Indians Get Past Dust Devils Late

PASCO – The Tri-City Dust Devils (12-12) got a great starting pitching performance Thursday night from righty prospect Chris Cortez, but a tight, low-scoring game went the way of the Spokane Indians (12-12) late in a second straight 3-1 defeat for the home nine at Gesa Stadium.

Cortez threw five scoreless innings, giving up three hits and walking only one while striking out three. The 2^nd round 2024 pick of the Los Angeles Angels, out of Texas A&M, left with the lead after 2B Adrian Placencia’s 5^th inning RBI single scored 1B Matt Coutney to give Tri-City a 1-0 lead. The visitors rallied, though, via an RBI single by DH Jean Perez in the 7^th to tie the game at 1-1. Then, in the 9^th inning, Perez struck again with an RBI single through the right side of a drawn-in infield off of reliever Jake Smith (0-2) giving them the lead for good. A passed ball on a squeeze attempt allowed a third run, with the home nine unable to rally in their last at-bat.

DUST DEVILS NOTES

-Cortez has thrown nine consecutive scoreless innings, allowing two runs in the 1^st inning of his win in Hillsboro last Friday and nothing since. The righty out of Las Vegas, Nevada, got some help from his defense Thursday night, with SS Capri Ortiz making a dazzling, diving stop and throw to first to rob Spokane of a hit on the first ball in play of the game. LF Rio Foster added a sliding catch on a line drive in the 4^th inning to take another potential hit away.

-Foster (1-3, HBP) reached base twice in his return to the Dust Devils lineup. CF Anthony Scull and C Juan Flores, also regular starters for Tri-City in 2025, made it back into the starting nine as well.

-Manager Dann Bilardello’s team, despite the loss, still sits only two games out of first place early on in the 2025 Northwest League First Half race. The Dust Devils sit tied with both the Indians and Vancouver at 12-12, with both Eugene and Hillsboro two clear of the three-team logjam at 14-10. Everett currently sits in sixth position at 8-16.

VAMOS, VIÑEROS!

Tri-City and Spokane face off in game four of their six-game series at 6:30 p.m. Friday night at Gesa Stadium. It’s both a Family Feast Night and Influencer Night, presented by Gutter Girl. As well, Viñeros de Tri-City take the field for the first time this season and will do so all weekend, in anticipation of Cinco de Mayo coming up on Monday. The alternate moniker of the Dust Devils honors the region’s local winemaking industry and its workers as part of Minor League Baseball’s Copa de la Diversión initiative.

Broadcast coverage of the game, available for free with video in the MiLB Zone of Bally Sports Live and audio-only at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB app, begins with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 6:10 p.m.

For tickets to games in the Spokane series, as well as for all 2025 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.