Jenkins Named MWL Pitcher of Week

The Peoria Chiefs and the Midwest League have announced that Chiefs pitcher Tyrell Jenkins was named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 29 - May 5. He is the first Chiefs pitcher to win the honor since this season in the return to the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

     Jenkins turned in one of the best performances in Peoria Chiefs Stadium on Sunday afternoon against Fort Wayne. The right-hander threw a 9-inning complete game shutout and allowed just three hits, all singles, in the Chiefs 1-0 win. He struck out five and walked one as the Chiefs won in 1 hour and 47 minutes. Jenkins retired 15 straight after a leadoff walk in the third inning and at one point retired 21 of 22 batters. The first 1500 fans through the gates at Sunday's game received a player poster featuring Jenkins before he delivered his impressive outing. Jenkins entered the 2013 season ranked by Baseball America  as the Cardinals #8 prospect.

     The performance was just the third 9-inning complete game shutout by a Chiefs starter in stadium history. Mike Wodnicki beat Wisconsin 3-0 on July 6, 2002 allowing eight hits over nine innings for the first shutout. Austin Kirk completed the feat in his no-hitter with 10 strikeouts in a 2-0 win over Clinton on July 4, 2011. The Chiefs have had just five individual shutouts since the start of the 2002 season and the other two were less than nine innings. Jordan Pals threw eight shutout innings in a CG on May 1, 2003 against South Bend in game one of a double header and Nick Struck got credit for a five-inning no-hit shutout against Clinton on April 30, 2010 in a rain-shortened game.

      The last Chiefs pitcher to win the MWL Pitcher of the Year Award was Kyler Burke June 4-11, 2012 and prior to him it had not been won since Robert Hernandez did so for the week of June 4-10, 2007. The only other pitcher to win the award since 2005 when the new system went into place was Sean Gallagher April 25 - May 1, 2005.