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… 

It was a long, long night in many ways for the Boise Hawks – watching a 5-0 lead evaporate in a 10-8 loss to Salem-Keizer, then having to hop onto a bus for the 438 mile trek to Springfield, Ore., and the Shilo Inn (pictured to the left).

Things looked great through five innings, the Hawks chased Jorge Bucardo – the same pitcher that took a no-hitter into the sixth against Boise in June, with a Justin Bour two-run double (audio highlight –
bour2B.wma)pushing the lead to 5-0.  Robert Hernandez was dominant through five, striking out five and allowing just two hits.  Unfortunately, the bullpen didn’t cooperate.

Yohan Gonzalez allowed three inherited runs to score in the sixth inning, then could not get an out in the seven – with Corey Martin struggling as well, along with a pair of errors that led to a seven-run outburst, as the Hawks watched the series victory slip through their fingers.

THE TRIP: The trip to Eugene was a little different, as skipper Casey Kopitzke did not travel with the team, instead making the trek with his wife.  Joining the club on the trip was Mike Sharp, our HAM insider and editor of (http://sharpfocus.mlblogs.com/) – who will get to see what life is on the road. 
We watched only one movie, Push, about people with genetic abilities…I really didn’t get into the flick.  Nothing was open in Burns, Ore., so we rolled on to Bend, Ore., the old home of the Bend Rockies – where we had a pit stop at 4:15 a.m.  The team finally rolled into our digs at the Shilo Inn here in Springfield around 7 a.m.

THE BACON: With the 3-2 series loss to Salem-Keizer, the Hawks have yet to win a series from the Volcanoes since 2002…Brett Jackson reached base in his 18th-straight game, while Bour extended his hitting streak to five with a 2-for-3 game…Logan Watkins went 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored, extending his hitting streak to 14 games – the third-longest streak this year in the league…both Richard Jones and Runey Davis ended long hitless droughts – Jones ending an 0-for-19 slump with two singles, and Davis ending a 0-for-9 slump with a bunt single…Jose Valdez wishes that S-K was still in town, as the speedster went 10-for-16 in the series…Hernandez had the longest start of the season for the Hawks, going five and a third innings – the fourth time he has tossed five or more innings this year.

ALUMNI NOTES: Ricky Nolasco pitched a three-hit shutout last night for the Florida Marlins, blanking the San Diego Padres, 5-0, pushing his record to 7-7.

INTERVIEWS INTERVIEWS, INTERVIEWS: I have finally edited the audio files of six more Hawk Talk Player Profile segments – including Logan Watkins (
watkinsHT.wma), Danny Keefe (
KeefeHT.wma), Josh Whitlock (
whitlockHT.wma), Greg Rohan (
rohanHT.wma), Ryan Sontag (
sontagHT.wma), and Robert Whitenack (
whitenackHT.wma).

Last night when I got home from the ball park, I took advantage of DirecTV’s free weekend of the MLB package to catch the end of the Minnesota-Oakland game, as the A’s rallied from ten runs down to win, 14-13.  The final play perplexed me, as Michael Cuddayer was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second base on a Michael Wuertz wild pitch – obviously safe, but ruled out by the umpire (which in turn led to a nice rant today by manager Ron Gardenhire).

Fast forward to tonight, as a similar play happened in the eighth inning of the game, as Salem-Keizer took a 6-5 lead and with one out and the bases loaded, Caleb Curry hit a roller to Greg Rohan at third, who stepped on the bag and fired high across the diamond to Justin Bour, who tagged the runner on the helmet for the final out (which was confirmed by replay from our friends at Fiberpipe) – however, base umpire Aaron Roberts did not see the tag, ruling Curry safe…setting off a frenzy between Bour, George Matheus, pitcher Danny Keefe, and eventually skipper Casey Kopitzke, who was ejected after the confrontation.

What people need to realize is that the one call – whether it was right or not – did not make or break the game.  S-K already had the lead when it happened, although it may have been different for Jose Casilla and Drew Bowlin to pitch with a one-run cushion instead of three in the last two frames.  However, the Hawks poor base-running in the first three innings were as much of a rally killer than anything late in the game – Jae Hoon Ha getting picked off of second to close the third, and Jose Valdez over-running third base on a Hak-Ju Lee single in the second.

THE BACON: Following the game tonight, pitcher Joe Simokaitis was promoted to Advanced-A Daytona to help in their bullpen…of the 14 hits by the Hawks, the first 13 were singles, followed by a ninth inning double from Brett Jackson…Logan Watkins extended his hit streak to 13 with a first inning single, while Lee extended his hitting streak to eight…

ALUMNI NEWS: Two former Hawks squared off in the big leagues tonight, as Sergio Mitre made his New York Yankees debut against the Orioles Rich Hill…Mitre was the winner, Hill the loser, in a Yankee 6-4 win…at AA, 2008 Hawk Andrew Cashner had his best performance as a professional, allowing just one hit in six innings, striking out five, as Tennessee beat Mississippi, 3-2.

An outstanding job by a trio of pitchers and a pair of clutch two-out hits proved to be the difference for the Boise Hawks in a key 4-3 victory over Salem-Keizer tonight.

Jeff Antigua allowed a Drew Biery solo home run in four and two-thirds innings of work tonight – striking out five batters, with newcomer Eduardo Figueroa tiring late in his two inning stint, allowing a pair of runs.  But it was Dionis Nunez (pictured left) who slammed the door – striking out big Chris Dominguez with the tying run at third in the seventh, then setting the side down in order in the eighth and ninth innings for his second save of the season.

While the pitching was solid in working around four Hawk errors, key hits helped in the victory.  Hak-Ju Lee singled with one out in the fifth, stole second, moved to third on a Logan Watkins groundout, and scored on a Brett Jackson single to give Boise a 2-1 lead.  An inning later, Jose Valdez provided the winning runs with a clutch two-run double (listen to the radio call 
valdez2B.wma), scoring Jae-Hoon Ha and Greg Rohan.

BACON: Watkins, who was named Northwest League Hitter of the Week earlier in the day, had a single in the third inning, extending his hit streak to 12…Lee had two hits, extending his hit streak to seven, while reaching base in his 26th game in 27 outings…Jackson had two hits and has reached base safely in all 15 games as a Hawk…with a win in one of the final two games of the series, the Hawks can clinch their first series win against S-K since 2002…of the 30 games played by the Hawks this season, 13 have been one-run games (Boise is 9-4 in those contests)…Franklin Font, who skippered the Hawks during the first two series of the season, is back in town in his official capacity – as the Cubs roving infield instructor, along with base-running instructor Bob Dernier, and minor league strength coach Doug Jaros.

LOOKING AHEAD: In the coming days, look for Hawk Talk interviews with our Player of the Games to be posted (including Watkins, Rohan, Danny Keefe, Ryan Sontag, Josh Whitlock, and Robert Whitenack).
 

It was a one-man wrecking crew tonight for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in the form of San Francisco Giants third-round pick Chris Dominguez (pictured left) out of Louisville.  The 6-5, 240 pound third baseman clubbed his fourth home run of the season in the fourth inning – a mammoth shot to left field, to get S-K on the board, then walked, stole second, and scored on a Luke Anders single in the sixth to tie the game.  He then walked, stole second, and scored on Drew Biery’s RBI single in the eight for the game winning run.  Dominguez looks like a big league player – and once he is able to command the strike zone, and probably end up moving to first base in the end, will definitely be a force in the Bay Area in coming years…

Hawks starter Robert Whitenack had his best stuff of the season, at one point retiring ten straight S-K batters, before the Dominguez home run in the fourth.  The eighth-round pick had his knuckle-curve working tonight, getting a plethora of ground balls, while striking out three.

On base and hitting streaks continued tonight – Logan Watkins doubling in the first to push his hitting streak to 11, while both Hak-Ju Lee and Brett Jackson reached base, extending their long streaks (Lee has reached in 26 of 27 games, Jackson in all 15 games with the Hawks).

THE BACON: Despite an announced crowd of only 1,975 fans, it was a very vocal and boisterous crowd – voicing their disapproval to multiple calls by the NWL umpire crew (who I thought did a nice job – as we have the luxury of seeing replays in the press box)…Lee stole his 12th base tonight, taking over the NWL lead in that category.

A FUTURE CUBS DRAFT PICK?: You be the judge, as my son tried his hand at T-Ball for the first time today

Calling sporting events since 1994, I have seen my fair share of wacky endings – such as the 1994 state basketball quarterfinals in Washington where my alma mater, Rogers High, gave up a seven point lead with 19 seconds left to lose, or the 1999 football game between Pacific Lutheran and Willamette, where PLU scored three touchdowns in the final three minutes to erase a 24-7 deficit en route to the NCAA Division III national title, even the 13-1 lead the Hawks had in 2005 at Eugene, eventually losing 14-13.

The 2009 Boise Hawks season can be summed up in one word – WEIRD.

I thought I saw it all last Thursday, when Boise squandered a three-run lead in the ninth at Tri-City.  So tonight, with a five-run lead – I thought all bets were off…was I wrong.  Corey Martin and Danny Keefe struggled, as did Hak-Ju Lee, as five runs scored in the ninth, then Emmanuel Quiles crushed a homer in the tenth to give Eugene the lead.

But – there was a little fight left in the Hawks.  Hustle plays by Jae-Hoon Ha, first stealing second, then beating a throw to third on a grounder helped put runners at the corners with one down.  George Matheus, who had the Hawks first four-hit game of the year, singled home Ha, with Matt Williams, who hustled from first-to-third on the single, scoring as the throw from the outfield sailed wide (Listen to the walk-off winner
walkoff2.wma). Four wins this season, four one-run wins.

Maybe a six-run lead next time will avert the drama?

THE BACON: Ha extended his hitting streak to six games with a two-hit night, while Williams picked up his first two RBI in a Hawks uniform…Brett Jackson singled in a first inning run for his first Boise RBI…Dionis Nunez continued to be stellar in the pen, tossing two scoreless innings, retiring six of seven batters, while Yohan Gonzalez continued to roll against anyone but Tri-City, throwing three shutout frames…the five-run margin the Hawks held at 7-2 was the largest lead of the season for Boise…the squad is now 2-0 in extra inning games and 4-1 in one-run games, while 0-11 in all other contests…after going 20 innings without a runner to third or scoring, the first three Hawks reached base tonight, ending the streak with a bang.

NOTES: Former Hawk Ricky Nolasco struck out 12 batters today in eight innings, helping Florida to a 5-0 win over Pittsburgh, his fourth-straight win…another former Hawk, Francisco Rodriguez of the Mets was selected to the National League All-Star Team…2008 Hawk Casey Coleman pitched eight innings of shutout ball, improving to 9-3, leading Tennessee to a 7-0 Southern League victory over Carolina.