Sellout Crowd Sees Fireworks Postgame, During Game in Pasco

The Independence Day eve contest between the Tri-City Dust Devils (1-11 2H) and the Spokane Indians (9-3 2H) had much to offer the sellout crowd of 3,667 at Gesa Stadium Wednesday: patriotic postgame fireworks, a bench and bullpen-clearing kerfuffle, and tough Spokane pitching that shut down the Tri-City offense in a 3-0 shutout loss for the home nine.

The disagreement turned confrontation came in the top of the 8^th inning when Indians RF Zac Veen received two pitches up and in from Dust Devils reliever Leonard Garcia, the first hitting the knob of his bat and the second earning Veen a walk. The outfielder, a 2022 star of the Northwest League back on a rehab assignment, threw his bat to the ground with force toward the third-base side of home plate and the Spokane dugout before heading to first.

Veen then attempted to steal second and was thrown out by Tri-City catcher Juan Flores, the eighth man caught by Flores in his first ten games catching for the Dust Devils. Veen headed for the dugout when Garcia reengaged in conversation, and the disagreement escalated in volume. As it did the benches and bullpens cleared, with managers and coaches attempting to separate the squads.

In all, the umpiring crew ejected five in the aftermath: Garcia, Veen, Indians CF Cole Carrigg, Tri-City 1B Cam Williams and Angels roving instructor Jobel Jimenez. Spokane reliever Braxton Hyde got the heave-ho from home plate umpire Jonathon Rector later in the game for words offered and not appreciated after he finished the bottom of the 8^th.

The only runs of the game all came with two outs in the top of the 5^th inning. Dust Devils starter Chris Clark (1-9) almost extracted himself from a major jam, but runners at second and third scored on a two-run double to right-center by Veen. Indians 3B Kyle Karros, the Northwest League leader in RBI, added another to his total with a triple the same way, giving the game the 3-0 margin with which it would finish.

Dust Devils bats mustered four hits on the night, with one each from 1B Andy Blake (who enter for Williams after his ejection), LF Caleb Ketchup, 2B Will McGillis and RF Joe Redfield. Spokane starter Blake Adams (6-2) threw six shutout innings, repeating his feat from his first start against Tri-City in April, striking out seven. Indians closer Carson Skipper gave up a hit but finished the shutout for his seventh save of the year.

On the mound, reliever Luke Murphy gave his squad a fine performance after entering cold for Leonard Garcia, throwing 1.2 scoreless innings with three strikeouts for the friends of Dusty. Most all involved in the proceedings then enjoyed the booms and blasts of the patriotic fireworks show over the outfield fence, presented by McEachen Electric.

Tri-City and Spokane decamp and head north and east to Spokane Valley for the second three-game series of the week, beginning at 7:05 p.m. on an Independence Day Thursday night at Avista Stadium. Dust Devils right-hander Ryan Costeiu (0-3, 2.36 ERA) takes on Indians righty Connor Staine (3-4, 4.98 ERA), with broadcast coverage of the Fourth of July ballgame beginning with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. both here and on the MiLB app.

Tri-City’s series with Spokane goes through Saturday, followed by a two-day break and a road series in Hillsboro leading up to the All-Star Break. Tri-City then returns post-break with a three-game set against the Eugene Emeralds starting Friday night, July 19^th.

Tickets for the Eugene series are on sale now with special ticket rates available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit the team’s official ticketing site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.