Castro’s slam sparks Indians

HILLSBORO, Ore. – A grand slam by Janluis Castro capped a nine-run top of the seventh inning and the Spokane Indians (20-18) rallied for an 11-3 victory over the Hillsboro Hops (11-27) in Northwest League baseball action on Monday night. Castro also started the seventh-inning rally for Spokane by drawing a one-out walk. Saquan Johnson followed with a walk that chased Hillsboro starter Ben Eckels in favor of Chase Stevens. Chris Garia greeted Stevens with a single to load the bases and Gabriel Roa singled home Castro to cut the Hops’ lead to 3-2. Ryan Cordell walked to force in a run and knot the score and Kevin Torres reached on an infield single to plate Garia and put Spokane up 4-3. Joe Jackson and Barrett Serrato drove in runs with back-to-back walks and after Brandon Garcia fanned for the second out, Castro stepped to the plate and delivered an exclamation point to the rally with his slam – his second home run of the season. Travis Dean (2-1) fired 41/3 shutout innings to pick up the win in relief of starter David Ledbetter. Dean allowed three hits, struck out four and walked one.