After a tough stretch on the road, the Spokane Indians returned home with a familiar refrain: there's no place like home. Manager Tom Sutaris channeled Dorothy from *The Wizard of Oz* after his team snapped out of a slump with a 4-2 win over the Tri-City Dust Devils in the opener of a six-game High-A Northwest League series at Avista Stadium.

The key to the victory? A dominant start from Jackson Cox, who delivered a career-best performance. The right-hander struck out nine batters over seven innings, allowing just one hit—a solo home run—and three walks. It was the longest outing of his young professional career, and he needed only 84 pitches (55 strikes) to get it done. Cox now leads the league with 41 strikeouts in 29⅔ innings this season.

"I felt pretty good," Cox said. "Catcher Alan Espinal did a great job behind the plate calling pitches, and my defense was unbelievable. We're still moving forward. The guys are doing everything they can to get better every day, and I think we have a really good team. We're going to head in the right direction here soon."

The Indians (10-18) came into Tuesday's game looking for a reset after losing five of six games in Eugene last week and nine of 12 on a two-week road trip. The energy at Avista Stadium helped, especially with hundreds of elementary school students packing the bleachers for the team's second "Education Day" game of the season.

"It's good to be back here in front of our crowd," Sutaris said. "Great crowd today, and the boys just needed a reprieve and a day off. I like the way they played today, and we'll keep moving forward."

The Indians jumped ahead early, scoring in the second inning. Kevin Fitzer—who had been mired in a 5-for-59 slump—led off with a double. Max Belyeu followed with a clutch hit, and the offense did just enough to support Cox's gem.

"It's always good to set the tone at the start of a series," Belyeu said. "Get that first one, it's big. And we'll keep bringing it tomorrow."

Sutaris stressed the importance of staying even-keeled through the ups and downs of a long season. "It doesn't matter how long you play this game, you're always going to have struggles," he said. "The process is what we really have to focus on. You can't ride the roller coaster—it's just too hard a game for that."

With Cox leading the way and the offense showing signs of life, the Indians are hoping this home stand is the start of a turnaround. Next up: Game two of the series, where they'll look to keep the momentum rolling.