Nuts Relentless, Blaze Drop Homestand Finale 11-5
July 1, 2012 - California League (CalL1)
Bakersfield Blaze News Release
The Modesto Nuts pounded out 15 hits on Saturday night, taking an early lead and never looking back in a 11-5 defeat of the Bakersfield Blaze on Team Photo Giveaway Night at Sam Lynn Ballpark in Bakersfield.
On the Blaze side, Bakersfield scored first off Nuts starter Christian Bergman (W, 10-5), but the lead was short-lived. In the bottom of the first, Theo Bowe singled, stole second, and later scored on a Steve Selsky base hit, and the Blaze went up 1-0. From there, however, it was largely Modesto.
Chad Rogers (L, 5-4) got the start for the Blaze, and the Nuts battling attack gave Rogers a tough time. In the second inning, Modesto opened the scoring. Rogers struck out the first two batters before a Dallas Tarleton double and a Jayson Langfels walk set up the first bad break for the Blaze. Christhian Adames hit a hopper to first, but a bad hop jumped over Dominic D'Anna for a RBI single, and Rafael Ortega followed with a run-scoring knock of his own.
Two innings later, Ortega did more damage, and again with 2 outs. Another Tarleton double put a man in scoring position, but after Rogers set down two in a row, Ortega smashed a line drive homer to right to put the Nuts up 4-1.
Modesto would add 4 more off Mike Griffin in a poorly played 6th inning that featured a blown call, a dropped pop-up, and 4 bleeding singles, and with the Nuts going up 8-1, the game was all but decided.
Bakersfield made some late noise courtesy of Juan Duran's 8th homer of the season in a 3-run 8th, but the Blaze never got any closer than 5 despite 14 hits of their own.
The loss gives the Blaze a losing homestand at 1-2, and drops Bakersfield back to 5-5 in the season's second half and 46-34 overall. June ends with the Blaze posting a tremendous 16-11 record this month.
The Blaze now head on the road for 3 games in Lake Elsinore beginning Sunday at 5:05pm. The opener with feature a matchup of righties -- Josh Smith for the Blaze, and Matt Andriese for the Storm.
Tune in to hear all the action LIVE on BakersfieldBlaze.com as Dan Besbris hits the airwaves at 4:55pm.
• Discuss this story on the California League message board...
California League Stories from July 1, 2012
- Pederson Launches Three Bombs in Quakes Route of Mavs - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Wade Miley Selected to NL All-Star Team - Visalia Rawhide
- Elsinore Errors Are Blaze Opportunities, Blaze Beat Storm 4-2 - Bakersfield Blaze
- San Jose Giants on Deck: Giants Open July with Three-Game Series at Stockton - San Jose Giants
- Storm Control Giants in Series Finale, 6-2 - San Jose Giants
- Nuts Relentless, Blaze Drop Homestand Finale 11-5 - Bakersfield Blaze
- Quakes' Rally Falls Short in Lancaster - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Inland Empire Snaps Slide with 9-5 Win - Inland Empire 66ers
- Hogue Extends Streak, Sparks Offense - Lancaster JetHawks
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
