Dust Devils Defeat Indians to End First Half on Winning Note
June 23, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release
Tri-City Dust Devils' Chase Chaney on the mound
(Tri-City Dust Devils, Credit: James Snook/Spokane Indians)
Stout pitching and great defensive plays help back an early homer Thursday night for the Tri-City Dust Devils (34-32), giving them enough for a 3-1 win over the Spokane Indians (33-32) at Avista Stadium to close out the Northwest League First Half for both teams.
Tri-City starter Chase Chaney (5-2) went to the mound with the lead thanks to a two-run home run in the top of the 1st by 2B Adrian Placencia, off Spokane starter Jarrod Cande (4-2), that landed on the roof of the caboose beyond the right field wall. The blast scored CF Joe Stewart, who had reached on an error in front of Placencia's seventh home run of the year.
Chaney then worked through another strong outing against Spokane, striking out the side in the bottom of the 1st and facing one over the minimum through his first four innings. The Lawrenceville, Georgia native gave up only one run, in the 5th inning on an RBI single by Indians 1B A.J. Lewis. Chaney struck out five and worked into the 6th inning to earn his fourth win of the season over Spokane.
Dust Devils reliever Roman Phansalkar took over for Chaney with the potential tying run on in the 6th. The righty would leave him there on the way to three scoreless innings, adding an incredible defensive play to end the bottom of the 7th. Speedy Indians 2B Braiden Ward attempted to bunt himself on but Phansalkar moved quickly off the mound to his right, barehanding the ball and making a perfect off-balance throw to first to get the third out.
Tri-City doubled their lead in the 8th inning, getting a run after Cande had held them off the board for the remainder of his quality, seven-inning start. Spokane reliever Mason Green allowed a leadoff double to Dust Devils C Gustavo Campero, who then stole third to put the pressure on.
After an out, Stewart came to the plate, getting into a 3-1 count. The Tri-City center fielder took a pitch he thought was ball four, but home plate umpire Shin Koishizawa called it strike two. Stewart then struck out on the next pitch and argued with Koishizawa about the 3-1 pitch, getting ejected from the game. Dust Devils manager Jack Howell walked down from third and continued the discussion, also earning a heave-ho from Koishizawa.
Placencia then came up with two outs, hitting a hard grounder to deep third fielded by Indians 3B Nic Kent, who bounced a throw across the diamond. Placencia raced up the line and Lewis could not pick the throw from the dirt, an RBI infield single that scored Campero for the 3-1 final margin.
Emilker Guzman came on for Tri-City in the bottom of the 9th, a night after taking the loss, and got the final three outs for his first save of the year. The final out came on a great play by 1B Ryan Hernandez, who ran over to catch a pop-up at the edge of the Spokane dugout. Hernandez snagged it but fell down the dugout steps, the umpires racing over to check if he held on to the ball. Hernandez showed them the ball in the glove and the final out was recorded, giving the Dust Devils their first winning half in their time as an Angels affiliate.
Offensively, Adrian Placencia drove in all three runs for the Dust Devils via his two hits, and Gustavo Campero doubled in back-to-back innings for a multi-hit night. On the mound, the trio of Chase Chaney, Roman Phansalkar and Emilker Guzman combined to strike out eight and walk only one in the win, which also moved Tri-City above their Inland Northwest rivals in the standings on the final day of the First Half.
The Dust Devils lead the six-game series with the Indians two games to one, with the league standings resetting for the beginning of the Second Half. Game four of the series will take place at 7:05 p.m. Friday night at Avista Stadium, where Tri-City will send workhorse right-hander Connor Van Scoyoc (4-3, 2.76 ERA) to the mound for the start. Spokane hands the ball to righty Jaden Hill (0-5, 10.38 ERA).
Broadcast coverage begins with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m.
Images from this story
 Tri-City Dust Devils' Chase Chaney on the mound (James Snook/Spokane Indians) |
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