True, the Spokane Indians lost by five runs on Wednesday, but they had three good chances to rally. Read game story

Spokane's first good opportunity came in the second inning, when the Indians trailed Salem-Keizer 2-0. Sherman Lacrus singled to center to open the inning and Oliver Caraballo followed with an infield single.

But a double play put an end to that threat.

Spokane also had the bases loaded in the fifth after Leon Byrd's RBI single to right cut the Volcanoes' lead to 6-1. Lacrus struck out looking on a pitch that may or may not have caught the strike zone.

The following inning, with the score still 6-1, Caraballo was hit by a pitch and Todd McDonald singled to center to open the inning. The Indians couldn't move up the runners.

"First and second with nobody out (twice) and we didn't put up a crooked number," Indians manager Tim Hulett said. "That's a big deal. And the other thing is it seemed like we could only get something going with two outs. We had two-out hits with nobody on. It's tough, because then you have to have three or four hits to put something together.

"We didn't have good at-bats early in the count. Their guy (Mike Connolly) was really good mixing up pitches. He commanded the zone with his breaking pitch and his secondary pitches were good. We were up there swinging at fastballs and he was throwing curveballs."

 

 

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