Snyder Leads Kernels in 12-4 Rout

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - Gabe Snyder secured a career-high 12-game hit streak Saturday while going 3-of-5 with a home run in a 12-4 Cedar Rapids Kernels win against the Lansing Lugnuts in front of 2,794 fans at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The Kernels (13-9, 52-40) scored the first seven runs within their wire-to-wire victory. Jared Akins kicked off a five-run first inning with a two-out RBI single. Trevor Casanova's two-run single and Ricky De La Torre's two-run triple extended the lead during the opening stanza. In the second inning, Snyder hit a two-run home run for a 7-0 edge.

Both teams posted sacrifice flies during the third before Lansing (12-10, 44-47) closed the gap to 8-3 in the fourth. Jake Brodt delivered a leadoff solo shot, and Johnny Aiello scored via error later in the inning.
The Lugnuts inched closer within the sixth on Otto Lopez's RBI double, but the Kernels rattled off four runs in their half of the frame. Jared Akins drew a bases-loaded walk that forced in Yeltsin Encarnacion. Trevor Casanova grounded into a force play that led to an error and allowed Gilberto Celestino, Snyder, and Akins to come home and lift Cedar Rapids to a 12-4 advantage.
Snyder ended with three hits, three runs scored, and two runs batted in Saturday along with his eighth homer overall. Snyder's hit streak, which includes at least one hit in all 12 games this month, is also the longest streak from any Kernel in 2019. He tops Cedar Rapids for July with a .370 batting average, a .442 on-base percentage, a .609 slugging percentage, and three home runs.
Andrew Cabezas (4-5) picked up the win against Juan De Paula (3-4). Cabezas tallied three strikeouts in five-plus innings pitched and yielded four total runs and three earned runs. De Paula was knocked out in the second inning after giving up a career-high seven runs.
Coming up next, Cedar Rapids and Lansing will return to action Sunday at 2:05 p.m., and Kernels right-hander Kai-Wei Teng (3-0, 1.85) will pitch against Lugnuts right-hander Fitz Stadler (1-5, 5.63). Chris Kleinhans-Schulz will have the call on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and also online at www.kmryradio.com, www.kernels.com, and MiLB.TV.
Superhero Day includes a free Kids Heroes Baseball Card Set giveaway sponsored by McDonald's and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. The children included in this year's card set will be honored in a special pregame ceremony. Appearances from Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Wonder Woman are scheduled for Sunday's game, too. It is also Western Fraternal Life Kids Eat Free Sunday, Run the Bases Sunday courtesy of Prairie Farms and 104.5 KDAT. Travel Advisors Baseball Bingo, Papa Balloon, and Face by Kennedy will be available as well.
Fans can purchase tickets for all Cedar Rapids Kernels home games by visiting www.kernels.com, going to the Kernels Ticket Office, or calling (319) 896-7560. The Kernels Ticket Office is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. On Sundays when the Kernels have a home game, the Kernels Ticket Office will open at 11:00 a.m.