Mother's Day brought perfect baseball weather to Avista Stadium on Sunday, with temperatures in the mid-70s and barely a breeze. The result? A home run showcase that had fans on their feet from the first pitch.
Kevin Fitzer delivered the performance of the season for the Spokane Indians, crushing home runs in his first two at-bats—including a jaw-dropping grand slam—to power the team to an 8-3 victory over the Tri-City Dust Devils in the finale of their six-game High-A Northwest League series.
The win gave Spokane (13-20) its first series victory since opening weekend, taking four of six from the Dust Devils (18-15). The game featured a total of six home runs, all coming within the first three and a half innings.
"It was definitely a good series win for us and good momentum heading into next week at Hillsboro," Fitzer said. The Indians now head on the road for a six-game set against the Hops starting Tuesday.
Fitzer's breakout day was especially meaningful given his recent struggles. Coming into Sunday, he had managed just seven hits in his previous 52 at-bats over 14 games—a tough .134 stretch. His first career multi-homer game was exactly the confidence boost he needed.
"It's been getting a lot of work in in the cages, making some adjustments, and it felt good today to have it actually show up on the field," Fitzer said.
He nearly made it a three-homer day in the eighth inning, but right fielder Randy De Jesus tracked down the deep fly ball on the warning track. "It was close," Fitzer admitted. "But the wind picked up a little bit and I didn't hit it as well."
While the bats stole the headlines, Spokane's pitching staff deserves plenty of credit. Starter Yuma Herrera battled through four innings, surrendering three runs on solo homers. Then reliever Fisher Jameson (3-1) took over and delivered his best outing of the year—four shutout innings, scattering five hits and issuing no walks.
The fireworks started early. Fitzer launched a solo shot to dead center in the bottom of the first for his fifth homer of the season. Tri-City answered quickly, with Matt Coutney and Anthony Scull going back-to-back with solo shots in the second to put the Dust Devils up 2-1.
But Spokane responded in a big way. After loading the bases on two walks and an error, Tevin Tucker struck out, bringing Fitzer to the plate with two outs. He delivered a line drive grand slam to right field—his second homer of the game and sixth of the season.
"I've had a lot of situations like that this week, and I'm just trying to help the team score runs," Fitzer said. "I just got a good pitch to hit and I put a good swing on it."
The home run derby continued in the third, with Kelvin Hidalgo singling and Jacob Hinderleider adding to the offensive onslaught. On a day when Avista Stadium lived up to its reputation as a hitter's paradise, it was the home team that made the most noise.