Spokane Indians lefty Stu Flesland found out about an hour before Sunday’s game he would start the finale of the six-game series against the Everett AquaSox.
Utilized exclusively as a reliever so far this season, Flesland is used to getting ready to pitch on short notice. The 24-year-old made the most of his opportunity.
Flesland tossed three shutout innings, the hitters broke things open late, and the Indians beat the AquaSox 10-2, winning two out of three over the weekend at Avista Stadium.
The Indians lost the first three games of the series, extending a losing streak to nine games, before bouncing back to go 2-1 in the first three games of the Northwest League second half.
“It was insanely important, especially with the (end of) the first half and getting off to a good start,” Flesland said. “Now just kind of keeping it rolling and getting it started to go ahead and make a run to win the second half.”
The Indians scored four runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings to blow open a close game against the first-half standings champion Frogs. Aidan Longwell, Braylen Wimmer, Andy Perez and Cole Messina all knocked in two runs apiece.
After the team struggled to score runs during the losing streak, they put up 17 runs over their last three games.
“One through nine, I think we have a really good lineup here. It’s really fun to go to work with these guys every day,” Messina said. “We wanted to start the second half on better terms than what we ended the first half.”
Flesland drew the emergency start for the Indians, replacing scheduled starter Michael Prosecky, who was a late scratch with a migraine. Flesland retired nine of the 10 batters he faced — with a hit batter the only blemish to his record.
Flesland has plenty of experience starting games in college and last season with Low-A Fresno.
“I kind of took it back to then, how I would prepare just getting ready for an outing,” he said. “Kind of just did the same things as I always did and ended up doing really well.”
For the season, Flesland is 1-1 with a 5.95 ERA with 32 strikeouts over 391/3 innings. He had given up nine earned runs over his last five outings covering eight innings.
“I was mixing it up, throwing changeups and sliders in counts that the hitters wouldn’t expect, and just kind of just keeping them off the fastball,” he said “Then when they were looking for something soft, I hit them with the fastball.”
“He needed that,” Messina said. He’s had some tough breaks here recently. I thought he thought he pitched very, very well today.”
The Indians got back-to-back one-out singles by Ben McCabe and Jared Thomas in the bottom of the third, but Charlie Condon grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the burgeoning rally.
They loaded the bases with one down in the next inning, and Skyler Messinger’s flyout to the track in right brought in the first run of the game.
Reliever Cole Omlid took over for the Indians in the sixth. With one down, he walked Luis Suisbel, then Lazaro Montes crushed one off the scoreboard in right center, his fourth homer of the series and NWL-leading 18th of the season.
The Indians tied it in the bottom half. Perez drew a one-out walk, went to second on Messinger’s two-out single and scored on a line-drive single by Tevin Tucker.
Thomas walked to start the seventh and went to third on Longwell’s single off the wall in right. Wimmer walked to load the bases, then Perez rocked a double off the top of the wall in right center to knock in two.
Messina followed with a double off the wall in left center, and the Indians led 6-2.
“I just wanted to take my best swings,” Messina said. “I just wanted to get the ball up in the air and score the run. Took a good swing, hit the ball hard.”
The Indians blew it open in the seventh on back-to-back two-run doubles by Longwell and Wimmer, who are second and fifth in the league in RBIs.
McGraw shines for AquaSox
Seattle Mariners prospect Teddy McGraw made his second High-A start of the season for Everett in his return from a right flexor strain he sustained last August. McGraw, the third-round pick out of Wake Forest for the Mariners in 2023, has recovered twice from ligament replacement surgery.
In three shutout innings, the 23-year-old allowed three hits and no walks with three strikeouts. He threw 36 pitches, 24 for strikes.
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