Big fourth inning carries Spokane Indians past Salem-Keizer in series opener

Tai Tiedemann threw five solid innings and the Spokane Indians used a six-run fourth inning to ease past the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 8-4 Saturday to open a five-game Northwest League baseball series at Avista Stadium.

Tiedemann allowed one hit and one unearned run, striking out five and walking three.

“My best pitch tonight was my changeup, which is hard to believe,” Tiedemanna said. “It’s been a pitch I’ve had to develop a lot since I was drafted. Different grips and overall tweaking of that pitch helped me succeed tonight.”

Logan Baldwin doubled against Tiedemann and scored after two errors to give Salem-Keizer a 1-0 lead in the first.

Spokane (12-18) battled back in the big fourth as Andretty Cordero’s RBI double tied the game.

“Andretty Cordero isn’t just a leader among his statistics – he’s a strong leader in the clubhouse,” Indians manager Matt Hagen said. “He brings a good energy to our defense and dugout. You can think of many fancy definitions for a leader, but people follow him and his energy.”

Clay Middleton followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Indians the lead for good. Christian Inoa’s RBI double boosted the lead to 3-1.

After loading the bases, the Indians added two runs on a wild pitch and sacrifice fly. Miguel Aparicio, the ninth batter in the inning, delivered an RBI single for a 6-1 advantage.

Inoa’s second RBI double of the night increased the lead to 7-1 in the fifth.

S-K’s Daulton Combs had an RBI single in the sixth off reliever Luis Lopez. The Volcanoes loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh, but were limited to Malique Ziegler’s sacrifice fly for a 7-3 score.

Middleton responded with a towering homer to left in the bottom of the seventh.

S-K added a final run in the ninth on a double-play grounder.

The teams meet Sunday at 3:30 p.m.