Jaden Hill with another short start, Spokane Indians downed by Everett 9-4 in second straight

Spokane Indians starting pitcher Jaden Hill made his longest appearance of the season on Wednesday at Avista Stadium. It was not a high bar to climb.

Hill was limited to a total of three innings in his first two starts – a one-inning stint in which he surrendered six runs in the second game of the season, and a two-inning appearance against Tri-City last week, both losses.

So his three innings of work against Everett, encompassing 54 pitches, represented a small step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, the results weren’t much better. But for a 23-year-old pitcher with just 72 innings over four-plus years to his record since high school, it was still an improvement – however incremental.

Alberto Rodriguez knocked in four with a homer and double in the first two innings and the Everett AquaSox beat the Spokane Indians 9-4 in a Northwest League game.

Everett (10-6) has taken the first two games of the six-game series by a combined score of 24-6 over Spokane (6-8).

Indians third base Sterlin Thompson homered and had two hits to raise his average to .451, second in the league, and Benny Montgomery extended his hitting streak to 11 with an infield hit in the seventh.

All told, Hill (0-3) allowed four runs on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He struck out three in a row ending the second and starting the third innings and finished his evening with a called strike three to clean-up hitter Tyler Locklear with a runner at second.

But Rodriguez had his number, driving in all four runs against the Indians starter.

With one down in the first, Harry Ford’s hard grounder off Hill found the hole on the left side, then Rodriguez lofted one to left that carried with the breeze over the left field fence to put Everett up 2-0 early.

Thompson got one run back in the bottom with a solo homer to right, his second of the season. The Indians scored two more in the second on a two-run line-drive double by Braiden Ward, playing in just his sixth game of the season.

Hill got into more trouble in the third. He recorded a third straight strikeout to start the frame, then allowed a single, walk and double steal. That brought up Rodriguez, who laced a two-run double to give the AquaSox a lead they would not relinquish.

Everett added a run in the fourth against Cullen Kafka on a solo homer by Walking Cabrera, his fourth of the season.

Two-out RBI hits by Locklear and Ben Ramirez off Kafka in the fifth made it 7-3. Joel Condreay walked the bases loaded in the sixth and his fourth walk of the inning brought in a run and ended his evening. Tyler Ahearn came in and got Rodriguez looking to end the rally.

Spokane loaded the bases in the seventh with two down, but Braxton Fulford’s soft liner to short right was tracked down by Locklear ranging from first base.