LAKE ELSINORE- Boston Bateman struggled for the first time in his professional career, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks while punching out five as the Lake Elsinore Storm fell 7-2 to the Visalia Rawhide.
Three of the four runs charged to Bateman came across in the first inning, when Bateman had too much self-inflected damage. The left-hander walked two of the first four batters he faced before allowing a three-run home run to Ruben Santana.
Boston Bateman didn’t have his best stuff Thursday. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
After the command woes at first, Bateman settled in nicely for the remainder of his outing, allowing only one more run while striking out four over the next 3.1 innings.
“Boston was feeling a bit under the weather today and has been battling something for the past few days,” said Storm Manager Brian Burres. “He wanted to still go out there and give it what he had. I think that’s why it took him a bit to get in rhythm; he just didn’t have the energy he normally has. I still felt like he did a good job of battling and giving us what he had.”
As the game went on, Bateman appeared to find the feel for his slider, as it generated three whiffs down the stretch of his outing. The pitch continued to flash solid depth, getting 10″ to 12″ of horizontal break on the night while spinning north of 2600 rpm.
His final pitch of the night was an excellent back-door slider at 87.9 mph with 3 inches of iVB and 10 inches of horizontal break at 2654 rpm. It froze Abdias De La Cruz for Bateman’s final strikeout of the night.
“I noticed his tempo was just a little bit down, but he found a groove with the slider and finished with a great one there,” said Burres. “He was within a couple of pitches of his pitch count. We’re still pretty early and pitch counts are still somewhat limited, so it was the right time to go get with a good taste in his mouth.”
Javier Chacon worked 2 2/3 innings in relief, allowing one run on one hit, one walk, and striking out two. Behind him, Jimmy Reyes made his first outing outside the complex league, allowing two unearned runs on two hits over the final two innings. He had one walk and struck out two.
Reyes’ defense made his eighth inning a rough one as they committed three of their four errors of the night.
Despite collecting eight hits as a team, the same output as the visiting Rawhide, the Storm struggled convert on their scoring opportunities going just 2-12 with runners in scoring position. Last year’s 16th-round pick Kasen Wells stayed hot against Visalia going 3-for-5. Wells is 11-for-28 over his last six games and leads the Cal League with 13 stolen bases.
“Kasen has found something, and it’s working,” noted Burres. “He can apply such pressure to a defense when he gets on base. He gets on and takes some of the focus off the hitter from the pitcher.”
Kavares Tears put together a 1-for-4 night at the dish for the Storm. Since arriving at Lake Elsinore, Tears has gone 8 for 29. While Tears has registered a bevy of loud contact, he has also struck out 11 times against only one walk.
“Kavares gets his swing off, and I like to see guys that do that,” said Burres. “When you have a chance, let it rip. I think the more reps and at-bats he continues to get, the better and better he is doing to look.”
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