Indians’ Five Homers Stop Everett

Sat., July 20, 1996

The Spokane Indians, denied batting practice for the fifth straight time before a road game, opted to take it during Friday night’s outing against the Everett AquaSox.

The result - five home runs - gave Spokane its fifth straight road victory, an 8-5 win over division-leading Everett (16-15) that pulled the Indians (13-18) within three games of first place in the Northwest League North Division.

Jeremy Giambi, Brandon Berger, Jason Layne, Carlos Beltran and Rick Pitts homered for Spokane, which missed Friday night’s batting practice due to rain.

After getting four runs in the fourth inning and three more in the eighth, the Indians may have found the closer that has eluded them.

Chad Rodriguez, making his first appearance for Spokane since being signed by the parent-club Kansas City Royals, got the game’s final three outs for his first save.

Rodriguez, signed three days ago, was 5-0 with 11 saves as a closer at Washburn College, an NCAA Division II school in Topeka, Kan.

Spokane struck first with Berger’s home run, a two-run shot in the fourth. Layne followed with a single, setting up another two-run homer, this one from Beltran, as Spokane built a 4-0 cushion.

The AquaSox made it 4-1 in the fifth when Brian Lindner’s single scored Ramon Vasquez, and took a 5-4 lead in the sixth against Spokane pitchers Donald Quigley and Jake Chapman. The sixth included an RBI single by former Ferris High School star Matt Sachse.

Quigley, out since June 28 with an arm injury, faced just three batters. Forced into damage control, Chapman gave up four runs, one earned, before Ryan Brewer held Everett to one hit over the next 2 innings.

In the interim, homers by Giambi and Layne pushed Spokane up 7-5. Pitts added a solo shot in the ninth.

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Indians’ Five Homers Stop Everett

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

Molly Quinn

Rob Curley

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