated by MLB.com) and first baseman Zach Kokoska (.303, 16 homers, 53 RBI) are both on the 7-day injured list, leaving third baseman Sterlin Thompson (.335, seven homers, 37 RBI) the only remaining top performer.
While Spokane’s pitching staff has been a mess, right-hander Jarrod Cande (4-3, 3.58 ERA, 21 walks and 93 strikeouts in 88 innings) has been a steady presence.
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