Bears Win On Road, Take Series 2-1

The Yakima Bears defeated the Tri-City Dust Devils 6-5 at Gesa Stadium in Pasco, Washington Wednesday night. The Bears got great production from the four-through-nine hitters and a bend-but-don’t-break performance from the pitching staff.

After falling behind 1-0 in the third inning, the Bears put together four-consecutive singles and then a fifth single after an out to plate three runs. Jacob House, Mike Lang, and Mark Ginther all singled and scored, while Ginther and Danny Poma drove in the runs.

The Dust Devils pulled within one with a run in the fifth inning, but the Bears plated another three runs in the sixth inning. This time Mike Lang reached on a one-out error before Ginther and Freeman singled behind him. Freeman drove in Lang, then Joe Loftus singled to score Ginther and advance Freeman to third. Poma finished the scoring that inning with a sacrifice fly.

The Bears never let go of the lead, but the Dust Devils did score three runs off of Blake Forslund in the eighth. The win went to Alex Carreras, who is now 3-0 after three starts. Carreras allowed two runs in five innings. Victor Acosta tossed two scoreless innings behind Carreras. RJ Hively got the Bears out of the jam following Forslund’s struggles, then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his first professional save.

The Bears outhit the Dust Devils 11-7. The top three batters in the order went 0-for-15, so it was the bottom batters who carried the scoring load. Freeman went 4-for-4 with a double, Ginther finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and Jacob House had a 2-for-5 night. Poma collected three RBIs during a 1-for-3 night.

The Bears are now 7-6 and still hold a two-game lead for first place in the Northwest League’s East Division. The Bears start a three-game home series against the Dust Devils Thursday, which will also be the start of a six-game homestand. First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 7:05. Left-handed pitcher Cody Wheeler is expected to start for the Bears against right-handed pitcher Peter Tago of the Dust Devils.