For the first time this season, the Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox in a series.
It came at a perfect time, too. It brought them into an even tie for first place in the High-A West with the AquaSox, who have been in a rare slump. The Emeralds fell out of first place in early June, dropping as many as 7.5 games back. As they approach the final four weeks of the season, the Emeralds now lead the High-A West for the first time since June.
They won four out of the first five games in last week’s seven-game series against Everett. They narrowly lost the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, missing out on a chance to have first place all to themselves, but bounced back with Sunday’s win to take the series 5-2.
Energetic and lively offense
The Emeralds are simply a fun baseball team to watch right now, with players constantly smiling, hustling and looking to take the extra base. They never settle — always looking to do more. If they’re winning, they’re dead set on extending their lead. And, if they’re losing, they’re dead set on making a comeback.
They boast some of baseball’s most exciting young talent right now, particularly in Marco Luciano and Jairo Pomares.
Luciano, who’s still just a teenager, had his best series so far as an Emerald last week. He went 9-for-21, showing some more composure and patience at the plate in the final few games — after swinging wildly in some of his first games with Eugene.
There’s still some adjustments to be made for Luciano. He struck out nine times in 23 plate appearances and has an ugly 42.9% strikeout rate with the Emeralds. But there’s no question about his energy, determination and raw talent — the soon-to-be 20-year-old just needs a little more time at the High-A level to adjust.
Pomares, on the other hand, started his High-A career with a bang. He went 11-for-27 in his first seven games as an Emerald, with a homer and five RBIs. He also showed the ability to hit to all fields. The only negative was that he didn’t draw any walks.
Luciano and Pomares are not the only offensive talents to watch in Eugene right now; utility man Brett Auerbach has probably the strongest hustle of anyone on the team. He hit three homers against Everett, one of which was of the inside-the-park variety. He also stole three bases and transitioned between catcher and second base in the field.
Emeralds’ pitching kept Everett hitters in check
In addition to the offense playing with an extra jolt of energy, the Emeralds’ pitchers tamed a tough Everett offense. They held AquaSox batters to a .220 average while striking out 84 and only walking 17 in 60 innings. That walk total is particularly important to note, as free passes have plagued the Emeralds at times this year.
Kai-Wei Teng has been dominant in the month of August and continued that with a seven-inning, one-run performance with 11 strikeouts last week. Ryan Murphy has been a force since joining the Emeralds. He turned in yet another strong performance that has him in the lead for strikeouts among all minor league pitchers.
Riding high off of this huge series victory, the Emeralds will go back on the road to take on the last place Tri-City Dust Devils. In fact, the Emeralds will play three of the final four weeks of the season on the road.
The AquaSox, meanwhile, will go back to Everett to take on the Spokane Indians, who have won nine in a row. It’s going to be four weeks of scoreboard watching to see which team ultimately comes away victorious with the High-A West crown.
First pitch for Game 1 of Eugene’s series against Tri-City is scheduled for Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.
