Blaze Roast Nuts in Opener, 6-2
The California League's Offensive Player of the Week did it again, as Brodie Greene drove in all 6 of the Blaze runs in a 6-2 win over the Nuts at John Thurman Field.
The Blaze scored first, opening the game with 3 straight singles to take a 1-0 lead. But, 2 innings later, the Blaze would give it right back - 3 errors in the 3rd led to an unearned run, and the Nuts and Blaze would go into the 5th tied at 1 run apiece.
That, however, is when Bakersfield took over. Kevin Coddington opened the inning with a double, and 1 out later, Devin Lohman collected an infield single. With 2 outs, Ryan La Marre coaxed a walk to load the bases, and Brodie Greene delivered. Parker Frazier (L, 7-9) got ahead of Greene 0-and-1, but hung a slider, and Brodie smashed a grand slam off the scoreboard in left, his second 4-RBI dinger in a week.
From there, the Blaze put it on autopilot - J.C. Sulbaran (W, 7-2) went 6.1 innings, Derrik Lutz went 1.2, and Scott Gaffney finished the game for Bakersfield, with the Nuts getting a meaningless run in the 9th to get us to our final score.
The win was a big one, as Bakersfield opened a 2-game lead in the Wild Card race over Modesto, but 3 crucial games remain in the series. Tomorrow, Curtis Partch faces off against Alan DeRatt at 7:05pm, with the broadcast live on BakersfieldBlaze.com at 6:55pm.
The Blaze scored first, opening the game with 3 straight singles to take a 1-0 lead. But, 2 innings later, the Blaze would give it right back - 3 errors in the 3rd led to an unearned run, and the Nuts and Blaze would go into the 5th tied at 1 run apiece.
That, however, is when Bakersfield took over. Kevin Coddington opened the inning with a double, and 1 out later, Devin Lohman collected an infield single. With 2 outs, Ryan La Marre coaxed a walk to load the bases, and Brodie Greene delivered. Parker Frazier (L, 7-9) got ahead of Greene 0-and-1, but hung a slider, and Brodie smashed a grand slam off the scoreboard in left, his second 4-RBI dinger in a week.
From there, the Blaze put it on autopilot - J.C. Sulbaran (W, 7-2) went 6.1 innings, Derrik Lutz went 1.2, and Scott Gaffney finished the game for Bakersfield, with the Nuts getting a meaningless run in the 9th to get us to our final score.
The win was a big one, as Bakersfield opened a 2-game lead in the Wild Card race over Modesto, but 3 crucial games remain in the series. Tomorrow, Curtis Partch faces off against Alan DeRatt at 7:05pm, with the broadcast live on BakersfieldBlaze.com at 6:55pm.