Brown Revives As Indians Win
Dermal Brown’s hit parade returned Tuesday after a one-day absence.
The Spokane Indians’ hit parade has continued unabated for a week.
Brown went 2 for 3, with a single and his fourth home run, to spark Spokane (12-3) to its seventh consecutive Northwest League win, a 7-1 victory over the AquaSox at Memorial Stadium.
The AquaSox (4-11) have lost nine straight games, five of them against Spokane.
The teams conclude the three-game series tonight. Spokane begins a five-game series at Southern Oregon Thursday. Spokane’s next home game is July 9.
Brown, who entered Monday’s game on a 15 for 22 tear, went 0 for 5 to briefly cool down.
The ‘slump’ lasted only one day.
In the first inning against Everett starter Jordan Zimmerman (0-1), Merrell Ligons led off with a single and later scored on Brown’s single to left field.
Zimmerman, having reached his pitch limit, gave way to Brandon Nogowski with two outs in the third. Joe Caruso walked then Brown smashed a 2-0 pitch over the right-field fence for his 16th and 17th RBIs of the season.
Indians starter Kris Wilson (1-0) allowed eight hits and one unearned run in seven innings. Wilson, who hadn’t previously pitched past the fourth inning, struck out five and walked none.
Spokane increased its lead to 6-0 in the fourth inning when Jeremy Hill ran his hitting streak to eight games with an RBI single. Caruso added an RBI fielder’s choice.
Tribe first baseman Mike Brambilla had two errors on one play in the seventh to set up Keith Stewart’s RBI single for Everett.
Spokane’s Joe Dillon, 2 for 3 including a double, capped the scoring with an RBI single in the ninth inning.
Notes
Spokane, 8-0 at home, has set a record for most consecutive home wins to open a season. The 1937 Spokane Hawks began their home schedule 7-0. … The Indians, who already had matched the city’s best pro baseball start since 1941 (11-3), now have the best start since the 1911 Indians, who began 13-1, 17-3 and 20-5. … The ‘87 Tribe, which won the first of four consecutive NWL titles, started 8-1 at home and 16-4 overall.
xxxx Watch out Otto! Getting hit by a foul ball is one of the normal risks of going to a baseball game but it might not be so normal if you’re distracted by a mascot in a 7-foot dinosaur costume. That was the conclusion Tuesday of the state’s 4th District Court of Appeal in San Bernardino, Calif., which revived a lawsuit by a fan who was injured at a Rancho Cucamonga Quakes game in 1994. John Lowe said he was watching the California League game when he was touched on the shoulder by the tail of Tremor, the Quakes’ mascot. He turned around and saw the costumed figure standing in the aisle above him, entertaining the fans. Just as he turned back to the game, he said, a foul ball hit him in the face, breaking several bones. The suit was originally dismissed. But the appeals court said a jury should decide whether the Quakes made the situation more dangerous by allowing Tremor to gyrate during the game. Associated Press