Summers knuckles down

By now, virtually everyone in the Northwest League knows that Houston Summers throws a knuckleball. And it's no secret that he's been told to use his money pitch the vast majority of time.

Still, a microsecond of uncertainty can put a hitter off balance and give a pitcher like Summers a pivotal edge.

"Stott (Arizona minor league pitching coordinator Mel Stottlemyre Jr.) showed me a couple of things this week, and tonight they made a difference," said Summers, who Thursday night posted the first six goose eggs of the Bears' 4-0 blanking of Everett.

"He taught me to hide the ball better," Summers said. "He showed me how to lengthen my arm arc, to make it a little longer so the hitter can't see the ball (and be certain of the pitch he's throwing) as soon as it comes out of my glove."

To the approval of an announced crowd of 1,998 at Yakima County Stadium, and the relief of manager Bob Didier and his staff, Summers teamed with Jason Durst and Bryan Woodall on a three-hitter that netted the Bears their third win in four games.

It secured the five-game series with the AquaSox, which concludes tonight, provided Yakima (20-37) with its third shutout this season and Summers (4-5) with his first victory since July 3.

"He took some things he'd been taught out there tonight and used them well," Didier said. "Tonight, he looked like a pure knuckleball pitcher -- and he needed to. His last four or five outings, he'd struggled."

He also benefited from stellar defense, something knuckleballers typically need.

David Cooper made a handful of standout picks and at shortstop, Ramon Castillo had several nifty scoops from the dirt at first and Summers himself got into the act with a couple of sweet plays.

Offensively, Anthony Smith joined Summers' soft-serve theme with a smoothly-stroked third-inning single to center that scored Yakima's final two runs.

Greg Bordes was only Bear with more than one hit, and the Bears totaled only seven. But that was more than twice as many as Everett (25-32), which had won seven straight before hitting town.

And while Ryan Babineau was forced to sit out after jamming a thumb the previous night, there was positive news for Yakima on the injury front.

Outfielder Brendan Duffy said x-rays of the right wrist he hurt Wednesday were negative, and that he hoped to return within a week to 10 days.

It also seemed apparent that several days of work with Diamondbacks coordinators Stottlemyre, Dave Hansen (hitting) and Brett Butler (outfield and baserunning) have had an impact on a Bears team that prior to this series had lost five straight at Eugene.

"The coordinators have been here, the guys have worked hard and they seem refocused and refreshed," Didier said. "We all need to refocus every now and then, and these guys have done that and have played hard."

Thursday, they also took advantage of some AquaSox largesse to score twice in the first inning.

After Cooper singled, stole second and took third on Jimmy Principe's base hit, Cooper scored on an wild pickoff attempt. Principe, who moved to second on the error, took third on a groundout and came home on a wild pitch.

In the third, Cooper was hit by a pitch and Roberto Rodriguez, bumped up to the No. 2 spot in the lineup, doubled to right.

Smith then followed with his two-run single, giving him six RBI over the past two games.

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