Dyer's Arm, Waldrop's Bat Push Blaze Past Mavs

June 21, 2013 - California League (CalL1)
Bakersfield Blaze News Release


The second half got off to a better start than the first, and it took just one day to do it, as the Bakersfield Blaze improved to 1-0 in the second half of the season with a tidy 3-2 win over the visiting High Desert Mavericks on Thursday at Sam Lynn Ballpark in Bakersfield.

The game, for nearly two hours, was a true battle of arms.

On the Blaze side, it was Shane Dyer (W, 2-0), the veteran righthander, who was tremendous once again. Dyer sprinkled four Maverick hits over seven innings of shutout baseball, working both corners of the plate effectively with a cutter, and though he did hit two batters with pitches, the Mavs could never settle in against him.

For the Mavs, it was Brett Shankin (L, 2-3), who allowed the first two Blaze to reach base before retiring 15 in a row.

In the 6th, however, the Blaze began to make some noise. Juan Perez led off the inning with a single, and with the runner going, Yovan Gonzalez stroked a double to rightcenter to plate Perez and give the Blaze a 1-0 lead. After a strikeout, Juan Silva added another, dunking a single into left on a check-swing.

Shankin allowed his first homer of the year in the 7th, when Kyle Waldrop caught a slider, and smashed it well over the scoreboard in right, and the Blaze went up 3-0.

They would need every run. Pat Doyle came on in the 8th, and a leadoff walk was followed by new Maverick Brock Hebert's first homer of the year, cutting the Blaze lead to 3-2.

Doyle settled down from there, retiring three of the next four, with two on strikeouts, and Kyle Lotzkar (S, 1) recorded his first save of the year, striking out two in a scoreless 9th.

The win puts the Blaze at 1-0 in the second half and 30-41 overall, as the team continues to play stronger baseball, and has gone 19-12 over the last 31 games.

The series with High Desert continues on Fireworks Friday, as Bakersfield's Jonathan Moscot will oppose High Desert's Trevor Miller in a battle of solid righthanders. Tickets are going fast, but a handful of great seats still remain - grab those online at BakersfieldBlaze.com or over the phone at 661-716-4487.

Can't make it? Tune in to the Blaze Friday night Game of the Week on radio and internet, locally on SmartTalk AM-1230 or globally via the Gameday Audio link at the Blaze homepage! William Calvert will bring the call for both games this weekend, with pregame show set to begin at 7:30pm and first pitch at 7:45pm.



California League Stories from June 21, 2013


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