Despite a heap of strikeouts for the pitching staff, it had been three straight nights of misery at PK Park for the Eugene Emeralds entering Saturday, with the Everett AquaSox taking them down by a combined score of 28-8. They looked to turn that around on a Dog Day, with fans bringing their dogs to accompany them to the game.
They even had a “first fetch” in lieu of a first pitch.
But alas, the furry friends weren’t enough to reverse the Emeralds’ fortune, as they fell to the AquaSox for the fourth consecutive time by a score of 13-1. The loss secured the Emeralds’ second series loss of the season, both of which have come against the AquaSox.
Catcher Brett Auerbach made his professional debut in center field. He came in with 27 professional innings in left field, but none in center. He played four games in center in college.
The Emeralds also went with reliever Solomon Bates as the game’s opener on the mound.
The AquaSox got off to another hot start, smoking some balls against Bates early. The first batter lined out sharply to center, but the second batter blasted one over the fence to give Everett a 1-0 lead.
But the damage wasn’t done. A hit batsman and a pair of singles loaded the bases, and a double brought in two runs. A sun-aided double into left then brought home two more runs, and the third consecutive double gave the AquaSox a 6-0 lead right out of the gate. The ugly inning skyrocketed Bates’ ERA from 3.95 to 5.72.
Long man Nick Avila followed Bates as planned, despite the game already being out of reach. He pitched a quick second inning, but surrendered a two-run blast off the scoreboard in the third to extend the Emeralds’ deficit to 8-0. A hustle double and a two-out single tacked on another run, rubbing salt in the wound.
To make matters worse, the offense had to go up against Mariners 2019 first-round pick George Kirby. They collected just two hits in the first four innings, failing to score a run.
A two-out double and a single against Avila in the fifth extended the AquaSox’ lead to 10-0. Another single kept the inning alive, and a three-run bomb to left-center brought things from ugly to uglier, making it 13-0.
Carter Aldrete finally got the Emeralds on the board with a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth. That was all they’d get against Kirby, who struck out 11 in seven strong innings.
Avila wound up going five innings, allowing seven runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts and one walk. Lefty Bryce Tucker pitched three scoreless innings with five strikeouts and no walks in relief.
The offense couldn’t muster anything else up as the Emeralds suffered a crushing defeat, 13-1. They’ve lost by a combined score of 41-9 over the last four games.
The Emeralds are now 2-8 against the AquaSox this year and 32-16 against everyone else. They also find themselves 4.5 games behind Everett for first place in the High-A West. The Emeralds’ run differential fell to +3, while the AquaSox’ climbed to +174.
They’ll look to minimize the damage and end their four-game losing streak on Sunday at 5:05 p.m.
