Tribe Runs Past Giants In First Game As Spoilers
Spokane Indians manager Bob Herold doesn’t like to use the fiveletter word for ‘ruin your opponents chances at a division title’, but the Indians on Sunday night did whatever they could to s-p-o-i-l Bellingham’s efforts in that direction.
The Indians, after having been mathematically eliminated from a shot at the North Division title in the Northwest League on Saturday, came out and gave Bellingham a first-rate 9-3 whipping in front of 3,638 at Seafirst Stadium.
Spokane stole nine bases on the night which was two away from tying the league record set by Portland against Tri-Cities on Aug. 4, 1974.
“We walked too many guys which allowed them the chance to run,” said Bellingham manager Shane Turner. “We didn’t play well - we played a little sloppy.”
It would have made more sense had Spokane come out sloppy, after having been eliminated from the playoff picture, but that certainly wasn’t the case for the Tribe.
When Herold was asked if he was worried about a possible letdown after Saturday night’s 7-4 loss, his response was, “Not a bit. Hey, these guys are paid professionals. They have a job to do. They’ve been working very hard at getting better.”
The Indians’ aggressive baserunners assured there would be no letdown either. The Indians were 9 for 9 in stolen base attempts. Brandon Berger stole three, Juan Robles and Rick Pitts swiped two each and Scott Harp and Carlos Beltran each had one.
“We knew their guy’s arm (catcher Tom Topaum) wasn’t that strong,” Herold said. “So we just kept running.” The effort was aided by the fact three different Bellingham pitchers walked eight batters.
Spokane took the lead for good against Bellingham in its half of the first after falling behind by two runs.
The Indians’ Kenderick Moore led off with a walk before moving to second on a wild pitch by Bellingham starter Ryan Jensen. Then Harp laid down a textbook bunt single which advanced Moore to third.
After a ground out and a fly out by Roman Escamilia and Kit Pellow, which allowed Harp to reach third, Berger then responded with an infield single to score Harp to tie the score at 2-2.
Berger stole second before Carlos Beltran drove him in with a single to center field which provided the game-winning run.
Spokane starter Jake Chapman got off to a rough start before settling down. In five innings, Chapman scattered seven hits, allowed two runs (both earned) and struck out six. Three of the seven hits and both runs came in the first inning.
Bellingham took a 1-0 lead when lead-off batter Mike Caruso scored from third on Damon Minor’s infield grounder. Minor later scored on Topaum’s single to right.
The Indians head to Yakima for a two-game series starting today and concluding Tuesday. Both games will be played at 7:05 p.m. The Bears are in second place in the North Division and right on the heels of the Giants.
, DataTimes