Alive in Five; Blaze Wipe Nuts Outta Town 4-3
August 10, 2015 - California League (CalL1)
Bakersfield Blaze News Release
The surging Bakersfield Blaze continued their recent strong play, as Tyler Pike and Tyler O'Neill rocked steady and the Blaze completed a four-game sweep of the Modesto Nuts, 4-3, on Sunday night in Bakersfield.
The Blaze nabbed the first lead of this one, albeit a narrow one, in the 2nd inning off Alex Balog (L, 1-5). Kyle Petty singled with one out, stole second base, and Jay Baum doubled him home with a liner to the left field wall.
The Nuts got a run back to tie it up in the 4th on a single, walk, hit batter and a run-scoring grounder.
The big inning for the Blaze was the 5th. With one out, Nelson Ward drew a walk and Tim Lopes followed with an RBI double to take a 2-1 lead. Tyler O'Neill, who had been hitless in the series, followed by pummeling his league-leading 26th homer to left, and the Blaze moved in front 4-1.
But Modesto refused to quit. A solo homer in the 6th brought the Nuts to within 4-2, and after Tyler Pike (W, 3-5) came out of the game after six strong innings, a pair of hits for a run got Modesto within just one run in the 7th against the Blaze bullpen.
But the Blaze hunkered down. Grady Wood bounced back with a scoreless 8th, and Emilio Pagan (S, 5) worked around a leadoff single in the 9th to secure the 4-3 win.
The win for the Blaze is the fifth in a row for a suddenly scorching team that has won eight out of nine games, and completes a series sweep for the first time in 2015.
With the homestand in the rear view and the next one not coming until the 17th, the Blaze take a day off on Monday, the 10th, before embarking on a back-and-forth six-game road trip to Lake Elsinore and Modesto. Fans are encouraged to tune in to every road game at BakersfieldBlaze.com's Multimedia Link and TuneIn Radio. Dan Besbris has the call, with the opener in Lake Elsinore on Tuesday night at 6:00pm.
• Discuss this story on the California League message board...
California League Stories from August 10, 2015
- Mavericks to Play Eight Games in Six Days at Heritage Field - High Desert Mavericks
- San Jose Giants to Make Middle Children the Center of Attention on August 11 - San Jose Giants
- 66ers Chap Rawhide with 18-8 Whipping - Inland Empire 66ers
- Ports Spin One-Hit Shutout, Blank Quakes 4-0 - Stockton Ports
- Alive in Five; Blaze Wipe Nuts Outta Town 4-3 - Bakersfield Blaze
- Nuts Fall 4-3 to the Blaze - Modesto Nuts
- Down to Final Out, 66ers Stun Visalia 5-3 - Inland Empire 66ers
- Quakes Blanked for Second Straight Night - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Giants Fall Flat in Road Trip Finale, 3-0 - San Jose Giants
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.
