Today was not a banner evening for the Boise Hawks, as for the first time since the 2002 season, the Hawks were on the losing end of a complete game shutout, falling 4-0 to the Everett Aquasox.  Andres Esquibel, a 38th Round Pick last season by the Mariners, got 13 ground ball outs in the victory – allowing just one runner in scoring position, spinning the three-hitter.  It marked the first complete game shutout by a Boise opponent since Pat Misch (who has pitched for both the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets) blanked the Hawks in 2002, and was just the second complete game in the Northwest League this season.

It didn’t take long for this one, as the one hour, 58 minute contest was the shortest game in the league in 2009 – and the shortest Hawks game since a one hour, 57 minute game vs. Spokane in 2005.

Couple things from Hawks trainer, Dan Golden – the Cubs have placed pitcher Tarlandus Mitchell on the 7-Day DL, due to his injury sustained on July 30 against Vancouver…Mitchell injured a muscle in his upper body after throwing a pitch…he is headed to Mesa, Ariz., and the Cubs rehab facility…also, fall-out was swift by the Northwest League after pitching coach David Rosario’s ejection last night for arguing a balk call, as Rosario missed tonight’s game and the next two – as part of his suspension by the NWL office.

THE BACON: Justin Bour broke up Esquibel’s no-hit bid in the fifth, extending his hit streak to seven games…all 11 hits between the teams in the game were singles…Chris Rusin was sharp tonight, despite the loss, allowing just two hits, no walks, and fanning six…the Hawks have now lost five games in a row for the third time this season and fall ten games below the .500 mark for the first time this year – and are just 2-8 since Mike Sharp went on record stating that the team will win the NWL East this year (I stated that the goal should be to get to the .500 – then worry about the pennant).

The tale of the Boise-Everett series was evident again this evening – as the Hawks jumped ahead for the second straight night, leading 3-0 after three innings – including the second home run of the season by Justin Bour (pictured left).  However, the squad battled back to take a 5-3 lead into the seventh inning – only to watch the Aquasox send nine men to the plate in the bottom of the frame, with back-to-back homers by Anthony Phillips and Matt Cerione to take the lead for good in a 7-5 loss to the Frogs.

The issues for the Hawks has been hitting with runners in scoring position in the series, as Boise has gone 3-for-21 so far in the three games in such situations – including back-to-back strikeouts by Logan Watkins and Bour in the ninth with the tying runs in scoring position to close the game.  The Hawks have now lost four in a row and fall nine games below .500 for the first time since the squad was 3-12 on July 4.

THE BACON: Robert Whitenack had the longest outing by a 2009 Draft Pick, going five innings tonight, allowing three runs – and was in line to pick up his first professional win if the bullpen would have held the lead…Everett is now 17-4 at home this season – tops in the Northwest League…Jose Valdez and Hak-Ju Lee now share the league lead in stolen bases with 15 each…Hawks pitching coach David Rosario was ejected in the sixth inning arguing a balk call on Yohan Gonzalez.

THE MASCOT GAME: Unlike most teams in the NWL, the Aquasox have not one, but two mascots – Frank the Hot Dog and Webbly the Frog (hence the nickname, the Frogs)…the duo are very popular around the North Puget Sound area and frequently have their mascot friends, including the Mariner Moose join them at the park.  In fact, last year when we were in Everett – it was Frank the Hot Dog bobblehead night. 

Playing in one of the smaller ball parks in the entire Northwest League, the Boise Hawks recorded their first multi home run game of the season tonight, however, a couple of miscues led Everett to a 6-4 victory.

Hak-Ju Lee muscled up in the first, leading off the game with his first professional home run, while Bobby Wagner (pictured left) hit a long two-run shot over the manual scoreboard in right-center in the fourth to give the Hawks a 3-1 lead.

Unfortunately, Boise could not hold the lead, as converted outfielder D.J. Fitzgerald made a miscue in left for the second time in three games, dropping a fly ball in the fourth that led to two unearned runs.  Then in the eighth, Ryan Sontag was called for a balk with the go-ahead run at third base for Everett – giving the Frogs the lead for good.

Tonight marked the Boise debut of Trey McNutt, who tossed two eventful innings, allowing one earned run, one walk, and striking out three.  He also had a pair of wild pitches.

EATING RIGHT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Two of my favorite restaurants in all of the Northwest League are within walking distance of the team hotel – the Holiday Inn Downtown Everett.  Across the street from the hotel is Hunan Palace, a fabulous Chinese restaurant with lunch specials that fit the players per diem budgets (for instance, sweet & sour chicken, fried rice and chow mein, soup, and appetizer for $5.25) – with huge portions.  In the past, they have had karaoke in the lounge in the evenings – where many a former Hawks trainer has joined me on the stage.  Another great restaurant is the Buzz Inn Steakhouse, located just a block from the ball park and less than a mile hike from the hotel.  The Buzz Inn has home cooked meals with great prices – like a Rib Eye with all of the fixins for $9.95.  They have a monster club sandwich, one that in my prime, I could not finish.

THE BACON: With their third-straight loss, the Hawks dropped to eight-games below the .500 mark, their lowest point since they were 4-12 early in the season…Su-Min Jung equaled his longest start of the season, going three innings, allowing just the lead-off homer in the first inning.

The Hawks have had their experiment with day baseball again in August – this time without the pomp and gala of Ryan and Dina Hembree’s wedding to attract fans.  I must say, the fans who braved the 97 degree heat were die-hards – although, in talking with the players in the clubhouse, the dugout was cool and the heat nowhere like it is in Mesa.

Robert Hernandez (pictured left) rebounded from a rough outing last Monday in Eugene with another fabulous performance, going 5.2 innings, striking out a season-high night.  If it wasn’t for a misplayed ball by converted outfielder D.J. Fitzgerald in left that led to an RBI triple, a booted ball by third-baseman Bobby Wagner, or an over-turned call by the umpire crew on a sinking liner to Jae-Hoon Ha that was originally called a catch, Hernandez would have tossed six no-hit innings.

I was very pleased to see Corey Martin rebound after a tough outing earlier in the series to toss two and a third innings of scoreless relief.  An add another left-handed batter to the list of Ryan Sontag’s casualties – lefties are now 0-for-18 against him.

The team left the BOI at 9 p.m. on Sunday night and according to skipper Casey Kopitzke, it felt like the shortest bus ride of the season – since the team had the opportunity to have a good meal after the game and arrived at the Holiday Inn Downtown Everett around 4 a.m. in the morning.

Tonight’s game was the first of ten games in 13 days against the Aquasox (or as everyone in the Puget Sound calls them, the Frogs).  A pair of home runs for Everett were the difference in the game – although the Hawks made it interesting again in the ninth – as just as they did in Eugene, three straight batters reached in the ninth with two outs and two strikes.  Unfortunately this time, Richard Jones struck out representing the tying run to end the game, with temperatures in the 70s.

Jon Nagel continued to show promise, going three strong innings tonight – getting six ground ball outs, including a double play.  Logan Watkins had a pair of hits, including one of three doubles by the Hawks.

The game also marked the debut of Everett’s newest toy from the State of Washington – what they are deeming AquaVision.  The Frogs used the state allocated funds to erect the largest video board in the Northwest League and the largest video board of the five minor league teams in the state (Tacoma, Spokane, Tri-City, Yakima, Everett).  Broadcaster Pat Dillon told me that they will have rudimentary video and graphics to start – as some of the good games (shell game, boat race, etc.) cost upwards of 5-to-10 grand to purchase).

BACON – The Hawks added a pair of players to the roster today, as Trey McNutt of Shelton State CC in Alabama, and Venezuela native Jose Guevara joined the team in Everett from the Mesa Cubs.  McNutt is a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher, while Guevara will serve as the team’s third catcher.

STAFF VS. HOME PLATE: Following Sunday’s game, the Hawks Staff squared off against Home Plate Food Services in a friendly softball game (of which I wasn’t invited to play – which saddened me deeply).  No word yet of who won the game – although we’ll probably hear a lot about it when the squad returns on August 12. 

Games like this one are usually saved for Memorial Stadium, but tonight, as the Eugene Emeralds celebrated the 75th Anniversary of Civic Stadium, Justin Bour (pictured left) gave the home fans a bitter pill to swallow.

To set it up, the Hawks squandered a 5-3 lead in the final three innings, allowing four runs in the seventh, then after getting back within a run, allowed two more in the eighth, trailing 9-6.  Furthermore, the first two batters in the ninth inning struck out looking against Gary Poynter and Jose Valdez had an 0-2 count on him.  Then the magic took over – as Valdez chopped a ball over the head of 6-8 first baseman Nate Freiman for a single.  Brett Jackson followed, and again with two strikes, lined a ball into centerfield for a base hit.  Jae-Hoon Ha had two strikes on him – what do you know, he lines a base hit into left, scoring Valdez to make it 9-7.  The Ems would go to their pen and bring in David Erickson – who got the save last night retiring all five batters.  The righty did not have command, walking Logan Watkins on five pitches – loading the bases for Bour, who was pinch hitting for Greg Rohan.  After taking ball one outside, the slugger ripped an inside fastball into the rightfield corner (Listen to the Call –
bourGW2B.wma), clearing the bases and giving Boise the eventual win.

A key to the victory was the work in relief by Josh Whitlock, who received kudos from pitching coach David Rosario after the game.  His focus was to slow down and work on some mechanics that he and Rosey had discussed in a bullpen session – and it paid off, tossing three scoreless innings against a team that scored eight runs off of him in just 1.1 innings in Boise.

THE BACON: Valdez had a three-hit night, extending his hitting streak to a career high nine games, hitting 12-for-23 during the week…the Hawks had a pair of outfield assists in the victory, as Runey Davis threw out Jason Codiroli trying to score from second in the second inning, and Jae-Hoon Ha gunned out Ty Wright at home in the eighth inning, as catcher Matt Williams withstood a big collision at home plate…with his single in the ninth inning, Jackson extended his hitting streak to seven games and has reached safely in all 21 games in Boise…Hak-Ju Lee recorded his fourth three-hit game of the season, tops on the club. 

OTHER NOTES: Game time temperature in Eugene was 97 degrees, with 60-percent humidity (temperature in the radio booth was upwards of 115 degrees tonight) – with highs Sunday and Monday expected to be in the triple-digits…Vancouver and Spokane were suspended in the second inning last night at Nat Bailey Stadium in Canada, as a thunderstorm moved into the area, forcing the postponement…