Missed Opportunities Cost Blaze in Elsinore, 3-2
Published on May 17, 2012 under California League (CalL1)
Bakersfield Blaze News Release
The Bakersfield Blaze played tremendous baseball for most of Thursday night, but a couple of missed chances cost the club, and the Blaze dropped the opener of a 6-game road trip through Lake Elsinore and Visalia by the final count of 3-2.
In all, the Blaze collected 8 hits, 3 walks, an error and a hit batsmen, but left 9 men on base in a game where one hit made all the difference. Josh Smith got the start for Bakersfield, and had, easily, his best outing of 2012. Smith, the 2011 Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Year, had slowly been coming around, and all his hard work paid off tonight. Josh went 6.0 dominant innings, allowing just 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 9. He left, however, with the game tied, as his counterpart, Matt Andriese, held the Blaze to just a run on 4 hits in 5.0 innings, and the first reliever for Elsinore, Dennis O'Grady (W, 3-0) shut out the Blaze for the next 2 frames.
The game came down to two key at-bats for Bakersfield, and one for Lake Elsinore. For the Blaze, the moments came in the 7th and 8th innings. In the 7th, with the game tied at 1, Bakersfield put a runner on 3rd with one out, but O'Grady struck out Billy Hamilton and Devin Lohman to escape the jam. In the 8th, the Blaze put a runner on second with nobody out, but could not advance him beyond. For the Storm, Eddy Rodriguez, the former Reds farmhand, slugged a 2-run homer off Jamie Walczak (L, 2-1) in the bottom of the 7th to give the Storm a 3-1 edge, and though the Blaze would get 1 back, Kevin Quackenbush locked down the Blaze in the 9th for his 9th save in as many chances.
With the loss, the Blaze fall back to 6 games over 500 and remain 2.5 games back of San Jose. The series continues Friday night at 7:05pm, with Tony Cingrani looking to get the Blaze back on a winning kick. Listen LIVE to the game, as Dan Besbris calls all the action - game will be available via internet at BakersfieldBlaze.com and locally in Bakersfield on SmartTalk 1230AM as the "Blaze Game of the Week."
California League Stories from May 17, 2012
- Inland Empire Drops Homestand Opener 9-1 - Inland Empire 66ers
- Missed Opportunities Cost Blaze in Elsinore, 3-2 - Bakersfield Blaze
- 66er Named Angels Defensive Player of the Month - Inland Empire 66ers
- Teens Make A Difference Awards Monday With 66ers - Inland Empire 66ers
- San Jose Giants, KRTY and Sutter Home Partner for Breast Cancer Awareness Night - San Jose Giants
- Stockton Family 4th of July Celebration Featuring Legends of Baseball Vintage Showdown - Stockton Ports
- San Jose Giants on Deck: Nine-Game Road Trip Begins Tonight in Visalia - San Jose Giants
- Stockton Snaps 16-Game Skid, Beats Blaze 5-4 - Bakersfield Blaze
- Giants Take Series from Nuts with 5-3 Win - San Jose Giants
- Inland Empire Erupts for 10 Runs in Win - Inland Empire 66ers
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