Spokane's Three Homers Not Enough in Season Opening Loss

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Spokane Indians kicked off their 2021 season with a 9-5 loss to the Eugene Emeralds on Opening Night Fireworks & AAA Magnet Schedule Giveaway presented by Gus Johnson Ford, KREM 2, and 93.7 The Mountain in front of a sold out limited-capacity crowd of 1,750 fans.

The Indians launched three homers in the final innings to get within striking distance, but Eugene closed the door on a final rally. Eugene jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the fifth inning and finished the game with 15 hits.

Spokane got homers from Jack Blomgren, Michael Toglia, and John Cresto and an RBI knock from Eddy Diaz .

TOP PERFORMERS

• Jack Blomgren went 2-for-4, the only Indians’ player with a multi-hit performance. His home run in the sixth inning was his first professional career home run and the first Spokane run of the season.
• Michael Toglia, the 2019 first round pick from UCLA, blasted his first homer as a Spokane Indian in the 7th inning to cut the Emeralds lead to 7-2. He his nine home runs in 2019 with the Boise Hawks.
• San Francisco Giants first round pick Patrick Bailey started his minor league career with a bang - literally. His solo homer in the third inning opened the scoring and he finished the night going 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBI.

BY THE NUMBERS

• The Eugene pitching staff finished the night with 15 strikeouts, with starter Caleb Kilian notching 9 punch outs in four innings.
• The Indians finished the game going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position compared to the 6-for-13 performance of the Emeralds.
• Spokane went 2-for-2 on the base paths with Brenton Doyle and Aaron Schunk both successfully stealing second base.

KEY MOMENT

With Eugene up 4-0 and the bases loaded, Spokane induced a 5-2-3 double play that looked to limit the damage in the inning. However, the next batter Tyler Fitzgerald stepped to the plate and launched a three-run homer to break the game wide open and give Eugene a 7-0 lead.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

The Tri-City Dust Devils notched the first shutout of the season in the High-A West, blanking the Vancouver Canadians, 4-0. The Hillsboro Hops got a two-run homer from Dominic Canzone en route to a 4-1 victory over the Everett AquaSox.

NEXT GAME AT AVISTA STADIUM

The Spokane Indians and Eugene Emeralds continue their six-game series tonight, with first pitch at 6:30 p.m. Chris McMahon, Colorado’s 2020 2nd round pick, will be making his professional debut as Spokane’s starter. The righty will square off against Eugene’s starter Kai-Wei Teng. Gates open at 5:30 PM with first pitch at 6:30 PM. Tickets for all Spokane Indians home games are available to purchase online at SpokaneIndians.com.