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Baseball: Rio Ruiz gets dialed in at Area Code Games

Los Angeles Times staff writer Ben Bolch
By Ben Bolch
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Bishop Amat third baseman Rio Ruiz, who had missed the Milwaukee Brewers’ first game in the Area Code Games to be with the Lancers football team, made his debut with the Southern California-laden Brewers on Sunday at Blair Field in Long Beach and did not disappoint.

After entering to play third base in the sixth inning, Ruiz had a pair of hits, including one that started a two-run, ninth-inning rally. Alas, it wasn’t enough as the Brewers lost, 12-7, to the Kansas City Royals.

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Keeping the two-sport standout around for the entirety of the Area Code Games has been a challenge. Last year, Ruiz played in the first two days of the event for the New York Yankees and then left to focus on playing quarterback for Bishop Amat.

This year, he missed the first two days (but only one game) and told ESPN Rise that he would stay until the games end Wednesday.

--Ben Bolch

Varsity Times Insider
Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

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