Indians Lose Their Eighth Straight

John Watson and Dan Topping drove in runs in the seventh and eighth innings Sunday afternoon, helping Bellingham complete a series sweep with a 6-5 Northwest League baseball victory over the visiting Spokane Indians.

The Giants, beginning to run away with the Northern Division race, notched their sixth consecutive triumph. Spokane skidded to its eighth consecutive defeat. The Indians, at 13-24, bring home the poorest record in the league as they prepare to open a five-game series against the Portland Rockies.

Watson, who had opened the third inning with a home run, broke a 4-4 tie by grounding out with the bases full in the seventh. Topping plated what proved to be the winning run by singling home Deivi Cruz in the eighth.

Spokane closed the gap in the ninth when first baseman James Vida extended his hitting streak to 13 games with an RBI single. Bellingham stopper Russell Ortiz, who had begun the ninth, then nailed down the final out for his sixth save.

After Bellingham opened a 4-1 lead against Spokane starter Hal Hodge, the Indians tied things up with a single run in the fifth inning and two in the sixth.

Tony Miranda’s leadoff double and a single off Watson’s glove at second base by Dwayne Lewis accounted for the fourth-inning score. A pair of walks, a sacrifice and Miranda’s two-run single to center field knotted the score in the sixth.

Bellingham (22-15) leads second-place Everett by six games. The Giants are nine games ahead of Spokane, which is fourth and last.