Washington Nationals 2, Cincinnati Reds 2
The 23rd annual Area Code Games kicked off Wednesday at historic Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif. All eight teams started the six-day event with a round of batting practice and SPARQ Testing (which measures speed, power, agility, reaction and quickness).
Batting practice is always a highlight for the approximately 400 MLB scouts and 75 college coaches who attend the Area Code games. Batting practice allows scouts to get a good look at players’ mechanics and raw bat speed.
"You get to see players performing," one American League area scout remarked. "You’ll see something that you might not during a game."
There were a lot of fireworks in the opening game at Area Code, but the ending was a dud as the Nationals and Reds played to a nine-inning tie.
The Nationals got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. Sal Arena (Puyallup, Wash.) got things going with a hit, and he took third on a single by Sloan. Arena eventually scored on a fielder’s choice.
The two most exciting plays of the first day were turned in by Nationals’ left fielder Sale. He knocked the leather off the ball during batting practice, but the first spectacular play Sale made was with his glove and arm.
Trevor Allen (Corona Del Sol/Tempe, Ariz.) hit a double and looked to score on a single by pitcher Marco Gonzales (Rocky Mountain/Fort Collins, Colo.), but Sale cut down Allen at home plate with a perfect one-hopper to the catcher.
The Reds scored as infielder Marcus Littlewood (Pine View/St. George, Utah) scored on a sacrifice fly hit by catcher T.C. Mark (Pinnacle/Phoenix). Sale then gave the Nationals a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out, solo home run over the 387-foot sign near right center field. The blast was near the same spot Sale hit his home run during last year’s Area Code Games to complete the cycle. FULL STORY
Chicago White Sox 5, Texas Rangers 5
After seven innings were in the books, it looked like the Sox would roll to an easy victory over the boys from the Lone Star State.
It wasn’t to be, as they allowed the Rangers to score five runs and tie the game after not allowing a hit through seven innings. After two games and 18 innings at Blair Field, all four competing teams were tied.
Righty Dylan Bundy (Owasso/Sperry, Okla.) threw three spectacular frames, striking out seven, allowing no hits and no runs, even though he hit a batter and had two fielding errors behind him. Defense led to the White Sox’s late-inning collapse, as they had a total of five errors in the game.
Southpaw Jordan Shipers (South Harrison/Bethany, Mo.) threw one scoreless inning for the White Sox and 2011 prospect Archie Bradley (Broken Arrow/Muskogee, Okla.) kept the Rangers off the base paths in the fifth, sixth and seventh. Shipers, a 6-4 righty, was hitting 95 mph on the radar gun, and is also a major prospect as a quarterback.
Shaky Texas pitching allowed the White Sox to score two runs in the first inning and another in the second to take a quick 3-0 lead. The White Sox scored on a variety of mistakes: passed balls, wild pitches, double steals and fielder’s choices. FULL STORY
