Miguel Aparicio’s two-run shot lifts Spokane Indians over Eugene

A fresh start to the season seemed to be just what the Spokane Indians needed to rise in the league standings – and stay there.

Spokane’s 2-1 win over the Eugene Emeralds on Thursday at Avista Stadium was their sixth straight victory and their seventh win since the start of the second half. They extended their second-half record to 7-1, which leads the Northwest League North Division standings.

That’s a noticeable switch from the first half, which included an eight-game losing streak in the first few weeks. That skid pushed the Indians down to last place in the standings, where they remained for most of the first half.

“Emotionally, it’s a lot more taxing to lose than it is joyful to win,” Indians manager Matt Hagen said.

“But it’s good,” Hagen said of the team’s winning streak. “It’s contagious. The guys are riding a nice little emotional high right now. Confidence is really high. There’s just a good buzz around the team.”

The buzz started with a few key players, specifically Miguel Aparicio and Melvin Novoa, who stepped up for the Indians after the team lost some of their best starters – including Yohel Pozo, Charles LeBlanc and, most recently, slugger Andretty Cordero. All three went on to play in the Texas Rangers’ higher affiliates.

Aparicio and Novoa – who will be sidelined for at least a week with a hamstring injury – have been a constant threat at the plate for the Indians since the club lost Cordero to the Rangers’ low-A affiliate Hickory Crawdads last month.

Following his first career grand slam in the top of the ninth with two outs in Sunday’s 6-5 win over Everett, Aparicio stepped up again and smacked a two-run homer in the sixth inning to give Spokane a one-run lead it held the rest of the game.

“I feel very good,” Aparicio said through a translator. My hits have “helped contribute to the team with winning and playing better.”

Aparicio’s third home run this season extended his hitting streak to 11 games. It’s the second longest current streak on the team, behind Novoa’s 18-game hitting streak.

Indians starter Tyree Thompson allowed Eugene’s only run on a solo homer.

Thompson had a solid start to Thursday’s game, retiring the side in the first inning with two strikeouts and a line out to right field. But Eugene’s Austin Filiere quickly hindered Thompson’s outing with a leadoff home run to left field in the second, giving Eugene a one-run lead.

The Indians’ offense ran cold in the beginning and managed to get on base only one time in the first four innings. Yonny Hernandez drew a two-out walk in the third inning, but the inning ended with Aparicio’s ground out to shortstop.

Chad Smith finally got a hit for the Indians in the fifth. The right fielder doubled off the left field wall and went to third on a wild pitch, but couldn’t get home as Emeralds right-hander Jose Albertos retired the next two batters to end the inning.

The Indians recorded only two hits against Eugene (4-4), which tallied seven.

Thompson (3-1) allowed four of those hits in six innings. The righty also issued a pair of walks and fanned five batters on breaking balls.

“I commanded my curveball really well tonight,” Thompson said. “I felt like I could throw them in any count. My catcher (Matt Whatley) had trust in me … He called it at good times.”

Right-hander Alex Speas, who has normally been a starting pitcher for the Indians this season, pitched two innings of relief after Thompson. It was his second time coming in for relief this year. Speas, who allowed one hit and no walks with two strikeouts, said the Indians will use him only as a relief pitcher for the rest of the season to give him more frequent opportunities on the mound.

The Indians will face the Emeralds in the second game of the five-game series on Friday at 6:30 p.m.