Graterol Fans 10 Bandits for 5-1 Win

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - Brusdar Graterol posted a personal-best 10 strikeouts and 5.2 shutout innings Monday evening to carry the Cedar Rapids Kernels to a 5-1 triumph against the Quad Cities River Bandits at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Graterol (1-0) earned the victory within the opener of a five-game, four-day series between Cedar Rapids (16-15) and Quad Cities (19-16).
Three 101-mph pitches and new career highs in strikeouts and innings highlighted Graterol's first Kernels win. He gave up a one-out single and a walk in the first inning before retiring 14 of the next 15 hitters including 10 in a row at the end of that stretch. Graterol's 10 total strikeouts also represented the best mark by any Kernels pitcher this season.

The Kernels broke a scoreless tie with three runs during the fourth inning. Jean Carlos Arias' bunt single coupled with an error allowed Alex Kirilloff to come home for Cedar Rapids' first run. Andrew Bechtold followed with an RBI groundout that brought in Shane Carrier, and Trey Cabbage added an RBI single to plate Arias for a 3-0 advantage.
More offense within the fifth and sixth innings increased the lead to 5-0 Cedar Rapids. Akil Baddoo scored in the fifth when Kirilloff grounded into a double play. Arias led off the sixth with a double and came home on Bechtold's run-scoring single.
Quad Cities broke up the shutout on the final play of Monday's game. Jake Adams extended the contest with a two-out single coupled with an error. Michael Papierski singled to drive in Adams and trim the deficit to 5-1, but he was thrown out at second base trying for a double to end the game.
Tyler Ivey (1-3) was the losing pitcher in the series opener. He yielded four total runs including three earned runs over five innings pitched.
This five-game, four-day homestand continues Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. with Kernels right-hander Edwar Colina (2-1, 1.47) and River Bandits right-hander Yohan Ramirez (3-2, 2.74) expected to start the contest. Chris Kleinhans-Schulz will call the action on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and also online at www.kmryradio.com, www.kernels.com, and MiLB.TV.
Great Clips Twins Tuesday features a 2-for-1 ticket offer available on the Kernels' Facebook page and email newsletter. The Kernels will wear special jerseys for Tuesday home games that will be auctioned off later this season, and one lucky fan at Tuesday's contest will win a pair of tickets to a Minnesota Twins game.
Fans can purchase tickets for all Cedar Rapids home games by visiting www.kernels.com, going to the Kernels Ticket Office, or calling (319) 896-7560. The Kernels Ticket Office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. On Sundays when the Kernels have a home game, the Kernels Ticket Office will open at 11:00 a.m.