Salem-Keizer’s big bats look to beat up on Spokane’s arms

Hot-hitting Salem-Keizer’s visit to Spokane could be a volatile one for the Indians, as the league’s best-hitting team takes on the worst pitching team in a five-game series that begins today at Avista Stadium.

As of Monday’s games, the Indians, who have a team earned run average of 4.93, have given up 18 of their league-worst 30 home runs at home. The Volcanoes, who have the top three batting leaders in the league, are hitting .291 as a team. The Volcanoes are averaging .313 at home to .268 on the road.

After Wednesday’s win, Salem-Keizer – the Northwest League’s hottest team – has won nine of its last 11 games. The Volcanoes have not lost a game since erupting for a 10-0 win at Yakima over the Bears last Wednesday.

During their seven-game win streak, the Volcanoes have outscored their opponents 44-23. After shutting out the Bears, the Volcanoes blanked the Everett AquaSox 4-0 at home the next day.

The Volcanoes’ 21-14 record is second in the league, behind the Vancouver Canadians (24-11). Salem-Keizer swept Vancouver to pull within three games of the West Division leader.

The Indians are 15-20 this season, third in the East, and are two games out of first. As of Tuesday, Spokane had the fourth-best batting average in the league at .261 and was second in home runs with 28.

The Volcanoes’ ERA, which is second in the league at 3.38 as of Tuesday, jumps from 2.77 at home to 4.12 on the road, where Salem-Keiser is 8-8.

But Spokane manager Greg Riddoch isn’t taking any comfort in those numbers.

“They can hit, they can pitch and they can play defense,” Riddoch said. “The numbers, I can’t figure them out. But that’s why we play the game. Otherwise, we’d just call in the score and save a lot of energy.”

Salem-Keizer also leads the league in defense, committing just 30 errors through Monday. Spokane had committed 57.

“It’s not a good matchup,” Riddoch said. “It doesn’t take much to figure that one out.”

S-K’s William Thompson (.372), Michael Mooney (.364) and Pablo Sandoval (.331) are 1-2-3 in NWL hitting heading into Tuesday’s game.

Spokane’s Steve Murphy – who leads the league in home runs (seven), RBIs (25) and doubles (15) through Monday – is fourth with an average of .328.

Lizahio Baez, John Mayberry Jr. and Freddie Thon are tied with two others for second place in home runs with five.