PASCO, Wash. -- The Boise Hawks were dominant on Saturday night, beating the Tri-City Dust Devils 8-2 and completing a sweep of the three-game series at Gesa Stadium. The loss is the sixth straight for the Dust Devils (27-36), which puts the team eight games behind the first place Hawks (30-33) with only 13 games remaining in the season.
It was a rocky outing for Dust Devils starter Peter Tago (2-5). The 20-year old righty gave up six runs over five innings to the Hawks. The biggest blow came in the third inning, when Boise first baseman Rock Shoulders blasted a grand slam over the wall in center field.
At the plate the Dust Devils were silenced by Boise starter Jose Arias (4-2). In five innings of work Arias picked up the victory, keeping Tri-City off the scoreboard and only allowing one hit. Reliever Hayden Simpson followed and gave up just one hit in four innings.
The lone bright spot at the plate for the Dust Devils came in the bottom of the ninth. Tom Murphy hit a two-run home run to score the first runs of the game for Tri-City. It was the third home run of the season for Murphy and only the second hit of the game for the Dust Devils.
The Dust Devils will hit the road to start a three-game series with the Spokane Indians beginning Sunday night. The Dust Devils will send right-hander Shane Broyles to the mound in the first game of the series. Broyles is 4-2 with a 2.61 ERA and has been the top starter for Tri-City this season. First pitch from Avista Stadium for all three games of the series is at 6:30 p.m. The Dust Devils will return to Gesa Stadium to play the Eugene Emeralds a five-game series starting Wednesday, August 22nd. It will be the final home series of the season for Tri-City.
