Horrible Eighth Inning Sends Indians To Loss At Yakima

Faster than one could say, “relief problems,” the Spokane Indians turned a 4-2 win into a 6-4 loss Friday.

Relievers Donald Quigley and Alonso Aguilar suffered through Yakima’s four-run eighth inning that gave the Bears (21-30) their second consecutive win over the Indians (22-29). Yakima leads the season series 6-3.

The three-game series ends tonight, with Spokane’s Jason Chapman (4-0) scheduled to start against Ted Lilly. If Spokane loses, it will tie Yakima for last place in the Northwest League North Division. The Indians begin a four-game series Sunday at Medford against Southern Oregon.

Friday appeared hopeful for Spokane, which led the entire game and manufactured a seventh-inning insurance run for a 4-2 lead.

But Quigley, in relief of Jason Simontacchi, opened the eighth with a walk to Brian Sankey and saw Matt Meyer single. Aguilar (1-2) entered and wild-pitched the runners to second and third. Randy Stearns then grounded to first baseman Kit Pellow, whose throw home was too high to get pinch-runner Bobby Meyer.

Aguilar tried to pick off Stearns at first, but his throw bounced away and Meyer raced home to tie the game. Stearns moved to third on a wild pitch, then scored when Pellow fielded a Josh Glassey grounder and threw high to Aguilar covering first.

His horror completed, Aguilar took a seat for Kevin Carcamo. Kimani Newton, pinch-running for Glassey, eventually scored on Peter Bergeron’s suicide squeeze. Four runs, two hits, two errors, two wild pitches.

League hitting leader Brandon Berger (.346) gave Spokane a 2-0 lead in the first with a double. Berger also singled and scored on Kenderick Moore’s RBI walk in the sixth.

Simontacchi nearly pitched six shutout innings, but Sankey’s two-out, two-run bloop double to left in the sixth fell among three Tribe fielders.