Indians win on two-run homer in ninth

EVERETT – Pinch hitter Jorge Alfaro hit a two-run homer to center field in the ninth inning Saturday night to give the Spokane Indians a 7-5 win over the Everett AquaSox at Memorial Stadium.

Alfaro, batting in place of Indians cleanup hitter Brett Nicholas, scored Zachary Cone with the one-out blast against Nolan Diaz (1-2).

Kyle Hendricks pitched the ninth to earn his second save, recording two strikeouts and a pop out after James Wood reached on a fielding error.

Spokane blew a 5-0 lead when Everett scored three in the sixth, one in the seventh and one in the eighth.

Cone’s three-run homer in the first gave Spokane a 3-0 lead. Spokane added two in the fifth on Edwin Garcia’s RBI single and Nicholas’ RBI grounder.

The outcome left Spokane, Boise and Tri-City tied for first place in the East Division at 15-14, with nine games left before the first half ends. Everett dropped to 12-17.

The rubber game of the five-game series is set for 1:05 p.m. today.

Spokane will begin a six-game homestand on Monday, starting with three against Boise.