Tuesday, Aug. 05, 2008

Devils let another win slip away

By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer

Is no lead safe against Spokane?

That's the question the Tri-City Dust Devils have to be asking themselves after watching Spokane erase an early deficit for the second straight night on their way to a 13-9 win.

Four runs? Six runs? Ten runs?

From the looks of it, nothing was safe against the East Division leaders, who erased a 7-1 third-inning deficit for their third straight win and seventh in the last nine games. The Indians (35-12) hold a five-game lead over second place Boise with 29 games left to play and lead Tri-City (22-25) by 13 games. Yakima, which lost 8-5 to Boise, fell 19 games back.

"Tonight was an outstanding game for us to be able to come back," said Spokane manager Tim Hulett Sr., who watched the Indians come back for a 10-5 win Sunday after trailing 4-0. "One of the characteristics of this team is we've always been able to put up numbers -- to score and keep putting runs up."

Neither team had trouble putting up numbers as both clubs combined for 33 hits and 22 runs. Every Spokane and Tri-City starter had at least one hit -- just the second time all season the Dust Devils have accomplished that feat. The Indians put up a season-high 18 hits.

But it was all in the timing for Spokane, which outscored Tri-City 12-2 over the final six innings.

"They can hit. That's one thing I'll give to them," said Dust Devils outfielder Scott Robinson, who went 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI in his second straight multi-hit game. "It makes them resilient. We put them in a big hole early, and they were able to come back."

Robinson also stole his team-high ninth base of the season, swiping third in the fifth inning.

The Dust Devils offense started off hot for the second straight night, scoring a run in the first on Austin Rauch's sacrifice fly and then two more in the second when Ryan Peisel scored on a throwing error by Spokane starter Martin Perez and James Sims scored on a passed ball to make it 3-0.

The Indians scored one in the third before Tri-City picked up three more in the bottom of the inning on Robinson's RBI double and a two-run triple by Leonardo Reyes.

"Offensively, our guys are swinging the bat well," said Dust Devils manager Fred Ocasio. "We've just got to find a way to get (Spokane) out. You've got to give them credit. They don't give up."

Tri-City starter Kenneth Durst allowed five runs -- three earned -- on a season-high seven hits in four innings. J.R. Murphy came in after Matt West blasted a two-run homer off Durst to cut the Dust Devils' lead to 7-5 in the fifth.

But Murphy (1-2) got hit hard, too, surrendering four runs on three hits in 1 1/3 innings.

"(Our pitchers) threw strikes and they were aggressive in the strike zone," Ocasio said.

Tri-City picked up a run in the fifth to make it 8-6, but Spokane finally took the lead in the sixth, scoring three runs on an RBI single from David Paisano and a two-run double from Eric Fry.

Fry finished the game 2-for-5 with four RBIs, and West went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI.

Peisel also had a strong game for the Dust Devils, recording his first three-hit game as a pro and adding a pair of RBI.