Dust Devils Run Shy of Indians in See-Saw Sunday Matinee

SPOKANE VALLEY – The Tri-City Dust Devils (10-5 2H, 40-41) grabbed a midgame lead Sunday afternoon and looked poised to sweep the Spokane Indians (10-5 2H, 39-42), but the home side slugged back and slipped by the visitors by a score of 7-6 to salvage the final game of their series at Avista Stadium.

Tri-City and Spokane traded single runs from the bottom of the 1^st inning through the top of the 3^rd. 3B Cole Fontenelle sent a second opposite field homer over the left field wall in as many days, tying the game in the top of the 2^nd. An inning later CF David Calabrese came through with a two-out RBI double to left, scoring 2B Adrian Placencia to even things again at 2-2.

The Dust Devils took their first and only lead of the game in the top of the 5^th inning. LF Rio Foster led off the frame with a triple down the right field line, hitting the jets to take advantage of a missed sliding catch attempt. SS Arol Vera then worked an 11-pitch walk to put two on ahead of C Juan Flores, who crushed a ball over the left field fence for a three-run homer and a 5-2 Tri-City lead.

A four-run bottom of the 5^th from the Indians put them back in front 6-5 but the Dust Devils tied the game a third time in the top of the 7^th. Vera led off the inning with a double down the left field line, ending up at third after a balk. Placencia then singled him in with one out to tie the game at 6-6.

The final scoring salvo came from Spokane in the bottom of the 8^th, though, with Indians RF Jesus Bugarin’s RBI single providing the winning margin. Dylan Phillips (2-3) took the loss, having walked the man who ended up scoring the winning run before departing the contest. Spokane reliever Alan Perdomo (3-2) got the win by facing one batter in the top of the 8^th, getting an out to strand the bases loaded.

DUST DEVILS NOTES

-Tri-City starter Ryan Costeiu and Spokane starter Braxton Hyde had numerically coincident and nearly identical starts. Both righties went 4.1 innings, giving up five hits. They also each threw 80 pitches, 56 of them for strikes, and received no-decisions for their efforts.

-The baseballers of Pasco, Kennewick and Richland have had tough Sunday luck against the Indians in 2025, losing the closing game of the first four series between the teams by one run. Sunday afternoon’s game had the most runs of the four by far, with the other three games decided by scores of 1-0 (twice) and 2-1.

-Despite that, the Dust Devils and Indians sit even in the season series through 18 games, having split three weeks of play to each win nine games off their Inland Northwest rival. One six-game series remains between the sides, taking place August 26-31 at Avista Stadium as part of the second half of a two-week road trip for Tri-City.

-Dust Devils manager Dann Bilardello is now within striking distance of 900 career wins as an MiLB manager, sitting five victories away at 895 after the week’s play.

EVERETT TO TOWN TUESDAY

Tri-City hosts the Everett AquaSox, High-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, for a six-game series beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, July 8^th, at 7:05 p.m. at Gesa Stadium. As always, it’s a Coca-Cola Tuesday with $2.50 21 oz. Coca-Cola products available throughout the night.

Games Tuesday through Saturday will take the traditional summer start time of 7:05 p.m., with Sunday’s game a 1:30 p.m. afternoon matinee heading into the All-Star Break.

Free broadcast coverage of the game (video in Bally Sports Live’s MiLB Zone and audio at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB app) begins with the Dust Devils Pregame Show 20 minutes prior to first pitch. The Dust Devils also welcome Craig Beauchemin, voice of the Tri-City Americans, back to the mic to call the action of Tuesday and Sunday’s contests.

For tickets to the Everett series, and all 2025 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.