Spokane Indians’ comeback comes up short in 10-9 loss to Everett AquaSox

Amid the tinsel, holiday music, and Santa himself, Tuesday night’s “Christmas in July” promotion saw sugar plums turn into home runs – two by Spokane – with the Everett AquaSox holding on for a 10-9 victory over the Indians in a Northwest League game Tuesday night.

Everett (19-21) rolled to a 7-0 lead over the first 2 1/2 innings and 10-2 through 3 1/2.

The AquaSox jumped on Spokane starter and No. 8 Rangers prospect Alex Speas in the first inning for four runs on three walks, two wild pitches, two balks, and a double.

The onslaught continued in the second inning as Ronald Rosario smacked a solo home run and was followed by two more runs in the third inning for a 7-0 score.

Speas, whose ERA rose to 10.42, has only made it out of the second inning three times in seven starts.

Everett starter Lane Ratliff was solid enough, giving up seven hits, two runs and three walks while striking out five over five innings against Spokane (17-23).

Austin O’Banion hit a two-run double in Spokane’s half of the third inning to reduce the score to 7-2.

The Aquasox would counter the two runs with RBI singles by Eugene Helder and Onil Pena which scored three runs and pushed the score to 10-2.

Spokane’s offense erupted in the sixth inning as Kobie Taylor hit a triple with two outs and was driven in on a single by Yonny Hernandez.

After the single by Hernandez and another from Miguel Aparicio, Matt Whatley and Clayton Middleton hit back-to-back home runs to narrow Everett’s lead to 10-7.

The bottom of the eighth began with consecutive singles by Aparicio and Whatley which allowed Middleton to hit a sacrifice fly and cut the score to 10-8. A wild pitch permitted Whatley to score and turn the game into a one-run affair.

Despite the colossal comeback from a 10-2 deficit entering the sixth, Hernandez struck out with the tying run on second base in the ninth inning to conclude the game.

Tuesday night’s loss snapped a three-game win streak for the Indians.

Everett committed two errors and scored 10 runs on 10 hits, opposed to Spokane’s three errors and nine runs on 16 hits.

The second game of the three-game series at Avista Stadium on Wednesday begins at 6:30 p.m.