CalL Lake Elsinore Storm

Baez Tosses Gem in Storm's Second Straight Win

Published on August 11, 2023 under California League (CalL)
Lake Elsinore Storm News Release


LAKE ELSINORE, CA - Outstanding pitching was the theme once again for the Lake Elsinore Storm (50-52, 19-20) as they defeated the Visalia Rawhide (39-66, 16-23) 4-1 at Diamond Stadium.

Starting pitcher Henry Baez (7-3, 3.24) continued his dominant ways for the Storm. The 20-year-old struck out half a dozen Rawhide hitters and surrendered just three baserunners over six scoreless innings of work.

Baez has been absolutely brilliant over his last four outings. He has cemented himself as an ace as of late, allowing just two earned runs over his last 23.2 innings of work. Baez has pitched five or more innings in each of his last six starts. He now leads Lake Elsinore with seven wins, and leads all starters in ERA at 3.24.

The right-hander's zeroes were being matched across the board over the first four innings by Rawhide starter Yoscar Pimentel (3-3, 6.03). Then, in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Storm offense found some life.

Lake Elsinore's leading RBI man, Samuel Zavala, drove in the first run of the game (his 64th) on a single to center field. Zavala would move into scoring position after a walk, and it was Devin Ortiz who brought him home with a single of his own. After five innings of play, the Storm were up 2-0.

Visalia would cut the Lake Elsinore lead in half on a Gavin Conticello sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning. That's all the offense the Hide could muster in the contest. The Storm, however, were not finished.

Homer Bush Jr., who reached base three times tonight, walked to begin the seventh inning. He was then driven in on a line-drive double into the left field corner by Tyler Robertson. The double gave Robertson his 23rd RBI and 12th multi-hit game of the season. The Lake Elsinore outfielder would eventually come in to score on a wild pitch.

The back end of the Storm bullpen would enter and shut the door over the last two innings. David Morgan (4-2, 4.23) twirled a scoreless eighth, and Cole Paplham (0-0, 4.50) worked a flawless ninth. Paplham picked up his eighth save of the season, tied for the second-most among closers in the California League.

With the victory, Lake Elsinore improves to 18-6 on the year against Visalia, with just three games remaining against the Rawhide this season.

The first of the remaining contests is tomorrow night at 7:15 p.m. as the Storm continue the six-game series at Diamond Stadium. On the mound for Lake Elsinore is Major League Baseball's number 68 overall prospect, Dylan Lesko (0-0, 7.88). He takes on Wyatt Wendell (3-8, 5.58) of Visalia. Television coverage is on MiLB.tv and the Bally Live APP, with radio coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m. on MiLB.com and stormbaseball.com.

Check out the Lake Elsinore Storm Statistics

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California League Stories from August 11, 2023


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