Tri-City Dust Devils vs. Yakima Bears on Wednesday night at Yakima County Stadium. All photos by SARA GETTYS

T-C jumps on Yakima ace to end four-game losing streak vs. Bears||

YAKIMA — They had been going in opposite directions, the surging, playoff-bound Bears and tailspinning Tri-City.

Especially against each other.

Yakima teammates congratulate Raoul Torrez (37) after he scored in the fifth inning against Tri-City on Wednesday at Yakima County Stadium.||SARA GETTYS/Yakima Herald-Republic

But Wednesday night at Yakima County Stadium the cellar-dwelling Dust Devils finally got their due, roughing up Bears ace Miguel Pena early and getting a two-run homer late en route to a 7-3 victory before an announced crowd of 1,588.

Yakima (22-12 second half, 40-32 overall), had beaten Tri-City (12-22, 29-43) four nights in a row and eight times in 10 games this season.

Despite the loss, the Bears saw their second-half East Division magic number reduced to two with Spokane’s loss to Boise.

“It’s hard to beat a team five times in a row,” Bears manager Bob Didier said. “They’re a professional ballclub, and they obviously have some good players over there.”

Yakima's Zach Walters makes a catch in the second inning against Tri-City on Wednesday.||SARA GETTYS/Yakima Herald-Republic

With starting pitcher Erik Stavert clearly among them. Stavert allowed only three hits and one run over 5 2?3 innings, striking out four and walking three to improve to 3-4.

Pena, who will start Yakima’s best-of-three playoff series opener with Spokane here Monday, yielded six hits and five runs — though only two were earned — over five innings. He walked four and struck out five.

“He just never seemed to get comfortable,” Didier said. “He was just a young, 19-year-old pitcher who wasn’t able to adjust on the fly. But he’s been our best starter, and I feel comfortable with him on the mound Monday.”

Roberto Ortiz had two of Yakima’s eight hits and Mike Freeman extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

Pena’s problems began early, with first-inning singles by Jeremiah Sammy, Bryce Massanari and Mark Tracy. Sammy came home on a passed ball while Tracy’s two-out single scored Reyes and Jared Simon after Simon had drawn a two-out walk and advanced when Sammy plated.

Errors by Zach Walters and Raoul Torrez, along with two base hits, then plated two second-inning runs for a 5-0 Tri-City lead.

Yakima’s offense finally broke through in the fifth against Stavert, using successive walks to Torrez and Westley Moss plus Ortiz’s two-out single to make it 5-1.

The Bears made it a two-run game in the seventh, scoring twice with two outs.

After  Freeman singled, Ortiz walked and Walters, the switch-hitter batting right-handed against T-C lefty Kraig Sitton, steered a bouncer between third and short for a two-run single.

But in the top of the eighth against Greg Robinson, who had worked two hitless innings in relief of Pena, Mark Tracy led off with a single and, with one out, Chad Jacobsen launched his second homer of the year to left-center for a four-run Tri-City cushion.

“The two-run homer broke our backs,” Didier said. “I felt like when it was 5-3, with two more at bats we could tie it or take the lead.”

Yazy Arbelo, the Northwest League’s RBI leader who also ranks second in homers, left the game after grounding out in the fourth inning.

Didier declined comment on the matter.

Next game

Opponent: Tri-City Dust Devils.

When, where: Yakima County Stadium.

Radio: KUTI (1460).

Website: www.yakimaherald.com

Probable pitchers: Yakima RHP Enrique Burgos (1-1, 4.79) vs. Tri-City RHP Josh Mueller (2-2, 4.12).

Notes

PLAYOFF ROTATION SET: Miguel Pena will start Monday night’s East Division playoff opener here against Spokane, Bears manager Bob Didier said Wednesday.

The 19-year-old will be followed in the best-of-three set by, in order, Enrique Burgos and Kevin Eichhorn, the latter due in soon from Missoula.

Should Yakima advance to the Northwest League championships, also a best-of-three series, the starters will be Brad Wilson, Teo Gutierrez and Pena. All the starters are right-handers.

Justin Albert, who’s also coming from Missoula, will give the Bears another left-handed reliever to join all-star Eury De La Rosa. Didier said Albert will probably be available to pitch an inning here tonight against Tri-City in the Bears last regular-season home game.

FREE PARKING: As part of today’s Fan Appreciatiion Night, parking at Yakima County Stadium for the Bears game with Tri-City will be free.

Fireworks will follow the game.

DOWNTOWN RALLY TODAY: The Yakima Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a playoff rally today for the Bears, which is scheduled for a 11:30 a.m. at Performance Park downtown.

The team will be there at noon and players will later be available for autographs.

Emceeing the event will be Todd Lyons and Drew Bontadelli, the team’s Yakima County Stadium and radio voices, respectively.

Arbelo, Walters, De La Rosa honored||

YAKIMA — Yazy Arbelo, Zach Walters and Eury De La Rosa have made the Northwest League all-star team, league officials announced Tuesday.

“Really?” Arbelo said while enjoying a pregame meal. “I did? Awesome.”

“Wow,” said Walters. “That’s neat.”

Said De La Rosa, through interpreter Raywilly Gomez, “Thank you.”

Arbelo, Yakima’s first baseman, began play Tuesday ranking second in the league in home runs (14), while leading in runs batted in (53) and was fourth in slugging percentage (.544) while batting .294.

Short-stop Walters was sev-enth in batting average (.315), tied for second in doubles (18) and had 38 RBI and 12 stolen bases.

De La Rosa, a left-handed reliever, has been one of several Bears bullpen standouts with a 1-1 record, a 1.07 earned run average and a team-high 51 strikeouts in 42 innings.

Conspicuously absent was right-hander Jake Hale, who in 35 1/3 relief innings this season has allowed only one earned run (0.25) while striking out 40 and walking only seven.

Three all stars were the most a Yakima team has had since 2003, when infielders Conor Jackson and Jamie D’Antona, closer Dustin Glant and pitcher Clint Goocher made the squad.

Spokane’s Jared Hoying, who’s among the league leaders in batting, homers, RBI and stolen bases, was named most valuable player while the Indians’ Tim Hulett was tabbed manager of the year.

Rounding out the squad were: 2B Pierre LaPage (Boise), 3B Kevin Mailloux (Everett), DH A.J. Kirby-Jones (Vancouver), C Steven Baron (Everett)/C Emmanuel Quiles (Eugene), OF Hoying, OF Alvaro Ramirez (Boise), OF Ryan Scoma (Salem-Keizer), LHP Anthony Fernandez (Everett), RHP Chad Bettis (Tri-City), RH Reliever A.J. Griffin (Vancouver).
The team was selected by the league’s managers.

YAKIMA — On the frequent occasions in which baseball is referred to as a game of inches, the reference has often been made in rueful tones.

You know — a would-be hit was foul by only a couple of inches or a fielder’s dive came up an inch or two short of a key catch.

It happened that way for Mike Freeman on successive drives in successive innings Tuesday night to the deepest part of Yakima County Stadium. But as has been the case for the Bears’ stellar second baseman this season, and the team collectively, one of them fell for a two-run double that keyed Yakima’s 4-2 defeat of Tri-City before an announced crowd of 1,327.

Asked which ball was hit harder on the cool, damp evening, Freeman said, “The one that went for a double. They didn’t catch that one.”

As a result, first-half East Division champion Spokane will have a tougher time catching the Bears in the second-half race. Yakima (22-11 second half, 40-31 overall) maintained its three-game cushion over the Indians with only five to play, thus reducing its magic number for winning the title to three.

Already the Bears’ overall record had secured a Northwest League playoff berth, the franchise’s first since 2000, and Yakima will open a best-of-three series with the Indians here Monday night.

“We did a lot of good things again,” Bears manager Bob Didier said. “Berger (starting pitcher Andrew) gave us five good innings, Reagan (Miles) got some outs for us and Cantwell (Keith) did a great job of stranding a runner at third in the eighth.

“But Freeman’s hit was the back-breaker, or the game-breaker.”

His two-out, two-run, sixth-inning double barely eluded Jeremiah Sammy an inning after the Dust Devils center fielder had made a back-to-the plate grab of a Freeman drive on the warning track in front of the 406-foot sign.

It also scored the game’s final runs as Yakima won its fourth straight, all against the Dust Devils (11-22, 28-43).

Reagan allowed an unearned run in the sixth, after which Cantwell worked two scoreless innings and freshly-minted all-star De La Rosa pitched a 1-2-3, two-strikeout ninth for his eighth save.

In four games against Tri-City, Bears relievers have allowed no earned runs over 17 innings.

Kawika Emsley-Pai and Henry Zabala had two hits apiece for Yakima while Freeman, who recently accumulated enough at bats to rank among the league batting leaders, extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

The 11th-round draftee from Clemson is batting .343.

“Any time you can extend your season and play for a championship, it’s exciting,” said Freeman, who earlier this year helped the Tigers reach the College World Series. “It really doesn’t matter what level you’re playing at. We’ve accomplished one goal, but we have others to take care of while we’re here.”

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, the Bears tied it on Roberto Ortiz’s single that scored Tom Belza, who had walked, taken second on a wild pitch and moved to third on Freeman’s first long drive.

Zabala led off the Yakima sixth with a double, held while Raoul Torrez reached on an error and took third on Kawika Emsley-Pai’s single that loaded the bases.

Belza’s sacrifice fly scored Zabala, and Freeman’s blast off the boards in center plated Torrez and Emsley-Pai.

“We’ve talked about it a lot, but our bullpen’s just been outstanding,” Didier said. “One of the keys was the way Cantwell pitched in the eighth (two strikeouts and a groundout after the leadoff hitter singled and advanced on a wild pitch and stolen base). He did that right through the heart of their batting order.

“And our little left-hander (De La Rosa) just seems to get two strikeouts every inning he pitches.”

Next game

Opponent: Tri-City Dust Devils.

When, where: 7:05 p.m. today, Yakima County Stadium.

Radio: KUTI (1460).

Website: www.yakimabears.com

Probable pitchers: Yakima RHP Miguel Pena (4-5, 3.44) vs. Tri-City RHP Erik Stavert (2-4, 3.02).

Notes

A NOD TO TODD: Longtime Bears public address announcer Todd Lyons was honored Tuesday night with a surprise bobblehead likeness.

Lyons autographed bobbleheads before the game, threw out the first pitch and then enjoyed a rare opportunity to take in the game as a fan along with his family.

ROSTER TWEAKING: The Bears will soon send pitchers Casey Upperman and Rashad Tucker to Missoula in exchange for pitchers Kevin Eichhorn and Justin Albert, Yakima manager Bob Didier said Tuesday.

Right-hander Eichhorn, 5-5 with a 4.94 earned run average, will be installed in the Bears’ starting rotation, Didier said. Albert, a lefty, is 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA.

Didier also said a rotation for the upcoming best-of-three East Division playoff series against Spokane would likely be set today.

PASCO — The Yakima Bears kept their late-season momentum going Monday, defeating the Tri-City Dust Devils 2-0 despite recording only one  base hit.

One night after clinching a playoff berth, the Bears rode strong pitching performances by starter Teo Gutierrez and three relievers to handcuff the Tri-City bats and improve to 39-31 this season and clinch their first winning season since 2003.

Yakima scored both of its runs on wild pitches in the sixth inning.

Westley Moss led off and reached base on a throwing error, advancing to third on the Bears’ lone hit of the game, a single by Michael Freeman. Freeman stole second and advanced to third on pitcher Edwar Cabrera’s wild pitch, which allowed Moss to score.

Two outs later, with Yazy Arbelo at the plate, another pitch got away from Cabrera, bringing Freeman home.

Gutierrez earned his first pitching win for the Bears, while Kable Hogben picked up his 10th save.

The Bears have a three-game lead on Spokane with six games left in the second half of the Eastern Division season. Yakima hopes to wrap up the second-half title this week before facing Spokane next Monday at Yakima County Stadium in the opener of a three-game playoff series.

The Bears play Tri-City at 7:05 tonight at Yakima County Stadium.

PASCO, Wash. — For the first time since 2000, the Yakima Bears are heading to the Northwest League playoffs.

Yakima’s 4-3 victory over Tri-City and Spokane’s 5-4 win over Boise on Sunday eliminates the Hawks from postseason contention and means the Bears will face the Indians in the Eastern Division championship series.

As has been the case for much of the season, Yakima’s bullpen led the way on Sunday night.

Corey Davisson

(3-1) and Jake Hale worked four innings of relief for the win and save respectively. They combined to allow one hit and strike out nine.

Six of the strikeouts belonged to Hale, who — along with earning his fourth save — lowered his earned-run average to 0.25.

Yakima opened the scoring in the first inning when Michael Freeman scored on Henry Zabala’s groundout.

Tri-City took the lead in the bottom of the inning when Nathan Hines and Jeremiah Sammy scored on Dominic Altobelli’s double.

Yakima tied the game in the third when Freeman scored on Zach Walters’ groundout.

Both teams scored in their halves of the fifth inning, Yakima on a wild pitch by T-C starter Josh Hungerman, and the Dust Devils on a Bryce Massanari groundout.

Yakima took the lead for good in the seventh when Michael Weber scored on Freeman’s single off of Tri-City’s Sean Jarrett (1-1).

Hale struck out six of the seven batters he faced, allowing only a ninth-inning hit to Joshua Powers.

The victory was the Bears’ 38th of the season, assuring them of their first non-losing season since 2003.

Yakima holds a two-game advantage over Spokane with seven games to play in the second half. However, because the Indians won the first-half title, they are ineligible to win the second half.

Boise’s loss to Spokane was its 39th of the season, which means the Hawks will not be able to catch Yakima in the overall season standings. The Northwest League uses overall record as its first tie-breaker if the first-half champion also has the best second-half record.

• Click here for the Northwest League’s playoff procedures.

Next game

Opponent: Tri-City Dust Devils.

When, where: 7:15 p.m. today, Gesa Stadium, Pasco.

Radio: KUTI (1460).

Probable pitchers: Yakima TBA vs. Tri-City TBA.

Box score

Click here for box score

NWL standings

Click here for second-half standings

Click here for overall standings

PASCO, Wash. — If there was both good and bad news for the Bears on Saturday night, much more of it was good than bad.

The good news was Yakima beat Tri-City 4-2 before an announced 2,620 at Gesa Stadium. The bad news was that second-place Spokane defeated Boise to remain two games behind the Bears in the East Division’s second-half race with eight to play.

But also, the Hawks’ loss reduced Yakima’s magic number for making the Northwest League playoffs to two. Meaning the Bears (19-11 second half, 37-31 overall) would qualify even if they are denied the second-half title by virtue of having a better season record than Boise.

Yakima and Tri-City meet twice more here before moving to Yakima County Stadium for three games.

Saturday the Bears overcame a 2-0 deficit with a pair of two-run innings plus five innings of scoreless relief pitching.

Greg Robinson, who allowed one hit in two innings after replacing starter Enrique Burgos, got his team-best seventh win. Keith Cantwell followed with two hitless frames and Kable Hogben worked a 1-2-3, two-strikeout ninth for his ninth save.

Yakima, down 2-0 in the fourth, loaded the bases via a walk to Henry Zabala, a single to Michael Weber and a walk to Jhoan Pimentel.

After Westley Moss fanned for the second out, Mike Freeman scored Zabala and Weber with a single to tie it.

In the sixth, Pimentel drew a one-out walk and took second on Moss’s groundout. After Freeman walked, Raywilly Gomez singled on a ball that deflected off pitcher Tyler Trice to score Freeman and Pimentel.

Moss had two of the Bears’ six hits while Pimentel drew four walks.

Next game

Opponent: Tri-City Dust Devils.

When, where: 7:15 p.m. today, Gesa Stadium, Pasco.

Radio: KUTI (1460).

Probable pitchers: Yakima RHP Brad Wilson (2-3, 4.22) vs. Tri-City LHP Josh Hungerman (4-4, 2.55).

Box score

Click here for box score

NWL Standings

Click here for standings

YAKIMA, Wash. — Often this season, and especially during the second half of it, the Bears had gotten the big hit, made the big pitch or executed the big play needed to win a game.

But not this game.

Hoping to reduce its playoff magic number while increasing its second-half East Division lead, Yakima did neither Friday night, dropping a 3-2 decision to Spokane in a matchup of likely first-round playoff foes at Yakima County Stadium.

Yakima's Henry Zabala, left, moves out of the way as Mike Freeman catches a fly ball against Spokane Friday, Aug. 27, 2010 in Yakima, Wash. (Andy Sawyer/Yakima Herald-Republic)

Before an announced overflow crowd of 3,139 on Mel Stottlemyre bobblehead night, the Bears (18-11 second half, 36-31 overall) saw their lead over the Indians (16-13, 38-29) pared to two games with nine remaining.

And unlike the evening prior, Yakima’s magic number for earning its first postseason berth since 2000 did not shrink since Boise defeated Tri-City.

The Hawks, who could gain the second-half berth if they and first-half champion Spokane overtake the Bears in this half, moved to within six games of Yakima in the overall standings which determine the second-half participant if one team claims both titles.

Thus, the Bears’ magic number stayed at four.

“We pitched well and played well enough, although four errors don’t look too good,” Yakima manager Bob Didier said. “We had enough chances to score five to seven runs. But we only scored two.”

As a result, the Bears have lost consecutive games at home for the first time since June 19-20, when they were en route to a 1-6 start. They also lost a series on their home turf for the first time in six tries, and finished this eight-game homestand 5-3.

Remaining are six straight games with Tri-City — three at Pasco and three in Yakima — followed by a regular season-ending three-game set at Boise.

If the Bears win the second-half title or finish with a better overall record than the Hawks, they’ll open a best-of-three division series against the Indians here on Sept. 6. The second and, if necessary, third games would be played in Spokane the following two days.

A night after issuing a Northwest League season-high 13 walks, Yakima allowed only one. But after producing eight hits over the first four innings, the Bears got none over the final five against Indians starter Ben Henry and three relievers.

Nor did they advance a runner to scoring position after the Indians took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth.

Golden opportunities were erased, meanwhile, when Yakima banged into inning-ending double plays with the bases loaded in the third inning and again in the fourth.

Spokane scored first on Jake Skole’s two-out RBI single in the second.

The Bears took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on Henry Zabala’s one-out double and a run-scoring single by Raywilly Gomez.

Roberto Ortiz and Justin Hilt would follow with base hits to fill the sacks, after which a walk to No. 9 hitter Tom Belza scored Gomez.

Mike Freeman, however, bounced into a spectacularly-turned double play that saw Indians second baseman Santiago Chirino make a diving stab of the ball behind the bag and flip it from his glove to shortstop Jurickson Profar, who spun and fired to first.

“Their second baseman made a great play up the middle — simple as that,” Didier said.

The inning prior, Zach Walters had stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out but smacked into a 3-6-1 twin killing. Raoul Torrez, with the same opportunity and none out, hit a foul pop to the third baseman.

Spokane, meanwhile, got successive singles from Skole and Olt plus a sacrifice fly by Andrew Clark to tie it in the fifth. The Indians then used Profar’s leadoff double on a ball misplayed by center-fielder Hilt, a sacrifice bunt and then a sacrifice fly by Kellin Deglan to re-take the lead in the sixth.

Olt had three hits to lead Spokane, which played without offensive mainstay Jared Hoying due to injury. Freeman and Hilt had two hits each for Yakima.

“A break or two and it’s a different game,” Didier said. “But if we win tomorrow, we’ll be in good shape.”

Photos from Friday’s Northwest League game between the Yakima Bears and Spokane Indians at Yakima County Stadium in Yakima, Wash. All photos by Andy Sawyer of the Yakima Herald-Republic.

Bears honor Mabton’s Stottlemyre with bobblehead night ||

YAKIMA, Wash. — Few in baseball have seen or done all that Mel Stottlemyre has.

As a rookie right-hander, for example, he pitched in a World Series for the New York Yankees. He later coached in, and won, five Series as a pitching coach — four with the Yankees and one with the New York Mets.

Mel Stottlemyre watches his wife, Jean, throw the ceremonial first pitch before the Yakima Bears' game against the Spokane Indians Friday, Aug. 27, 2010 in Yakima, Wash. (Andy Sawyer/Yakima Herald-Republic)

During his stellar playing career, during which he was known as a good-hitting pitcher, Stottlemyre even belted an inside-the-park grand slam.

Friday night at Yakima County Stadium, however, the former Mabton High School and Yakima Valley Community College great enjoyed a baseball-related first.

“Yes,” he said smiling, “this is my first bobblehead. I’m a little worried, though, because my wife’s here and when she sees me bobblehead, moving my head forward and back, she’ll tell me I was saying yes to something I’d said no to before.”

Stottlemyre, 68, said he’s been enjoying a summer that included three days of fishing with old friend and junior college mentor Bobo Brayton on Lake Washington.

“We had a great time — caught a lot of walleye,” Stottlemyre said. “Bobo’s awesome. It was a tremendous amount of fun, just he and I in my little motor home.”

Such adventures, plus spending time with his wife, Jean, sons Mel Jr. and Todd and multiple grandchildren, have convinced Stottlemyre that his coaching days are done.

“Full-time, at least,” he said. “I’m just enjoying life with my family, playing golf and fishing, which I love to do.”

Stottlemyre had a patch over his right ear, where Wednesday he’d had some non-malignant skin cancer removed. He said his wife’s health is sound, as is his own after a well-documented battle with multiple myeloma — a rare form of blood cancer.

The first 500 fans at the Bears game with Spokane received Stottlemyre likenesses. The right-hander shared stories and jokes with old friend Bob Didier, Yakima’s manager, plus pitching coach Doug Drabek.

Stottlemyre then delighted in surprise video-taped congratulations from Joe Torre and Don Zimmer, his old Yankee coaching comrades.

Afterward, Jean threw out the first pitch — which was caught by Drabek.