Indians Open Homestand With 4-3 Loss Newhan, Nelson Combine To Lead Southern Oregon To Win

Nothing appeared special about the starts David Newhan and Chris Nelson had on Wednesday.

Appearances, in this case, were deceiving.

Newhan drove in two runs with a single and solo homer and Nelson, in relief, struck out 10 batters in four innings as Southern Oregon nipped Spokane 4-3 in the first Northwest League game at Seafirst Stadium in a week.

The Athletics won their fifth consecutive game to improve to 6-7. Spokane, which had won five of its previous seven, is 5-8.

Newhan, the A’s No. 3 hitter, thought he had grounded out in the first inning with one out and Robert Harris on second base. Instead, a balk was called on Mike Robbins (0-1), who made his Spokane debut. Given another chance, Newhan singled to left-center for a lead the visitors never relinquished.

Trailing 4-1, Spokane tried to come back in the sixth, after A’s starter Jason Holden (2-0) gave way to Nelson.

Nelson looked shaky at the beginning, allowing sixth-inning doubles to James Vida, William Roland and Brett Schafer.

But Nelson also struck out the side, which would become a common occurrence. He retired the final 10 Indians, striking out the side in the seventh and ninth.

“One thing we didn’t do was make adjustments on his pitches,” Indians manager Al Pedrique said.

Nelson has struck out 17 in 10 2/3 innings this year.

Newhan is just as hot, having hit three of his four homers in the past week. His solo shot in the third, with two out and the bases clear, flew over the scoreboard in right-center.

“I didn’t even see it,” said the 17thround selection from Pepperdine. “I just put my head down and started running.”

Newhan said the A’s turned around their season with a team meeting that resulted in fewer privileges and more commitment to team play.

Pedrique wants his Indians to commit to more timely hitting. Spokane’s batting average is a respectable .254, but the hits haven’t been bunched.

“We mounted a good comeback … all of a sudden it was 4-3, but we couldn’t finish it,” Pedrique said.

One Indian who continued on a tear during the pleasant night was Vida. The left-handed hitting first baseman went 2 for 4 and extended his hitting streak to eight games. Vida is 14 for 31 during the streak and 20 of 44 (.455) for the year.

Robbins, new to the rotation, allowed two earned runs, struck out three and walked two in his allotted three innings.

Holden made his first start and gave up no earned runs in five innings. He was assisted by catcher Alex Rondon, who went 2 for 2, scored once and drove in a run. Rondon was 0 for 5 entering the game.

Notes

The Indians lost their first two players of the season. Daniel Soto (0-3, 5.06), who started the home opener, was assigned to Tobasco of the Mexican League. Reliever Israel Charles (1-0, 4.50) was released by the Kansas City Royals. Taking the pitchers’ places on the roster are Allen Sanders and Jason Ritter. Sanders was the Royals’ seventhround selection in the amateur draft from Lee (Texas) Junior College. Ritter was 2-4 last year for Eugene, the Royals’ former NWL affiliate… . The five-game series continues tonight with Southern Oregon’s Luis Silva (0-1, 5.23) starting against Justin Adam (1-1, 7.00).

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