It’s not Indians’ evening

Nine times the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes have lost this season, twice at the hands of the Spokane Indians.

“For some reason, it seems like we match up pretty well against these guys,” Indians manager Tim Hulett said.

This wasn’t one of those nights.

Spokane right-hander Ryan Tatusko watched as things quickly unraveled in front of him on Friday night in a showcase of the good, the bad and the ugly.

The Indians’ starter witnessed the strong bats of the defending Northwest League champs and some poor fielding by the Spokane defense in an ugly first inning that led the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes to a 10-2 Northwest League baseball victory in front of 5,031 fans at Avista Stadium.

Salem-Keizer erupted at the plate in the top of the first inning as the Volcanoes batted through the lineup to take a 5-0 lead.

“(Tatusko) did a good job – he threw a couple of ground balls, and he was part of one bad play, but we missed some throws on a couple,” Hulett said. “We gave a good team five runs to start the game off, and that hurts.”

Tatusko, who threw 28 pitches in the opening-inning slugfest, gave up back-to-back singles to S-K’s Shane Jordan and Brock Bond. Both runners advanced on a throwing error to first by Tatusko before Matt Downs singled in Jordan for the first run.

With runners at the corners, Tatusko hit Garrett Baker to load the bases with no outs. Spokane second baseman Renny Osuna missed a throw from shortstop Davis Stoneburner on a routine grounder that allowed Bond and Downs to score.

The Indians got their first out on the next play, a one-hopper to third baseman Kenny Smith, and the Volcanoes drove in two more runs before Sharlon Schoop flew out to right.

“Every team in the league has guys hitting in the low .200s, and they don’t have anybody,” said Hulett of the Volcanoes’ tenacious bats.

Salem-Keizer’s weakest link in the lineup was Tyler La Torre’s .260 batting average, while the highest average is Bond’s .391. The Volcanoes lead the league with a .282 team average.

“They swing the bats well, they play defense well, and they pitch well,” added Hulett.

The Indians, who are 1 1/2 games behind East Division-leading Boise, finally got a man on base when Stoneburner walked in the third.

He scored on a double from Matthew Lawson to put the Indians on the board. Stoneburner added an RBI single in the fifth to lead the Indians at the plate.

“It was just one of those nights, that’s why you play a bunch of games,” Stoneburner said of the loss. “They are a very good team, and we have beaten them before, so hopefully it’ll go our way (today).”

The Volcanoes picked up their final two runs on Chad Rothford’s blast to right in the ninth inning. He finished with three RBIS and two runs scored.

Volcanoes starter Thomas Brewer (5-0), who has a 2.95 ERA, allowed three hits, struck out four and walked two batters in five innings of work – and the Volcanoes’ record remained in single digits in the loss column. At 35-9, the Volcanoes are one of two NWL teams with a winning record.

Bond finished 3 for 5 from the plate and scored two runs. Jordan, Downs, Rothford and Andrew Davis all had multiple hits for the Volcanoes.

The five-game homestand against Salem-Keizer continues tonight at Avista Stadium.