The Bloomington Bruins will challenge the Kaiser Cats at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Bloomington has struggled recently with four losses in a row, while Kaiser will arrive with three straight victories.
On Saturday, Bloomington came up short against Summit and fell 5-1.
Bloomington got a good showing from Jordan Castrejon, who pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Castrejon has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in eight consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Bloomington saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Nathan Martin, who went 1-for-3 with one run.
Meanwhile, Kaiser made easy work of San Gorgonio on Saturday and carried off an 11-2 win.
Zeke Isaak Cortez made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Kaiser is undefeated when he allows at most one walk, but 7-9 otherwise. Cortez was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one triple and two RBI.
In other pitching news, Dom Roybal looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Tino Isaiah Cuellar, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in March. Alberto Arteaga was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs and one double.
Kaiser always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .590. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Kaiser's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-9. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Bloomington, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-16.
Bloomington's speedy runners might be the difference in Wednesday's game. The Bruins have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.5 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Kaiser, though, as they've been averaging only 1.2 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Bloomington continue to outrun the ball?
Bloomington might still be hurting after the 7-0 loss they got from Kaiser in their previous meeting back in April. Can the Bruins avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
