Blaze Hang on, 11-10, in Wild One at Visalia
August 8, 2014 - California League (CalL1)
Bakersfield Blaze News Release
In a see-saw affair that saw the Bakersfield Blaze and Visalia Rawhide combine for 21 runs on 28 hits, and score multiple runs in 7 different half-innings, the Blaze scored three late and made them stand up, holding off the home team in the 8th and 9th for a kooky 11-10 win.
The starting pitchers did not end up factoring into the outcome.
Spencer Arroyo, the Rawhide lefty that has struggled with the Blaze, worked a quick 1st, but ran into the same old issues beginning in the 2nd when Bakersfield scored three. Marquez Smith walked, Juan Perez singled, Sammy Diaz doubled in two, and an out later Yovan Gonzalez knocked in Diaz.
In the 3rd, the Blaze added two more on a Sean Buckley towering homer to left, scoring Zach Vincej ahead of him.
Drew Cisco, fresh off the disabled list, looked solid for three innings, but ran into trouble in the 4th. Leading 5-1 at the time, the Rawhide put together a two-out, four-single rally to score three, and an error tied the game at 5.
In the 5th, the Blaze pushed in front briefly on three doubles from Buckley, Perez and Diaz, but the Rawhide knocked out Cisco in the home half on a three-run homer for an 8-7 lead.
Sean Lucas (W, 2-1) came on for the Blaze, and might very well have been the difference in the game. Lucas faced nine batters, retired all of them and struck out six.
And, after a scoreless 6th, the Blaze tied it in the 7th on one of the strangest plays of the year. With runners at second and third and two out, Rawhide catcher Dallas Tarleton was called for touching the baseball with his mask, bringing in the tying run.
And in the 8th, the Blaze got the final tallies they would need for the win. Daniel Gibson (L, 3-2) struggled while facing three batters, allowing Blaze to reach the corners with one out. Gibson was removed for Kyle Schepel and Buckley greeted him with a sacrifice fly to center for a 9-8 lead. And, on a night like this, one run would not be enough. Smith knew that, and unloaded a moonshot into the skatepark for the 11-8 lead.
Jacob Johnson (S, 5) gave up two runs in the 8th on a pair of dribbling infield hits and a double, then worked around a hit in the 9th for the 6-out save.
The win gives the Blaze 4 wins in the past 6 games, with the only two losses coming in the doubleheader on Wednesday, and the team's season record moves back to 15 over the 500 mark.
The series with the Rawhide continues through the weekend, with our Friday night Game of the Week beginning the fun. Andrew Barbosa gets the starting nod for the Rawhide, and Wandy Peralta will take the hill for Bakersfield in a 7:00pm start.
Fans can listen to every moment of the Friday night Game of the Week on internet and radio at BakersfieldBlaze.com and TuneIn Radio globally, as well as the Blaze flagship station SmartTalk AM-1230 in Kern County. Dan Besbris has the call at 6:55pm.
California League Stories from August 8, 2014
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- Rancho Drops One-Run Game to Sixers - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Blaze Hang on, 11-10, in Wild One at Visalia - Bakersfield Blaze
- JetHawks Strand 12 Runners, Fall in San Jose - Lancaster JetHawks
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