As April came to a close and the calendar turned to May, two of the biggest stories in the Cal League involved injuries. Lancaster SS Carlos Correa missed seven games with a sore shoulder, but he returned to the field tonight in the Jethawks’ 6-3 loss to San Jose. But earlier in the week, unfortunately, Giants OF Mac Williamson had to have Tommy John surgery and won’t play anymore this season.
Other developments:
3-TEAM BRAWL IN THE SOUTH
At the conclusion of tonight’s games, Lake Elsinore, Lancaster and High Desert all had identical records of 17-12. After that, Inland Empire and Rancho Cucamonga were both under .500. The Storm have charged to the top of the division on a hot streak, going 7-3 over the last 10 games while reeling in the Jethawks and Mavericks to join the logjam.
BLAZE STAY HOT IN THE NORTH
With a league-best record of 21-8, the Bakersfield Blaze haven’t had a slump over the first month of the season. The Visalia Rawhide were hot themselves through last Saturday’s 4-2 win over Modesto, but they haven’t won since. The six-straight losses have dropped the Rawhide to four games back of the Blaze, despite the same 17-12 record that the first-place South division clubs share.
NOTABLE
ASTROS SEND APPEL DOWN – 2013 #1 overall pick RHP Mark Appel had a rough time in four starts for Lancaster, allowing nine runs, 17 hits and four walks in 13 innings. The Astros sent Appel to extended spring training late last week, indicating that the big righty was having trouble adjusting to the rotation after pitching every seven days in college and last year at Quad Cities. Appel isn’t injured, though he is coming back from an appendectomy over the offseason. The Astros are dialing it back a notch on their prized asset.
URIAS HAS A GOOD OUTING FOR QUAKES – After shoulder soreness caused some poor results and missed outings, Dodgers #3 prospect LHP Julio Urias bounced back with three solid innings on Wednesday against Inland Empire. Pitching at hiA despite being just 17-years old, Urias struck out five in three perfect innings. The phenom had been roughed up in three previous starts and had his best outing of the season five days after a disastrous appearance against Lancaster where he went 2/3 of an inning and walked four.
LIVELY, WALDROP LEAD BLAZE – The Bakersfield Blaze are the class of the circuit so far, and they have a pitcher and a hitter that are making it look easy. RHP Ben Lively has been named Pitcher of the Week twice, and it might be a three-peat after he improved to 6-0 tonight. Liveley’s numbers are ridiculous with just one walk against 40 strikeouts over 29 innings.
Waldrop’s been the hammer in the middle of the Blaze order and he finished tonight’s action batting an even .400 after a 3-for-5 night that included his 3rd homerun. Waldrop is back in Bakersfield after a solid second half in 2013 and has a line of .400/.449/.565.
These two standouts don’t look to be long for advanced “A” ball.
WEEKEND MATCHUPS
San Jose @ Lancaster
Bakersfield @ Modesto
Lake Elsinore @ Inland Empire
Rancho Cucamonga @ Stockton
Visalia @ High Desert
The three teams leading the South division face different opponents over the weekend, so several combinations of results are possible. Meanwhile, Visalia looks to halt its recent skid in the two games at High Desert. It’s asking a lot for the last-place Nuts to cool off the Blaze, but the Rawhide will take any help they can get.
