Tag Archives: Ben Lively

BACK IN BUSINESS

Posted on June 19, 2014 by | Comments Off on BACK IN BUSINESS

CLThe second half of the California League season begins tonight with a full slate of games. Four-game series run through Sunday in five Cal League cities. There were a number of roster moves over the All-Star break and the AA Pensacola Wahoos got several of the players that led the Bakersfield Blaze to the first half North division title.

Jesse Winker, Marquez Smith, Kyle Waldrop, Seth Mejias-Brean, Carlos Gonzalez, Ben Lively and Ryan Wright all got the call to AA. In turn, Bakersfield welcomes Sean Buckley, Julio Morillo, Mikey O’Brien, Jeff Gelalich and Ismael Guillon to the roster. LHP Guillon is the Reds’ #9 prospect according to MLB.com.

Lake Elsinore saw OF Hunter Renfroe and closer Trevor Gott called up to AA San Antonio. Renfroe made his AA debut last night and went 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Here are the matchups for the Thursday-Sunday four-game series that start tonight:

SAN JOSE @ VISALIA
BAKERSFIELD @ STOCKTON
HIGH DESERT @ MODESTO
INLAND EMPIRE @ RANCHO CUCAMONGA
LANCASTER @ LAKE ELSINORE

 

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WALDROP LEADS CAL LEAGUE TO ALL-STAR WIN

Posted on June 18, 2014 by | Comments Off on WALDROP LEADS CAL LEAGUE TO ALL-STAR WIN

2014 All Star Logo FinalBakersfield OF Kyle Waldrop singled and homered, driving in all three runs in the California League’s 3-2 victory over the Carolina League in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game in Wilmington, DE. Blaze right-hander Ben Lively tossed two scoreless innings to earn the win and San Jose closer Steven Okert worked out of a two-on, no-out jam to preserve the win.

The second half of the California League season will kick off on Thursday and the Blaze roster will feature some changes as Waldrop, Lively and a few others have gotten the call to AA Pensacola.

Here are some links on the All-Star Game, three from the California League page and one from DelawareOnline.com:

BLAZE DUO LEADS CAL LEAGUE OVER CAROLINA
SAN JOSE’S OKERT SHUTS DOOR FOR CAL LEAGUE
DAMON’S DIAMOND EFFORTS HONORED
BOX SCORE

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BLAZE WRAP UP FIRST-HALF TITLE

Posted on June 8, 2014 by | Comments Off on BLAZE WRAP UP FIRST-HALF TITLE

BlazeThe Bakersfield Blaze outlasted the Quakes tonight, surviving a 9th-inning rally to win 8-7 in Rancho Cucamonga. The victory clinched the first-half title in the North division and a berth in the Division Series with the first two games at home. (The Cal League playoff procedures might be a tough read, but they make sense and are weighted toward the first-half winners). With a record of 41-23, the Blaze have opened up an eight-game lead on the Stockton Ports and Visalia Rawhide. The first half ends on Saturday, June 14th.

The Blaze have been led by ace Ben Lively (10-1, 2.28 ERA) who will start the California League/Carolina League All-Star Game on June 17th. The right-hander out of Central Florida has thrown 74 innings in the potent California League and allowed just 16 earned runs while walking 13 and striking out 86.

On the offensive side, the Blaze have two more all-stars, outfielders Kyle Waldrop and Jesse Winker. Waldrop is slashing .349/.401/.485 while Winker checks in at .311/.406/.544 with 10 homers and 41 RBI.

It’s been a great run for manager Pat Kelly and the Blaze in the first half as they have been up at the top of the North division behind these great individual performances as well as a solid team dynamic. The minor leagues are transient in nature, and surely some of these key players will be moving on before the season is out, but this club has come together and the results are impressive.

Stay tuned for the first-half winner in the South division. After tonight’s action, Lancaster holds a three-game lead on Lake  Elsinore, with everyone else eliminated.

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CAL LEAGUE ALL STARS ANNOUNCED

Posted on June 5, 2014 by | Comments Off on CAL LEAGUE ALL STARS ANNOUNCED

CLBakersfield’s Ben Lively will be the starter for the California/Carolina League All-Star Game on June 17th. The RHP led the list of All-Stars announced by the California League on Wednesday. His Blaze teammate OF Kyle Waldrop was also named as a starter.

Catching Lively (9-1) will be Stockton’s Bruce Maxwell. Around the infield, Rancho Cucamonga’s Chris Jacobs will start at 1B, Lancaster’s Anthony Kemp at 2B, Rancho Cucamonga’s Corey Seager at SS and Visalia’s Brandon Drury at 3B.

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FRIDAY NIGHT WRAP

Posted on May 24, 2014 by | Comments Off on FRIDAY NIGHT WRAP

CLIt’s been another great week of baseball in the California League, with the ball flying despite the fact that the extreme heat hasn’t hit us yet. Tonight’s action was typical of the circuit, with the winners scoring 12, 9, 8, 6 and 3 runs. Only one shootout, as High Desert scored 8 runs in a loss, but the weather is heating up and the offenses are getting in gear as well. Here are the final scores from tonight’s action:

IE 8 – Lancaster 3
San Jose 6 – Visalia 2
Lake Elsinore 9 – Rancho Cucamonga 1
Modesto 3 – Stockton 2
Bakersfield 12 – High Desert 8

Those results have impacted the standing as follows:

The Blaze have a 3-game lead on the Rawhide in the North, with the rest of the division back near the .500 mark or below. Meanwhile, Lake Elsinore has a little separation themselves in the South after tonight’s win and the losses of Lancaster and High Desert. The Storm now have a 2-game lead on the Jethawks.

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FRIDAY NIGHT WRAP

Posted on May 3, 2014 by | Comments Off on FRIDAY NIGHT WRAP

CLAs 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:

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LIVELY REPEATS AS PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Posted on April 29, 2014 by | Comments Off on LIVELY REPEATS AS PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: MiLB.com

PITCHER OF THE WEEK – BEN LIVELY, RHP, BAKERSFIELD
Bakersfield’s Ben Lively had another stellar week, going 2-0 while striking out 17 batters in 12 innings. His season numbers are spectacular: 5-0, 0.31 ERA, 29 IP, 13 hits allowed and just one walk against 40 strikeouts. The right-hander from Central Florida came into the season as Cincinnati’s #9 prospect and he’s been dominant for Bakersfield in five starts. MiLB.com calls him the most consistent pitcher in all of the minor leagues so far this year.

Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: MiLB.com

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – JORDY LARA, 1B, HIGH DESERT
Lara went 10-for-24 over the week with two longballs and a line of .417/516/.792. Hitting in the middle of the Mavericks’ order, Lara knocked in 11 runs and walked six times while only striking out twice. He finished up 2013 with a promotion to High Desert and had success in 15 games. Now the Dominican Republic native is showing that it wasn’t a fluke.

 

MiLB.com OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
MiLB.com PTICHERS OF THE WEEK

 

 

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FRIDAY NIGHT WRAP

Posted on April 26, 2014 by | Comments Off on FRIDAY NIGHT WRAP

The big news of the week has obviously been Clayton Kershaw’s rehab start for Rancho Cucamonga tonight, but there was plenty of  Cal League action involving those climbing the minor league ladder. The two divisions are looking like two-team races, both North and South, as the schedule approaches the 25-game mark. Here are some of the highlights:

NORTH DIVISION BATTLE

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LIVELY, KIVLEHAN EARN CAL LEAGUE HONORS

Posted on April 22, 2014 by | Comments Off on LIVELY, KIVLEHAN EARN CAL LEAGUE HONORS
Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: BillingsGazette.com

PITCHER OF THE WEEK – BEN LIVELY, RHP, BAKERSFIELD
Lively went six innings on Wednesday against Stockton, allowing just two hits and no runs while striking out 10. Now 3-0, the Reds’ #9 prospect still hasn’t walked a batter in 17 IP and has 23 K’s and a WHIP of 0.41. The 4th-round pick out of Central Florida (2013) is in his first full season of pro ball and Cal League hitters aren’t having any success against him so far.

Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: MiLB.com

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – PATRICK KIVLEHAN, 1B, HIGH DESERT
Returning to High Desert after playing 68 games there in 2013, Kivlehan is on his way to posting big homerun numbers, The Mariners’ #12 prospect went 10-for-26 over last week with a double, a triple and five homeruns. Kivlehan had back-to-back two-homer games to take the Cal League lead with 7. He is now more that half-way to his 68-game total of 13 homers last season.

 

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LANCASTER, HIGH DESERT, BAKERSFIELD GO TO 7-2

Posted on April 12, 2014 by | Comments Off on LANCASTER, HIGH DESERT, BAKERSFIELD GO TO 7-2

CL**UPDATED**

The Lancaster Jethawks, High Desert Mavericks and Bakersfield Blaze all posted road wins on Friday night to improve their records to 7-2. At the end of the long night, The Jethawks stayed tied with the Mavericks in the South while the Blaze stayed two games ahead of Stockton in the North.

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