Spokane Indians build big lead, win finale against Vancouver 6-4

VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Spokane Indians built a big lead on Sunday then held off the Vancouver Canadians 6-4 in the finale of a three-game High-A Northwest League series at Nat Bailey Stadium.

Leading 6-0 entering the bottom of the ninth, reliever Luke Taggert entered and didn’t retire any of the five batters he faced. He allowed four runs on four hits and a hit batter.

Taggert, 27, who is recovering from 21/2 seasons of injury, has made six appearances with the Indians with an 18.00 ERA.

He left the game with two on and no outs, turning things over to Cade Denton. Denton got a fly out, but Edward Duran’s infield single scored a run to make it 6-4 and bring the winning run to the plate.

Denton rebounded to strike out Carter Cunningham, and Jay Harry popped out to end the game. Denton earned his sixth save of the season.

The Indians (14-10) grabbed the early lead on Aidan Longwell’s first-inning home run, his 12th of the season.

The next four innings were dominated by Indians starter Stu Flesland. The lefty from Mt. Spokane faced the minimum number of batters, erasing the only base hit he allowed with a fielder’s choice and a pick-off. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five, throwing 39 of his 53 pitches for strikes.

Longwell registered his third hit of the game with a two-out single in the sixth. The next batter, Blake Wright, clubbed his second High-A homer since his promotion on July 1 to make it 3-0.

The Indians added a run in the eighth. Tevin Tucker walked, stole second and went to third on a single by GJ Hill. Hill broke for second on a steal attempt, and the Canadians (13-10) had him picked off. But first baseman Cunningham made a throwing error and Tucker scored without a play.

They opened it up in the ninth. Juan Perez singled, stole second and third, and scored on a wild pitch. The next batter, Darius Perry, launched his third homer to make it 6-0.