Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009

Tri-City bats quiet for second straight night

By Kevin Anthony, Herald staff writer

That's a whole lotta zeroes.

Twenty-two of 'em, to be precise.

After watching Tri-City unload on them in the series opener, the Spokane Indians posted their second straight shutout at Gesa Stadium, downing the Dust Devils 2-0 on Monday night.

Tri-City managed just four hits and, combined with the final four scoreless innings of Saturday's 9-2 win and Sunday's 3-0 shutout, hasn't gotten a sniff of home plate in 22 innings.

"You've got to score some runs to win the game," Tri-City manager Fred Ocasio said, citing Baseball 101. "And for two nights in a row we haven't."

Ocasio, though, isn't exactly circling the wagons just yet. The veteran manager knows bad-hitting nights happen -- even in back-to-back games. Moreover, he knows his Dust Devils (29-21) still lead Spokane (23-27) by six games in the Northwest League East standings as they depart for an eight-game road swing, starting tonight in Yakima.

Spokane starter Trevor Hurley was next to untouchable, giving up just an infield single to Jeremiah Sammy in the first inning, then setting down 13 of the next 14 he faced.

Hurley (3-2) struck out five and walked one in his six innings of work. Geuris Grullon threw the final three innings for his second save.

After Sammy's single, the Dust Devils wouldn't get another hit until the seventh -- the first batter after Hurley left the game -- and that was wiped off the books by a double play.

"You got to give credit to their pitchers," Ocasio said. "They threw the ball well, threw inside well. Their pitchers the last two nights threw well."

The Dust Devils offense was so anemic that their fifth-inning "uprising" -- a walk, a balk and a hit batter with two out -- caused a stir among the 1,578 in the stands. Alas, Tim Wheeler lifted the first pitch he saw to center to end the threat.

Tri-City starter Rob Scahill was almost as tough as his Spokane counterpart, giving up just three hits and a walk while striking out six in his five innings. He hit his spots all night and didn't waste many pitches, needing just 66 to twice work through the Indians lineup.

"I was throwing my fastball in and out," said Scahill, who fell to 0-3 despite a fine outing. "It would have been nice if we could have pulled this one out."

One highlight for the Dust Devils was another outstanding defensive showing by shortstop Joey Wong, whose biggest play was one he didn't quite make in the sixth inning.

Diving to his right, he fielded a tough short-hop grounder in the hole, pounced to his feet and got rid of the ball in a flash. The ball floated to first, just a little late to get Jason Ogata, who'd accounted for the game's only run to that point with his sacrifice fly in the fourth.

It's a credit to the pitching and defense that the Dust Devils had a chance to pull even in the ninth after Ben Paulsen's leadoff double off the wall in left.

But Grullon struck out pinch-hitter Kent Matthes and Kevin Clark, then ended the game on an easy hopper to short.