Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

SportsLink

Indians mix it up

Spokane Indians manager Tim Hulett shuffled his lineup Friday and came up with a winning hand. Read game story

The Indians had been outscored 11-1 during the first two games of their five-game series with Salem-Keizer. It was time for Hulett to try something different.

 

First, Hulett took usual leadoff hitter LeDarious Clark and moved him to the No. 3 spot in the lineup. Clark, mired in a 7-for-59 slump, went 1 for 3 with two walks. One of his outs, a liner to right field, would have probably been a homer except for the stiff right-to-left wind.

 

"I did tonight," Hulett said, regarding whether he liked the change. "I think he did, too, so he might get another shot at that."

 

Hulett also took Jamie Potts, Thursday's cleanup hitter, and moved him to leadoff. Potts went 0 for 4, but he put down a perfect bunt in the 10th to move Darius Day into scoring position.

 

"About three days ago, (Potts) walked four times in a game," Hulett said. "He does walk a lot."

 

Hulett also put Diego Cedeno, a .236 hitter, in the cleanup spot. Cedeno, who often bats in the No. 6 spot, delivered an RBI single in the first inning and nearly homered in the fourth.

 

To cap things, Hulett took Dylan Moore, who normally plays second base or shortstop, and played him at third base. Moore made two solid defensive plays to save potential runs.

 

"He did make some nice plays for a guy who's only played third twice now," Hulett said.

 

Hulett made sure to watch the reaction when he posted the lineup before the game.

 

"Sometimes something like that gets the guys going," Hulett said. "I saw the guys when they looked at the lineup today. They all had a chuckle and had a good time with it. It maybe loosened them up a bit so they could go out and play."

 



Chris Derrick
Chris Derrick joined The Spokesman-Review in 1990. He currently is a copy editor for the Sports Desk.

Follow Chris online:






Looking for a Grip on Sports?

Vince Grippi's daily take on all things regional sports has been moved to our main sports section online. You can find a collection of these columns here.