Indians catch Bears
Spokane topples Yakima again
During a stretch in which
the Spokane Indians play
Yakima six times in seven
days, the Indians are getting
used to making life miser
able for the Bears.
Yakima entered Sunday
leading the
Northwest
League
East Div
ision stand
ings with a
7-4 record
and in the
hunt for the second playoff
spot, but surrendered a 4-1
lead in the fifth inning to
Spokane, and the Indians
went on to beat Yakima for
the fourth time in five at
tempts, 6-5 at Avista Stadi
um.
The Indians (7-5 in the se
cond half) rallied after giv
ing up four runs in the top of
the fifth to score five of their
own in the bottom of the in
ning, chasing Yakima re
liever Keith Cantwell (3-3)
with a two-out, two-run
double by Jake Skole. The
double by Skole broke a 4-4
tie and gave the Indians the
lead for good.
“We don’t have the same
kind of pressure on us (to
win) and we can just come
out and enjoy the game of
baseball,” said Indians first
baseman Andrew Clark,
who went 2 for 4 with two
RBIs. “It was nice to get the
win and we still have four
games left with them.
We’re not going to take any
game for granted and obvi
ously we want to win.”
The offensive eruption
in the fifth inning helped
get Roman Mendez off the
hook after the Spokane
starter allowed four runs in
the top of the fifth inning.
Mendez, who went five
shutout innings in his first
start since being traded
from the Boston Red Sox
organization, looked to be
cruising yet again in his se
cond start.
It fell apart for the third-
year pro, though, with two
outs in the fifth. A line drive
to left field was misplayed
by Jared Hoying, allowing
Tom Belza to score. The
Bears’ next hitter, Mike
Weber, belted a fastball ov
er the right-field fence to
give Yakima a 3-1 lead.
The Bears struck for one
more run to end Mendez’s
night.
Despite the struggles in
the fifth, Mendez finished
42/3 innings with five stri
keouts and four runs (zero
earned).
“He fits in (the club
house) real well, we’ve wel
comed him real good and
he likes it over here,” Skole
said. “He threw great to
night. There were a couple
of pitches I’m sure he’d like
back but other than that
he’s been great for us.”
Clark added he wouldn’t
be surprised to see the
dominant right-hander get
the call up to the Class A ad
vanced league before too
long.
In six starts with the
Greenville Drive, Mendez
was 0-2 with an ERA of
11.40 and 18 strikeouts.
Since his arrival in Spo
kane, though, he is 1-0 with
13 strikeouts in 92/3 innings
and hasn’t allowed an
earned run.
Tim Steggall (3-1)
pitched 21/3 scoreless in
nings to earn the win for
the Indians, and Colby Kil
lian dodged a bases-loaded
jam in the ninth inning to
earn his third save of the
season.
Note
Alejandro Selen hit
his first home run of the
season Sunday, ending a
45-at-bat skid without a
homer. Before the season
opener, Selen won the
home run derby held
among the players during
the three-day mini-camp.