Indians mix offense, defense while rolling past Everett

Don’t look now, but the Spokane Indians just might have learned to put together a complete game.

Thursday night’s convincing 8-4 Northwest League win against the Everett AquaSox was more than utilitarian, it was downright entertaining.

In between acrobatic defensive plays by first baseman Ian Gac – who on two occasions made seemingly impossible leaping grabs to deny the AquaSox of base hits – and left fielder Tim Smith’s dogged sprint all the way to the third-base stands to catch a fly, the Indians frustrated Everett’s batters, then turned on some magic at the plate.

Run-scoring hits from Tim Smith, Jonathan Greene and Eric Fry got Spokane on the board in the bottom of the third.

With eight strikeouts from starting pitcher Fabian Castillo, the Indians held the score at 3-1 until the sixth inning, when third baseman Kenny Smith – a last-minute addition to the lineup in place of Johan Yan – sent a ball just over the right-field fence for a two-run homer.

“Hey, if I can get it over by the skin of my teeth, I’ll take it,” Smith said. “I’m not Gac and I can’t put them out there by 200 feet. So I’ll take whatever I can get.”

True to form, in the following inning, Gac blasted a three-run homer so far out to left that the ball disappeared from sight. Gac finished the night with three RBIs.

Spokane (16-20) remained 2 1/2 games behind Boise in the NWL’s East Division.

For the third consecutive night, Indians pitchers put together a solid effort, striking out 12 and walking only two. Castillo picked up the win and is 2-3 on the season.

The only visible problem is the bullpen’s tendency to give up runs in the final innings.

In Wednesday night’s 4-1 win, the Indians had a shutout going until the final inning when Jose Jaimes gave up three hits and a run.

Not wanting to jeopardize the win with two men on base and two out, the coaching staff sent right-hander Andrew Laughter to bail out Jaimes.

Thursday night, Hector Nelo entered the game in the ninth but struggled to close.

When Nelo gave up a run and loaded the bases by walking Deybis Benitez, Laughter started warming up.

“I didn’t want to put Hector in a situation where he could make a bad pitch and suddenly the game’s at stake,” Indians pitching coach Keith Comstock said. “He’s only 20 years old, and he’s still trying to learn his way in professional baseball.”

Nelo eventually finished the game by fielding a last-out grounder. But he also gave up two hits and two runs, and walked two batters in a single inning.

“We don’t really have a closer since we lost (Chris) Dennis,” Comstock said.

Dennis was promoted to Clinton (Iowa) two weeks ago after he put together a string of five saves and a 0.93 ERA.

“Everybody’s trying to find their own niche,” Comstock said. “Andrew’s been able to come in (during) some end-of-game situations, and he’s done a nice job for us, but these guys have to understand that whether you close in the eighth or the ninth, in the big leagues you gotta close out that inning.”

“Yakima Bears outfielder Joel Melendez, 21, was arrested on accusations that he had sex with a 15-year-old girl at the team’s hotel, authorities said.

Melendez was charged with third-degree rape and booked into Marion County Jail, said Lt. Dave Okada of the Salem (Ore.) Police Department. The Bears were in town for an NWL series with Salem-Keizer.