Mullen Guides Indians Past Yakima

Scott Mullen turned in the longest outing by a Spokane Indians starter Saturday, limiting Yakima to four singles in an 8-2 Northwest League win at Seafirst Stadium.

Mullen (2-2), who made a clubhigh eighth start, lasted seven innings. He had a pitch count of 85 and needed just 86 to retire 21 Bears.

Mullen struggled early in the season, but he’s been sharp most of July. He hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in a start since July 2.

“(Pitching coach) Buster Keeton pretty much figured out what I was doing wrong mechanically (early in the year),” Mullen said. “He called it reconstructive surgery.”

Mullen played at NAIA Dallas Baptist University, as did Indians teammates Scott Harp and Aaron Lineweaver.

“We were 62-10, ranked No. 1 the whole year,” said Mullen, the ace of that staff. “Then we blew it at the end, losing the regional championship.”

Spokane staked Mullen to a 7-0 lead after two innings. Yakima starter Jay O’Shaunessy (0-2) never found the mark, walking five and allowing all seven runs in 1 1-3 innings.

Roman Escamilla had a two-run single in the first and Kit Pellow drove in RBIs 36 and 37 with a second-inning triple.

Spokane’s first encounter with Southern Oregon is at 6:05 tonight. Spokane’s Enrique Calero (1-2) is scheduled to start the opener of the four-game series

Notes

The Indians rested outfielder Brandon Berger for the first time in 24 games. Berger’s impressive stats: tied for third in the league in hits and RBIs, tied for fourth in homers and fifth in batting average… . Following Saturday’s gate of 6,333, Spokane’s average attendance of 5,114 factors out to a record-setting 194,332. Before the season, the Indians set an attendance goal of 170,000… . , DataTimes MEMO: Changed in Spokane edition.