Indians Feel Relieved After Newell’S Effort

From the first pitch at Avista Stadium Saturday night, the Spokane Indians got great solid relief pitching.

Mark Newell, a reliever pressed into his first professional start, led the way as the Indians turned back Salem-Keizer 8-4 in a Northwest League game before 6,004 fans.

The Indians (17-15) moved back to a game behind Yakima in the North Division.

Although he didn’t last long enough to pick up the win, Newell set the tone with a good outing. Jebson Thomas pitched 2-2/3 hitless innings to win his first professional decision, and Rafael Rinconnes went the final two for his second save.

“I thought (Newell) did a real outstanding job,” Indians manager Tom Poquette said. “He’s a battler. He fights out there. He’s not afraid of them. He was throwing strikes. That’s what we’re looking for out there.”

The Indians, 2-1 in this five-game series against the Volcanoes with Game 4 this afternoon, also had 11 hits and turned in several defensive gems.

The highlight was a diving, back-to-the-plate snag in foul ground by third baseman Abel Martinez to end the S-K eighth.

Poquette was also pleased with both relievers and the way the Indians swung the bat after getting shut down the night before.

“We talked about it today,” he said. “We weren’t aggressive yesterday … give those pitchers credit … but tonight we had an aggressive approach.”

The Indians jumped to an early lead with some clutch hitting.

Justin Cowan had a two-out single and Chad Santos followed with a hard double to right-center to take a 1-0 lead on Wesley Faust in the first inning.

In the second, Darren Fenster, the No. 9 hitter who was hitting .209, had a two-run single up the middle through a drawn-in infield.

“The big thing is … this is a situational organization … you have to do the job,” the 12th-round draft choice out of Rutgers said after going 2 for 2 with two runs and two runs batted in. “I was just trying to hit the ball hard.”

Fenster also had a couple of good defensive plays in his first start at second base. A shortstop in college, Fenster had two innings at second earlier this season as a defensive replacement.

“Playing a new position is always tough,” he said. “I’ve always been known as a defensive player. Defense is probably what got me into pro ball. Tonight was an adjustment, but you’ve got to be ready for it.”

The Indians chased Faust in the fourth with three runs. The Volcanoes had cut the lead to 3-2 in the third with the help of an error and a wild pitch.

Pressed into duty when Joey Baker went home for his sister’s wedding, Newell took a 6-2 lead into the fifth but couldn’t get out of the inning to qualify for the win.

“I was dying out there on that one,” Poquette said of the trip to take Newell out. “I wanted him to get (two more outs). When I went out there, he was a man about it.”

Newell, an undrafted free agent from Oregon State, hit two batters and gave up two singles before being relieved by Thomas. Newell gave up four runs, three earned, on six hits.

“He’ll go out there again,” Poquette said.

Today’s starters are lefty Brad Stiles (3-1, 3.16) for Spokane and right-hander Eric Johnson (2-1, 3.25).