Indians take wild trip toward win

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The Spokane Indians knew things were going their way Thursday when they scored two runs on a strikeout.

The bizarre play highlighted a five-run first inning and the Indians (17-6) posted an 8-5 win over the Vancouver Canadians (9-14) in Northwest League play at Nat Bailey Stadium.

Spokane leads Tri-City by two games in the East Division.

Spokane led 2-0 in the first after Jason Ogata doubled home David Paisano and later scored on Eric Fry’s groundout.

With one out in the first, Timothy Rodriguez struck out on a wild pitch by Ryne Tacker (0-4). The play allowed Rodriguez to reach first base, while Joey Butler scored from third base and Matthew West from second.

West added a two-out, two-run double in the sixth for a 7-1 lead.

Richard Bleier (2-0) earned the win, allowing five hits and one earned run in five innings while striking out four.