Indians riding high
For the second night in a row, Spokane’s pitching staff threw a shutout, blanking the Boise Hawks 4-0 at Avista Stadium Sunday night to clinch the series 2-1 and take a 1 1/2 game lead in the Northwest League East Division.
The Indians’ pitchers allowed only three hits and struck out 10 batters. Right-hander Ryan Tatusko picked up the win and improved to 3-4 on the season.
“The defense played very well for me, and then on offense (Victor) Barrios had that big hit,” Tatusko said. “I think our confidence was really riding high from yesterday.”
Barrios was the unexpected batting star, as the .211 hitter provided two hits and played a role in both the Indians’ offensive spurts – in the third and the seventh.
In the third, Barrios got the offense started with a double to left-center field. Three batters later, second baseman Renny Osuna finished what his fellow Venezuelan had started by sending a grounder up the middle to bring Barrios home.
Barrios struck again in the seventh when he hit a three-run home run to left-center field.
Stellar performances from Indians’ pitching staff fueled the team this series as Spokane’s pitchers gave up just 10 hits and two runs in three games.
“We really had an awakening with the first game when they pulled ahead of us and we knew this was a key series,” Tatusko said. “Right now, it’s more confidence that anything – just confidence that the guy behind you’s gonna do exactly the same thing you did.
“And the more we feel confident about ourselves and keep riding high, the more likely it is that we’re going to do good.”
And Spokane’s doing pretty good right now: the Indians have won seven of their last 10 games, and their pitching staff is ranked second in the league.
“This series showed me everything I expected all year long,” Indians manager Tim Hulett said. “I felt like we had a good team, I know we have a good pitching staff, and we’re getting some timely hitting. But we’ve really picked it up and played some good defense the past couple of days.”
With less than a month of the regular season remaining, it looks as if the Indians are finally hitting their stride.
“It feels that way, but I don’t think there’s any secret to that. It’s just playing and guys getting comfortable in the their places, it’s momentum, just like anything else, when you get on a roll, it makes things a little easier,” Hulett said. “They seem to have hit their stride. They’re playing like it’s mid season.”
The Indians head to Everett next to take on the AquaSox who are currently in last place in the West Division.
Spokane (28-30) hopes to build on its winning streak and pull farther away from second-place Boise (27-32) to increase its chances of a division title.
“I think everybody is starting to get the itch for the playoffs, and hopefully we get there and get a chance to win a championship,” said third baseman Kenny Smith.