SPOKANE VALLEY – A night after a six-run 5th inning propelled them to victory, a seven-run 7th inning gave the Tri-City Dust Devils (13-15 2H, 48-46) more than enough in a 9-5 win over the Spokane Indians (16-12 2H, 45-49) that secured at least a road split in the six-game series.
Tri-City led the game wire-to-wire, beginning with a run in the top of the 1st. LF Jorge Ruiz hit a fly ball to right field overrun by Spokane RF Tommy Hopfe, causing a missed catch error that allowed Ruiz to get to third to lead off the game. CF Capri Ortiz then slotted a liner down the right field line for an RBI double that made it 1-0 to the Dust Devils two batters in.
Ortiz, via his great speed, factored into a run in the top of the 3rd inning. He drew a walk and headed to second on what ended up an infield single to the right side by 3B Harold Coll. Indians 2B Roldy Brito charged and got to the ball, but his throw went both low and wide of first base and rolled away in Avista Stadium’s spacious foul territory. Ortiz came all the way in from second on the error, pushing the lead to 2-0.
Starter Jose Atencio (1-3) gave his team another great performance, allowing only a 6th inning solo home run to Hopfe that cut the Tri-City lead to 2-1. The Venezuelan righty went six innings, striking out five and walking two in earning his first win for the Dust Devils.
Then came the top of the 7th, which began with a line drive single to center by SS David Mershon. 2B Kevin Bruggeman then came up and celebrated his birthday a day early by launching a ball down the left field line and well over the wall for his first home run of 2026, a two-run blast that moved the lead to 4-1. C Alberto Rios walked to continue the rally, and Ruiz followed with an RBI triple to the short porch in right field that hit the wall on the fly. That made it 5-1, and another error on a ball hit by Coll scored Ruiz for a 6-1 advantage.
1B Ryan Nicholson singled to keep the pressure on and RF Randy De Jesus walked to reload the bases. DH Adrian Placencia drew a bases loaded walk for a 7-1 lead, Mershon pushed across another run with an infield single (his second hit of the inning) and Rios walked a second time in the 7th to get one more on the board and make it a 9-1 game.
Spokane scored four in the 8th to make things more interesting, but a combination of Kyle Roche (1 IP) and Sam Tookoian (1 IP) got the final six outs to finish the team’s third straight win. Indians starter Everett Catlett (5-6) gave up only two unearned runs over six decent innings but took the loss.
DUST DEVILS NOTES
-Eight of nine Dust Devils in the lineup scored a run in the contest. Adrian Placencia, the only Tri-City batter not to score last night, still brought in a run to make it a total team offensive effort.
-Kevin Bruggeman’s home run was the first longball for him as a Dust Devil since August 2, 2024, when he hit two homers in a game at Vancouver. The Trumbull, Connecticut native hit four home runs for Single-A Inland Empire in the 2025 campaign.
-The Northwest League Friday saw the Hillsboro Hops pick up a second straight win over the Vancouver Canadians, taking the contest at Hops Ballpark by a final score of 8-4. The Eugene Emeralds, Tri-City’s next opponent, beat the Everett AquaSox 5-3 at Everett Memorial Stadium for their third win in four on the road.
WIN A GAME, WIN A SERIES
Tri-City will look to clinch a road series win in game five of their six-game set with Spokane at 6:35 p.m. Saturday night at Avista Stadium. The Dust Devils send right-hander Tyler Bremner (0-4, 4.70 ERA) to the mound, in search of his first professional win. Righty Yuma Herrera (1-2, 4.47 ERA) gets the start for the Indians.
Free broadcast coverage on the MiLB app and dustdevilsbaseball.com will begin with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 6:15 p.m. Fans can also watch the games for free on Bally Sports Live (Spokane broadcast), and via subscription on MLB.tv and the MiLB app.
After a 12-game road trip that continues to Eugene the Dust Devils return Tuesday, August 4, for a six-game set with the Hillsboro Hops. For tickets to the set with the Hops, as well as all 2026 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.