Indians Win Again As Bats Remain Hot

Each day this week a different Spokane Indians hitting star has drawn the same conclusion.

Something has distinctly changed with this team since the arrival Tuesday of Tom Robson.

“He’s helped correct a lot of our mistakes,” said Indians second baseman Mark Merila, who tripled home one run and scored another Friday as Spokane stopped Boise 3-1. “He’s showing us things we really don’t know about ourselves as hitters.”

With Robson, the San Diego Padres’ minor-league hitting instructor, in attendance at Seafirst Stadium, Spokane has won four straight against Boise (35-20), the Northwest League’s most successful team. The Hawks are in a season-high five-game tailspin.

Spokane (24-31) hasn’t won four straight since June 24-27, right before it went to Boise and had its season turned around with a 1-4 series. The Indians, with a scoring advantage of 27-10 in this series, will try for their first sweep of the season tonight.

Win or lose, pitching has been Spokane’s strong point all year. On Friday, Heath Murray (4-4) pitched Spokane’s first complete game since July 10 by scattering eight singles and one double and walking none.

Murray, 2-0 against Boise this year, retired 13 consecutive batters after the Hawks scored their lone run in the fourth inning.

“The thing I concern myself with is not walking someone,” said Murray, a thirdround draft choice this year out of the University of Michigan.

Spokane’s pitchers are finally getting a chance to win because the Indians’ batters are hitting at the right time. That was most evident Friday when designated hitter Kenya Hunt doubled to right with two out in the fifth and left fielder Jason Tyrus followed with an RBI single for a 3-1 lead.

“We don’t just have a plan now,” said Indians manager Tye Waller. “Now we have a plan and use it effectively.”

Boise starter Jose Cintron (4-3), who retired nine consecutive batters during the middle innings, matched Murray’s effectiveness most of the way.

Cintron’s downfall came against the Indians’ first batter of the game, Jay Johnson, on a bat-shattering grounder to the pitcher’s left. Knowing of Johnson’s speed, Cintron rushed the play, bobbled the ball twice and had no chance at Johnson.

Johnson then stole his 26th base in 30 attempts and breezed home when Merila tripled over the head of center fielder Demond Smith. Antonio Fernandez followed with his team-best 28th RBI on a grounder to second.

“It was textbook baseball,” Merila said.

Murray allowed Greg Morris’ infield single and John Donati’s double in the fourth with no outs. He worked free of big trouble, although Jim Greely’s one-out grounder to short scored Morris.

“The pitch to Donati was a fastball away, just what I wanted,” Murray said. “The groundout RBI was the only one I didn’t like because I came in with a 0-2 pitch.”

In the final game of the series, tonight at 7:05, Spokane’s Shane Dennis (1-6) will start against Nick Skuse (2-0). Dennis had the Indians’ last complete game before Murray’s.

Notes: This is Boise’s first series loss since late June… . Both Boise and Spokane have played 26 home games. Spokane’s attendance of 107,973 is 136 more than Boise’s. Boise led the league in attendance the last three years, with Spokane second.