Two Homers for Tri-City Not Enough in Spokane
SPOKANE VALLEY – LF Rio Foster homered for the sixth time in August and SS Capri Ortiz went deep for the first time in 2025 as a righty, but the Tri-City Dust Devils (26-30 2H, 56-66) had a late lead slip away to the Spokane Indians (28-28 2H, 57-65) in
SPOKANE VALLEY – LF Rio Foster homered for the sixth time in August and SS Capri Ortiz went deep for the first time in 2025 as a righty, but the Tri-City Dust Devils (26-30 2H, 56-66) had a late lead slip away to the Spokane Indians (28-28 2H, 57-65) in a 4-2 decision Wednesday night at Avista Stadium.
Neither team scored in the first three frames with starters Austin Gordon and Spokane’s Stu Flesland III (2-2) going toe-to-toe. Foster then broke through with two outs in the top of the 4th inning, sending one over the wall in left for his second home run in as many nights. Indians RF Max Belyeu evened things up an inning later with a solo shot to right, but Ortiz responded in the top of the 6th by homering off Flesland for his first longball since June 18. The switch-hitting infielder’s 5th home run of the year gave the Dust Devils a 2-1 lead.
The visitors looked well-positioned to get to the 8th inning with the lead after reliever Jorge Marcheco (5-5) retired the first two batters of the bottom of the 7th. There things went sideways, with a walk and a hit-by-pitch setting the stage for a two-run double by Spokane SS Andy Perez that gave the Indians a 3-2 lead. A second hit batter brought up CF Caleb Hobson, who singled up the middle to double the Tri-City deficit. Though 2B Mitchell Daly walked and got into scoring position in the 8th, the Hobson single ended up the final scoring play of the night.
DUST DEVILS NOTES
-C Juan Flores returned to the lineup Wednesday after leaving last Thursday’s game in Vancouver due to a hand injury. Flores showed no signs of rust at the plate, lining a single to right and reaching via a hit-by-pitch.
-Austin Gordon ended up throwing 3.1 scoreless innings as he continues to build up strength in his return to the rotation. The righty and 4th round 2024 pick of the Angels, out of Clemson, struck out three in his 63 pitch outing.
-Reliever Yendy Gomez threw a scoreless inning and recorded a strikeout, breaking three bats of the final two batters he faced.
THE “C” OF CORTEZ
Tri-City and Spokane clash in game three of their six-game series at 6:35 p.m. Thursday night at Avista Stadium. Right-hander Chris Cortez (3-7, 3.87 ERA) toes the slab for the Dust Devils, taking on righty Braxton Hyde (2-3, 5.47 ERA) of the Indians.
Game coverage, available for free at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB app, begins with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 6:15 p.m.
Tri-City returns home after the series to host the Hillsboro Hops, September 2-7, to close out the 2025 regular season.
For tickets to the regular season-ending series with Hillsboro, visit the official ticket site: dustdevilsbaseball.com.