Dust Devils Defeat Indians with Streak-Ending Comeback
August 18, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release
Tri-City Dust Devils at bat
(Tri-City Dust Devils)
Down 5-1 through three innings the Tri-City Dust Devils (17-28 2H, 51-60) dug in and took advantage of wayward pitching by the Spokane Indians (20-25 2H, 53-57) Thursday night, scoring seven unanswered runs and taking an 8-5 win at Avista Stadium.
Tri-City starter Chase Chaney (7-5) had a rough go early, giving up two home runs in a three-run 1st inning and allowing two more Spokane runs in the 3rd. The righty from Lawrenceville, Georgia then went 3.1 innings further into the game, holding the Indians off the scoreboard into the 7th while his teammates got to work at the plate.
The offense for the Dust Devils first struck in the top of the 2nd inning, getting back-to-back doubles from SS Arol Vera and RF Alexander Ramirez to make it a 3-1 game at the time. 2B Andy Blake then struck in the top of the 4th for his first extra-base hit with Tri-City, a double to left off Spokane starter, and former Dust Devil, Mason Albright that scored 3B Werner Blakely to cut the deficit to 5-2.
The game flipped in the top of the 6th with the Dust Devils scoring four runs to take the lead on only two hits. Ramirez led off the inning with a single, part of a three-hit night. Tri-City then drew four walks in a row from Indians relievers Anderson Bido and Tyler Ahearn (1-2), with bases-loaded walks to both 1B Matt Coutney and Blake bringing the visitors within a run at 5-4.
The comeback continued with an RBI single by CF D'Shawn Knowles tied the game at 5-5 and left the bases loaded with no one out. DH Adrian Placencia then grounded into a double play, but the Spokane defense traded two outs for a run and allowed Coutney to score the run that gave the Dust Devils their first lead at 6-5.
Two insurance runs for Tri-City provided further breathing room in the top of the 9th inning. Knowles legged out an infield single, completing another three-hit game, and moved to second when the throw to get him went wide and up the right field line. LF Joe Stewart then singled to right with one out, scoring Knowles for a 7-5 lead. Blakely then singled with two out to score Vera, who reached on a fielder's choice, for the 8-5 final margin.
Dust Devils reliever Hayden Seig made sure there would be no walk-off for the second straight night, taking the baton from Chaney in the 7th and getting eight outs in seven batters for his first save of 2023. The man from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania struck out four along the way to cinching the win that ended the team's ten-game losing streak. The victory also gave Chaney a 6-0 record against the Indians in 2023.
Manager Jack Howell's crew again piled up hits, getting 13 on the night. Werner Blakely and Joe Stewart had multi-hit games alongside the three-hit nights of D'Shawn Knowles and Alexander Ramirez, and Andy Blake's double ended up part of a two-RBI night for the 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year.
The losing streak now history, Tri-City will look to even the series with Spokane in game four of their six-game set at 7:05 p.m. Friday night at Avista Stadium. The Dust Devils list left-hander Nick Horvath (0-0, 7.36 ERA) as their probable starter, with the Indians planning to send right-hander Victor Juarez (6-5, 6.91 ERA) to the mound.
Broadcast coverage begins with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m., both here and at the MiLB First Pitch app.
After the Spokane series Tri-City will return to Gesa Stadium Tuesday, August 22 for a six-game set with the Everett AquaSox. Tickets for both the Everett series and all games are on sale now with special ticket rates available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit dustdevilsbaseball.com, call the team office at (509) 544-8789, or visit the team office (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on game nights, or Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. otherwise).
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 Tri-City Dust Devils at bat |
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