Northwest League -- Bears have a devil of a time

YAKIMA -- Ideally it would be a rivalry, with two Northwest League teams only 82 miles apart dueling for Northwest League East Division honors.

And of course a best-case scenario would include perhaps an exchange of trash talk to heighten the mood.

But as things stand with these teams this season, it won't happen.

After Wednesday night's 9-5 Yakima loss to the Dust Devils, the rivalry thing will have to wait since the teams -- from a won-lost standpoint, at least -- are not evenly matched.

Tri-City improved to 4-0 against the Bears before an announced crowd of 1,526 at cool, breezy Yakima County Stadium, and squared its overall record at 31-31.

Yakima, which will visit Pasco for one game tonight before returning Friday for the six-game series finale, fell to 21-41.

"Long night," Bears manager Bob Didier said. "It felt like we played a doubleheader."

Contributing heavily to both the real and perceived duration were control problems that plagued starter Houston Summers and reliever Ricardo Taveras.

Summers, on his 21st birthday and coming off his best game of the season, walked three, hit one batter and threw two wild pitches over four innings in which he allowed five earned runs.

Taveras followed with three more free passes and two wild pitches during a fifth inning in which Tri-City batted around and scored four times for a 9-3 lead.

Strong and swirling breezes hampered Summers' efforts at controlling his knuckleball, and he said wind is an element he must learn to deal with.

"I have to learn to pitch in these conditions," he said, "because the conditions aren't always going to be perfect. I'm not sure who said it, but someone once said that it takes a week to learn how to throw a knuckleball but a lifetime to throw it for a strike. That's the key. That's what I have to do, regardless the weather."

Despite two home losses by a combined 17-9 count, Yakima had clear bright spots Wednesday.

Ramon Castillo and Greg Bordes each doubled twice, with Castillo driving in two runs.

And David Cooper continued his offensive progression with three hits, including a double in the first inning and an RBI single in the third.

His batting average rose to .250 (it was well below .200 for much of the season) and his on-base percentage going into the game already was fourth best in the league (.417).

"He's a little kid who just plays his (rear) off," Didier said. "He's hitting the ball so much better lately, and he's always been a good defender with a strong arm who does so many things you need to win. He's got a lot of baseball ahead of him."

Four different players had two hits each for Tri-City, which totaled 13, but third baseman Ryan Peisel and shortstop Erik Wetzel had the biggest blows.

Peisel pounded a two-run double to highlight the Dust Devils' three-run third inning against Summers, and Wetzel hammered a two-out, three-run double off Taveras in the fifth.

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