Dust Devils catch Tribe in East race

| July 23, 2011 9:00 PM

SPOKANE - Tyler Massey and Jared Simon hit back-to-back doubles to drive in three runs as the Tri-City Dust Devils defeated the Spokane Indians 4-2 to even the first-half race in the East Division of the Northwest League on Friday in front of 4,875 at Avista Stadium.

Spokane (19-16) took an early lead as Drew Robinson hit a solo home run with one out in the second inning. Timothy Smalling hit a solo home run leading off the fourth inning for Tri-City (19-16), which pounded out 15 hits.

Spokane loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but Brett Nicholas grounded into a double play to end the game. Spokane left 11 runners on base and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

The series finale begins tonight at 6:30 at Avista. There are three games left in the first half.