The Everett Aquasox continue to have the Vancouver Canadians number in 2019. The Frogs are 6-0 against the C’s after a 9-1 victory at Nat Bailey Stadium on a wet Tuesday night.
William Gaston kept the AquaSox off the board until the fourth when he walked Patrick Frick to begin the frame. Everett went to their short game with Cade Marlowe dropping down a bunt to the mound on the third base side. Despite Gaston firing a bullet to first, Marlowe beat out the throw. Cesar Izturis Jr. also put down a bunt that C’s catcher Brett Wright got to in time but his throw was dropped at first by Ronny Brito. That led to Frick scoring and putting runners on the corners. Marlowe would score on a sacrifice fly by Utah Jones and Izturis came home on a Trent Tingelstad single that was flared to left to put Everett ahead 3-0.
Luis Quinones took over for Gaston and got Dean Nevarez to pop up to second for the second out. He then walked Austin Shenton but Wright managed to pick off DeAires Moses at third after he was walked earlier by Gaston to limit the damage.
The C’s would load the bases to begin the bottom of the fourth inning when Luis De Los Santos and Philip Clarke singled and Wright was hit by a pitch from Damon Cassetta-Stubbs. Brito stepped up and ripped a ball just foul down the third base line. He would later strike out. Dominic Abbadessa grounded into a fielder’s choice that saw De Los Santos forced out at home. With Davis Schneider at the dish, Cassetta-Stubbs uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Clarke to reach the pentagon. Schneider would later strike out to end the rally.
Everett strung together three singles to start the seventh against Nicolas Medina. A groundout by Izturis scored Cash Gladfelter to up the Frogs lead to 4-1.
Another AquaSox run came in the eighth when Tingelstad was walked by Grayson Huffman. A double by Nevarez and a sac fly by Shenton brought in Tingelstad to increase the AquaSox advantage to four runs.
Mike Pascoe was brought in to get the final out of the eighth but ran into problems in the ninth. Izturis hit a grounder to short and made it to first despite a valiant effort by Trevor Schwecke who tried to throw him out from the seat of his pants. A one-out single from Utah Jones sent Izturis to third and a throwing error by Pascoe on a pick-off attempt at first allowed Izturis to score. Pascoe’s night continued to go downhill when he walked Tingelstad and Nevarez to load the bases. Shenton then scored two more runs with a double and a Frick single off Parker Caracci plated the final run.
Everett’s Matt Martin pitched four shutout innings of two-hit ball for the save, striking out four. Cassetta-Stubbs struck out eight in the first five frames for the win.
Radar Gun Rundown
Gaston was at 77, 82, 84, 85, 86, 88 and 90-94 miles per hour and recorded strikeouts of 83 and 89. Medina checked in was at 73, 74, 75, 77, 81, 86 and 89. Huffman was 75, 80, and 90-94 with a strikeout at 93. Pascoe registered a K at 85 and was at 84-87 and 91-94. Caracci was at 80 and 89-92 with a strikeout at 89.
C-Notes
Gaston was put to the test early when he handled a hard smash off the bat of Jones on the game’s first pitch. Cameron Eden ran in down in right-center field to get Nevarez to keep Everett at bay in the first.
The second inning saw Gaston neutralize a Frick single thanks to a defensive gem by Schneider at second. He made a diving stop to his right and made the throw from one knee to get Izturis on a bang-bang play at first to end the inning.
That play by Schneider was a bit of payback against Izturis who has made some sharp defensive plays in the middle infield over the course of the three-game series. Playing second last night, the son of the former Blue Jay made a nice defensive play on a bounding ball over the head of Cassetta-Stubbs on the mound to get De Los Santos to conclude the first.
The third inning saw Gaston get into a bases-loaded jam when he sandwiched a Nevarez hit with walks by Jones and Shenton but Gladfelter flied out to keep the game scoreless.
The fourth inning saw the C’s escape further damage in the fourth when it appeared Quinones licked his fingertips but did not wipe off according to C’s broadcaster Rob Fai. The AquaSox tried a double steal while the play was going on but the play was ruled dead. That was a break as Wright’s throw from behind the plate sailed into left field that would have led to a run.
De Los Santos ended the Everett sixth with a nice catch near the railing of the C’s dugout to retire Shenton.
Tanner Morris started the game at short for Vancouver but was hit by a Cassetta-Stubbs pitch in the third inning. Morris was replaced by Schwecke at the six-spot in the top of the fourth.
Abbadessa saw his first action since June 29 after he was injured in a first base collision with Spokane catcher Scott Kapers. He had a base hit in four at-bats.
The Canadians official scorer helped make sure Everett did not go into double digits on the run column. There was massive confusion in which the AquaSox were originally credited with two runs scored in the seventh inning during a bases loaded situation and two outs were charged.
Izturis sent a grounder to third that carried De Los Santos towards the third base bag and he stepped on the base to force out the runner from second. De Los Santos made the throw home to Wright but the C’s catcher did not tag the runner even though the force play was no longer coming home. Wright threw to first instead to try to get Izturis. Gladfelter came home to score and Marlowe had followed him home and it was thought that Everett had a 5-1 lead at the time. Instead, one of the runs was taken off the board.
It was good investigative work by Mike Hanafin. Like Gil Grissom or Horatio Caine, he examined the DNA evidence, interviewed suspects, broke down the tape and determined only one run should have scored despite the initial protestations of home plate umpire Andrew Clark.
The final baserunner of the night for Vancouver did not last long on the base paths. Wright reached base on an error by Jones at short and the ball got away to shallow center field. The ball did not get away far enough as Wright tried to go for second but he thrown out on a 6-4 play for the penultimate out of the game.
In a contest that lasted three hours and 37 minutes, the C’s did not do a good job of controlling the strike zone on both sides of the ball. C’s pitchers walked 12 batters and the hitters struck out 12 times.
Episode number two of the C’s Plus Podcast has been posted by Ben Steiner. Ben is joined by a certain Irish-Canadian again from the Nat. ;D You can give it a listen right here or click on the link in the right-hand column of this blog.
The C’s are off Wednesday but go on the road to Everett for another three-game matchup beginning Thursday. Grant Townsend is expected to get the ball for Vancouver in the series opener. Tim Elliott gets the start for the Everett Conquistadores as the Seattle Mariners affiliate will go with their Copa de la Diversión alias. Also known as the Fun Cup, the event is to celebrate the culture and values of U.S. Hispanic and Latino communities. Thursday’s through Saturday’s games are set for 7:05 pm at Everett Memorial Stadium and can be heard on Sportsnet 650 or CanadiansBaseball.com.
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