Two Grand Slams Will Do, Blaze Cruise 13-6

Wilson homers twice, Torres and DeCarlo go deep as well

By Dan Besbris

August 26, 2016

Daniel Torres hit an early-game grand slam and Austin Wilson put the (near) finishing touches on the night with a late-game blast, and the Bakersfield Blaze rode their hot-hitting offense to a series-clinching 13-6 win over the visiting San Jose Giants on a crowded Thursday at Sam Lynn Ballpark.

As it turned out, those two blasts would be all the Blaze would need, though the game featured a host of runs on both sides.

Tyler Pike got the start, and worked 3.2 innings as the lefty continues to work his way back from the disabled list. Pike gave up 2 runs.

Joe Pistorese (W, 2-1) took over and looked stellar in relief, giving up just a solo homer in 2.1 innings of work, frames turned out to be quite important in keeping the Giants hot offense at bay.

Meanwhile, the Blaze picked on former Triple-A hurler Dan Slania (L, 2-2) for the second time in a week. In addition to Torres' grand slam, the Blaze scored four other runs off Slania (three earned), including one of two homers for Austin Wilson, an RBI single from Jordan Cowan and RBI putouts off the bats of Jay Baum and Kyle Petty.

San Jose fought back in the top of the 7th. Darin Gillies had a rare off night, and with the Blaze leading 8-3, the Giants mashed two homers to cut the lead to just 8-6.

But Bakersfield fought back. After Thyago Vieira (S, 6) got the final out in the 7th with a big strikeout, Austin Wilson mashed his second homer of the game, the team's second grand slam of the night, and the Blaze pushed back in front by six.

A Joe DeCarlo solo homer put the cherry on top of the 13-6 win.

With the win, the Blaze improve to 4.0 games ahead of Visalia in the race for the Cal League Second Half North playoff spot with 10 games to go.

The final regular season homestand continues with three more games against the Stockton Ports, beginning with Fan Appreciation Night on Friday at 7:15pm. Arrive early to secure a Kern County Fair ticket!

Or listen online at BakersfieldBlaze.com or via the TuneIn Radio app. Dan Besbris has the call, with special guests all weekend long to talk about Sam Lynn Ballpark (so don't be upset if we miss a pitch or two).