EVERETT – The Tri-City Dust Devils (21-20) did something Wednesday night no team in the Northwest League had done in its 70-year history, hitting eight home runs in a 12-4 win over the Everett AquaSox (21-20) at Everett Memorial Stadium.
The launching of longballs started with the very first pitch of the night out of the hand of Seattle Mariners reliever Gabe Speier (0-1), taken by 3B Caleb Bartolero over the close wall in right-center for a 1-0 lead. 2B Johan Macias singled with one out, and C Juan Flores went deep to left for a two-run blast and a 3-0 advantage in the top of the 1st. A two-out rally in the 2nd included two home runs, the first from LF Aaron Graeber in his first at-bat at the affiliate level. The Delaware alum, who joined the team on Tuesday, socked a ball over the wall in center for a 4-0 lead. Bartolero was hit by a pitch to bring up Macias, who hit one into the trees past the angled wall in right-center for a two-run shot and a 6-0 advantage.
While the offense hammered the ball, Tri-City starter Nate Snead (3-3) pitched another brilliant six scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and throwing just 61 pitches. The defense behind him helped out with two double plays, erasing both hits, and Snead faced the minimum 18 batters for the second time in three starts. The righty struck out five and again faced little hard contact, inducing 11 outs by groundball and only two pop-ups on the infield. The South Milwaukee, Wisconsin native did not allow a single fly ball to the outfield.
The Dust Devils continued leaving the yard in the top of the 3rd, with Flores leading off the frame with a long homer to center for his second round-tripper of the game. The backstop would also give himself a great view of Tri-City’s sixth homer of the evening by doubling with one out in the 5th to bring up 1B Ryan Nicholson. The lefty lofted a ball the opposite way over the left field wall for a two-run homer that made it a 9-0 game. The visitors added a run in the 6th on a Macias RBI groundout that brought in Graeber, getting the team to a 10-0 lead.
RF Randy De Jesus joined the home run party by hitting a solo shot to left in the 7th, a seventh homer for the club on the night that tied a Northwest League record first set by the Tri-City Angels on July 4, 1964, at Sanders Field in Kennewick. It seemed fitting, then, that a team from the Tri-Cities would set the new mark, which happened when pinch-hitter Jake Munroe hit a ball to the grass berm past the right field wall to lead off the top of the 9th. The team’s eighth home run of the game closed the scoring for the Dust Devils, clinching a historic night and the team’s second straight win.
Seven different batters hit home runs on the night, with Juan Flores hitting two out of the cleanup spot in the order. That also set a new Northwest League record, for the most players to hit a home run for one team in a single game. The prior record was five, set by the Angels in 1964 and matched by the Portland Rockies when they hit seven homers in a game against Boise on July 15, 1999, at Portland’s then-Civic Stadium.
WHAT TO DO FOR AN ENCORE?
Tri-City and Everett face off in game three of their six-game series at 7:05 p.m. Thursday night at Everett Memorial Stadium. A pair of right-handers duel, with Peyton Olejnik (1-4, 5.59 ERA) going for the Dust Devils and Chase Centala (2-1, 5.56 ERA) for the AquaSox.
Free broadcast coverage on the MiLB app and dustdevilsbaseball.com will begin with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 6:45 p.m. Fans can also watch the games for free (Everett broadcast) on Bally Sports Live, and via subscription on MLB.tv and the MiLB app.
The team returns after its trip to Everett for a 12-game homestand beginning Tuesday, May 26, at 6:30 p.m. against the Spokane Indians. After six with the Inland Northwest rivals, the Vancouver Canadians return to town for six games that bring the clubs to the month of June.
For tickets to both the Spokane and Vancouver series, as well as all 2026 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.