Everett plays spoiler; Spokane Indians routed, eliminated in home finale
Sep. 3—The Spokane Indians moved Sunday’s game time back in order to set off postgame fireworks for the last home game of the season.
The visitors provided their own during the game, and it ended the competitive portion of the Indians’ season.
Seattle Mariners No. 1 prospect Cole Young went 4 for 5 with a homer, double, three runs and three RBIs, and the Everett AquaSox beat the Spokane Indians 11-0 in the finale of a six-game Northwest League series at Avista Stadium, where 6,946 fans came out for the season finale and postgame fireworks.
The Indians (27-31 second half) were eliminated from postseason contention with six games to play. Everett (36-24) moved into a first-place tie with Vancouver.
Spokane managed one hit, a two-out single by Robby Martin, Jr. in the fourth, and two walks.
“It hurts to get eliminated at home,” outfielder Benny Montgomery said. “We didn’t want to get eliminated at all. But it was good to have a good crowd here. And it was nice to have the game later so more people could come, especially with Labor Day tomorrow.”
The parent club Colorado Rockies promoted several highly-ranked prospects at midseason, leading to inconsistency and struggles down the stretch.
“We got some players that went up,” Indians manager Robinson Cancel said. “I thought we had a good team, and we lost some players. Not making an excuse.
“I mean, we played as hard as we could, and we tried to do our best and things happen. We’ll be ready next season.”
“There was definitely a different feel,” Montgomery added. “I love all the guys on this team now, I love all the guys on the team at the beginning of the year. But there was definitely some (player) movement to other affiliates this year.”
The AquaSox jumped on top in the second inning against Indians starter Victor Juarez (6-6).
With one run in already and two on, Young crushed one to right-center that cleared the caboose by plenty for a three-run homer, his sixth in High-A, and a 4-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Everett starter Kelvin Nunez cruised through his four innings of shutout work. He didn’t strike out a batter but allowed just one hit and one walk.
Young led off the fifth against reliever Felix Ramires with a double, went to third on a flyout and scored on another. In the sixth, Victor Labrada singled, stole second and scored on a double by Josh Hood to make it 6-0.
Bill Knight added a three-run bomb later in the inning to blow it open, and Josh Hood tripled in two runs in the eighth.
Juarez, a 20-year-old righty, pitched six innings and allowed five earned runs on seven hits and two walks.
The Indians conclude their season with a six-game series in Hillsboro beginning Tuesday.
Source: Yahoo Sports
