Wenatchee Walks Out of Port Angeles Series Winners

The Wenatchee AppleSox have gotten a little hotter! Tonight, they beat Port Angeles 6-2 to close out their second series win on the road.

It took a little bit but when the runs came, they came in bunches. Trailing 1-0 after Hunter Salinas gave away a run on an RBI balk, Wenatchee took advantage of Lefties reliever Luke Jewett’s mistakes and scored two runs off two passed balls to take the lead in the top of the fifth. Adding onto the five run fifth, Michael O’Hara extended the lead with an RBI ground out and designated hitter A.J. Guerrero laced a two-run double to rack up the damage. Despite giving up a solo home run in the bottom half of the fifth frame, Wenatchee kept the ship on course and parked it with shutout pitching the rest of the way.

But the later innings were still eventful. Twice the AppleSox left-handed relievers Gavin Gorrell and Alex Brady had to work around multiple runners with two outs. Gorrell cleared the first hurtle when he struck out Bryce Matthews to leave the tying run at the plate with an emphatic fist pump. Next, Alex Brady got a phenomenal diving catch by new right fielder Jackson Van De Brake to get the Sox out of the eighth. The rest was history.

Another day, another game and how about another multi-hitter for A.J. Guerrero?! The future Washington Husky has lived up to the billing so far by collecting multiple hits in all three of his WCL starts. Not to be outdone, Hunter Salinas was stunning for his second straight start with a road series on the line.

Salinas struck out eight to tie Logan Mercado’s mark from Wednesday for the most by an AppleSox pitcher this summer. The right hander also tied his own season-high by lasting six innings for the second time in his last three appearances. It was the first time this season that back-to-back Wenatchee wins featured two starters who lasted at least five. This makes the AppleSox a perfect 6-0 when their first option arm lasts that long.

The win over Port Angeles helps Wenatchee move up to third place in the North Division. Now just behind Bellingham with three more games in the first half, Wenatchee will face Corvallis for the second time this summer starting tomorrow night. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m. on Friday. Tickets are available at applesox.com/tickets.