Tough. Gritty. Solid. Use whatever adjective that comes to mind to describe the Bees 5-4 win in Cedar Rapids on Sunday. The Bees lost a 3-0 lead and fought back with one run in the sixth inning on an RBI single from CF Jose Rivero and a run in the eighth inning on a single from C Beau Taylor. Today on the 4th of July, the Bees have a change to go over five hundred for the first time in the second half. And that’s a great fact to be able to write/talk about on this holiday. I hope you enjoy the 4th.

Some random thoughts…

The Bees are now 4-2 in Cedar Rapids this season. This series is the final one the Bees will play here in Cedar Rapids. Today marks the first time the Bees will use the catcher to lead off. Taylor had two hits on Sunday, tying his career high. CF Jose Rivero recorded his third three-hit game of the season. He has a .304 batting average against Cedar Rapids this season.

The Burlington Bees begin a brief three-game road swing here in Cedar Rapids against the Kernels today. The Bees just finished a six-game home stand against Kane County and Peoria, winning three and losing three. Last night the Bees lost 5-1 to the Peoria Chiefs one night after amassing a season high 18 runs and 18 hits in an 18-4 victory. Even though the Bees offense put up one run on six hits Saturday, the offense has been very good in the second half. SS Wade Kirkland (3-7) is batting .429 in the last 10 games, sparked by his 2-3 performance against Kane County on June 28. IF Ryan Pineda has seen more time at second base and it has translated into a .364 average (4-11) in his last 10 games.

RANDOM THOUGHT: The Bees won two out of three games here in Cedar Rapids May 4-6. The only loss was on May 4, a 4-3 defeat in 17 innings. The game took four hours and 58 minutes (I still have nightmares about that night). It was the first game of the series and yes, today is the first game of the series here in Cedar Rapids. If you listen to my broadcasts, you know I’m not superstitious. I’m not afraid to describe a “no-hitter” in action or talk about the pace of the game. The truth is, if a guy is going to throw a no-hitter or the two clubs on the field are going to play a game almost five hours long, there’s nothing I do that affects the outcome of the game. So why am I nervous?

 

by Matthew Wheaton
Media Relations Assistant

The Burlington Bees (4-4) and the Peoria Chiefs (2-6) wrap up their three-game series tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Community Field. RHP Matt Loosen (1-0, 2.25) gets the start for Peoria against RHP Blake Hassebrock (4-3, 1.69) for Burlington. The Bees have a record of 9-3 in games played against the Chiefs this season and are 36-21 against right-handed starting pitchers. Hassebrock has an overall record of 2-2 to go along with a 1.29 ERA in games played at Community Field and allowed one run on six hits in his last start on June 27 against Kane County.

YESTERDAY…
Burlington defeated the Chiefs by a score of 18-4 at Community Field Friday night. After a one out single from Bees 1B Josh Whitaker (4-4) in the bottom of the second inning, SS Yordy Cabrera (1-2) drew a walk. C Juan Nunez (2-3) reached first base on a throwing error by Peoria 2B Arismendy Alcantara, which plated Whitaker and Cabrera. A single from LF Royce Consigli (2-5) moved Nunez to second base. 2B Nino Leyja (1-4) walked. Nunez and Consigli scored on a single from 3B Tony Thompson (2-6). Leyja moved to third base and Thompson to second base on the throw from Rohan. A two-run home run from DH A.J.Kirby-Jones (2-5) put Burlington up 7-3. Whitaker hit a broken bat single to lead off the bottom of the third inning. A wild pitch by Chiefs RHP Su-Min Jung with Cabrera at the plate moved Whitaker to second base. Cabrera walked. A single from CF Jose Crisotomo (2-5) loaded the bases. Nunez walked and Whitaker scored. A sacrifice fly to center field from Consigli plated Cabrera. Crisotomo scored on a ground out to Peoria SS Elliot Soto from Thompson to make the score 10-3. A RBI single from Nunez in the bottom of the fourth inning gave Burlington an 11-3 lead. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Whitaker smacked a three-run home run to right field and Cabrera followed with a solo home run to left field to put the Bees up 15-4. An RBI single from Kirby-Jones and a two-run double from Whitaker gave Burlington an 18-4 advantage. Bees RHP Josh Bowman (6-3) allowed four runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out three in six innings of work to earn the win. RHP Jonathan Joseph finished the game by throwing the final three innings, striking out five and earning the save. 

BEES BY THE NUMBERS
The Bees recorded a season-high in runs and hits (18) in last night’s 18-4 win over the Chiefs and have an overall record of 27-13 in home games this season. Burlington has had 10 plus hits in eight games this season. When their opponent scores first, the Bees are 23-18. Last night’s win over Peoria was the largest margin of victory (14) for the Bees this season. The Bees have a record of 3-2 in the last five games. Three Burlington players had home runs yesterday, two of which were three-run bombs. When a Bee hits a homer, Burlington has an overall record of 18-3. The entire Bees lineup had at least one hit last night against the Chiefs. Three Bees were hit-by-a-pitch last night. Peoria All-Star 2B Pierre LePage was asked to toe the rubber in yesterday’s game and was the only Chiefs pitcher to retire three straight Bees batters with just seven pitches in the eight inning.

C Juan Nunez had his first two-hit game as a member of the Burlington Bees on Friday night against the Chiefs. He also had three RBIs, which were his first runs batted in as a Bee.

1B A.J. Kirby-Jones is batting .438 with seven runs on seven hits, two home runs and seven RBIs in the last five games. He hit his first three-run home run this season Friday night and has seven homers this year, all of which have been at Community Field.

1B Josh Whitaker is also batting .438 in his last five games and hit his first three-run home run this season Friday night. Whitaker also had his first four-hit game of the season on Friday.

ROSTER MOVE
RHP Blake Treinen was added to the Bees 25 man roster today from the AZL Athletics. Treinen, Oakland’s 2011 7th round selection, allowed three hits, walked one and fanned seven in three innings of work over three games for the AZL A’s. He replaces RHP Mike Hart, who was promoted to the Stockton Ports, the A’s High “A” affiliate, on Thursday.

Treinen, a former walk-on, attended South Dakota State University the past two seasons. The Osage City, Kan. native was a two-time, first-team all-Summit League honoree, posting a 14-4 career record with 166 strikeouts in 159.1 innings. During his senior season in 2011, the right-hander posted a 7-3 record and 3.00 ERA in 13 starts. His 84 strikeouts tied him for the third most in a season by a SDSU hurler, and his 166 strikeouts rank him fourth all-time at the school.

 

by Matthew Wheaton
Media Relations Assistant

The Burlington Bees (3-4) and the Peoria Chiefs (2-5) play game two of their three-game series tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Community Field. RHP Hayden Simpson (1-5, 4.98), the Cubs’ 2010 1st round draft pick, gets the start for Peoria against RHP Josh Bowman (5-2, 3.06) for Burlington. The Bees have a record of 8-3 in games played against the Chiefs this season and are 35-21 against right-handed starting pitchers. Bowman has an overall record of 2-1 to go along with a 4.61 ERA in games played at Community Field and has allowed seven runs on 14 hits in the past two games.

YESTERDAY…
The Bees defeated the Chiefs by a score of 4-2 at Community Field Thursday night. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Bees 3B Tony Thompson (0-3) drew a lead-off walk and 1B A.J. Kirby-Jones (2-3) hit a two-run home run to left field. RF Douglas Landaeta (0-3) reached third base on a throwing error by Peoria SS Arismendy Alcantara. With CF Jose Rivero (0-3) at the plate, Peoria RHP Daniel Berlind (0-1) threw a wild pitch and Landaeta scored for a 3-2 Burlington lead. Burlington C Beau Taylor (1-3) hit a triple to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning and later scored on a sacrifice fly from 2B Ryan Pineda (0-3) to make the score 4-2. Bees RHP Nate Long allowed two runs on five hits, walked three and struck out four in six innings of work in a no decision. LHP Max Peterson earned the win by throwing the final three innings, striking out five and allowing two hits.

BEES BY THE NUMBERS
Burlington has an overall record of 26-13 in home games this season. The Bees are 11-1 in two-run games and 36-8 when scoring four or more runs. Burlington has an overall record of 16-3 when a Bee hits a home run. When their opponent scores first, the Bees are 22-18. The Chiefs had seven hits on Thursday night compared to Burlington’s four hits. The Bees are 8-17 when out-hit by their opponent.

C Beau Taylor, Oakland’s 2011 5th round draft pick and a native of Rockledge, Fla., had his first triple as a professional baseball player Thursday night against the Chiefs. 1B A.J. Kirby-Jones’ home run Thursday night against Peoria was his sixth of the year. His last home run was on June 17 against the Beloit Snappers. All of Kirby-Jones’ homers have been at Community Field. He has 15 RBIs, 15 walks and 15 strikeouts in games played at home, and is batting .372 with 16 runs on 29 hits. Kirby-Jones is batting .364 with six runs on 12 hits, two home runs and six RBIs in the last 10 games.

RHP Nate Long set two season high marks last night against Peoria, allowing the most walks (3) and most hits (5). Chiefs SS Arismendy Alcantara was picked off at first base twice by Long on Thursday night. Peoria LHP Eric Jokisch started on the hill for the Chiefs Thursday night and fanned seven Burlington batters, a new career high.

ROSTER MOVES
The Bees, in conjunction with the Oakland A’s, have announced the promotion of RHP Mike Hart to the Stockton Ports, the A’s High “A” affiliate. Hart replaces former Bee A.J. Griffin, who received a promotion to AA Midland on Thursday. Burlington OF Jose Rivero was removed from the disabled list and OF Tyreace House was transferred to the disabled list before Thursday night’s game against the Peoria Chiefs.

4-3
The Stockton Ports, Oakland’s High “A” affiliate, defeated the Bakersfield Blaze, the High “A” affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, by a score of 4-3 on both Wednesday and Thursday night. Both teams play in the California League.

 

by Matthew Wheaton
Media Relations Assistant

The Burlington Bees (2-4) and the Peoria Chiefs (2-4) begin a three-game series tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Community Field. LHP Eric Jokish (7-2, 3.92) gets the start for Peoria against RHP Nate Long (5-1, 2.13) for Burlington. The Bees have a record of 7-3 in games played against the Peoria Chiefs this season and are 12-8 against left-handed starting pitchers.

YESTERDAY…
The Bees defeated the Kane County Cougars (5-1) by a score of 9-5 in front of 549 fans at Community Field Wednesday night. Burlington RF Douglas Landaeta (2-3) hit a RBI single to right field in the bottom of the first inning and smacked a three-run home run over the left field wall in the bottom of the seventh inning. Burlington RHP Sean Murphy allowed four runs on nine hits, walked one and struck out two in 4.1 innings of work. RHP Zack Thornton (3-3) pitched 2.2 innings, allowing one run on two hits to earn the win. RHP Daniel Tenholder finished the game by throwing the final two innings, striking out four and allowing a hit.

BEES BY THE NUMBERS
Burlington has an overall record of 25-13 in home games this season. The Bees are 1-2 in the current home stand and 35-8 when scoring four or more runs. Both Kane County and the Bees had 12 hits Wednesday night. The Bees have a record of 13-1 when they have the same number of hits as their opponent. Burlington has had 10 plus hits in seven games this season.

C Beau Taylor, Oakland’s 2011 5th round draft pick, had his first RBI as a member of the Bees Wednesday night against the Cougars. RHP Sean Murphy (0-1, 10.13), who made his debut with the Bees on June 18, has allowed 12 runs on 19 hits, struck out nine, and walked two in 10.2 innings of work. OF Royce Consigli went 0-for-13 at the dish in the recent three-game series against Kane County. OF Douglas Landaeta’s home run Wednesday night against Kane County was his seventh of the year and the second homer he has hit off a Cougars pitcher. Landaeta hit his last homer on June 15 against Kane County at Community Field.

GAME TIME
Monday night’s game between the Kane County Cougars and the Bees at Community Field lasted 2 hours and 32 minutes. Tuesday night’s game between the teams was 2 hours and 33 minutes and Wednesday night’s game between the squads was 2 hours and 34 minutes.

The Burlington Bees suffered their third straight loss and are on the verge of being in uncharted waters. Burlington lost four in a row from June 9-12 against South Bend (one game) and three against West Michigan.  The three loses against the Whitecaps marked the first time the Bees were swept this season.

With the short outing by RHP Tyler Vail (2.2 innings) on Tuesday, RHP Pedro Vidal pitched his longest outing of the season (4.1 innings) last night. He allowed just one run on three hits and surpassed his previous high of 3.1 innings against Kane County back on June 14 in Burlington.

The Bees look to avoid being swept for just the second time this season when they take on the Cougars tonight.

Over the course of a long baseball season you are going to have nights like Monday where nothing seemed to go right for the Bees. They got every bad break in a two-run second inning where two balls skipped off of starter Blake Hassebrock’s glove for base hits and another ground ball hugged the third base foul line, just staying fair.

Give credit to Kane County RHP Leondy Perez. He was outstanding and scattered just one run on seven hits over seven innings.

 

Its a few hours before the Bees begin a three-game series with the Kane County Cougars here in Burlington and I’m still not sure how the Bees lost two out of three in Clinton. Bees’ pitchers struck out 34 Clinton hitters over the three-game weekend series.

If that wasn’t enough to yield a few wins, a couple Bees were just “raking” in Clinton. Tony Thompson went 5-11 with four RBI and Royce Consigli went 7-14 with five RBI. With numbers like that you would think the Bees could have taken two out of three against Clinton but as the cliché says, “that’s baseball.”

 

What a way to rebound for the Burlington Bees on Saturday! The Bees once again stayed true to their theme of quality pitching with three pitchers combining to strike out 14 men en route to a 5-1 win over the Clinton LumberKings on Saturday. Bees’ pitchers continue to dominate with 28 strikeouts over the first two game of the second half.

In addition to RHP Nate Long’s seven strikeouts, LHP Max Peterson added five strikeouts over three innings and RHP Daniel Tenholder struck out two men in the ninth inning.

CF Jose Crisotomo had two hits on Saturday. It was the most hits in a single game this season for Crisotomo.

Peterson’s five strikeouts were the most strikeouts in a single game he has pitched this season. He struck out three men against the Lake Elsinore Storm on April 27 as a member of the Stockton Ports, the High A affiliate of the Athletics.

 

The Burlington Bees look to bounce back after a tough 5-4 loss here in Clinton on Friday. The LumberKings scored four unearned runs in the eighth inning thanks to two key Burlington errors. The eighth inning illustrates how cruel this great game of baseball can be. RHP Pedro Vidal struck out seven of the first nine hitters he faced and allowed just one hit until 3B Matt Browning reached base on a two-out error. The next four hitters reached base and Clinton pushed across four runs. Vidal was tagged with the loss even though he did everything right.

Some more highlights include:
14 combined strikeouts and no walks for Bees pitchers last night. RHP Sean Murphy struck out six in five innings, Vidal struck out seven in his two and two-thirds innings and RHP Daniel Tenholder struck out the only batter he faced. NOTE: Vidal’s seven strikeouts tied his personal best for the most strikeouts in a single outing this season when he struck out seven at Wisconsin on May 20.

RF Royce Consigli went 4-5 and tied his single-game high for hits set back on June 15 against Kane County.  The three RBIs were the most in a single game for Consigli this seaso