Valera Vaults Loons

Great Lakes steals series a day early

By Brad Tunney

July 11, 2019

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - With the Great Lakes Loons trailing 1-0 in the seventh inning, Leonel Valera stepped to the plate with two on and two out. Valera had been hitting .184 in those situations this season, but on Thursday night he came through to push the Loons ahead of

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - With the Great Lakes Loons trailing 1-0 in the seventh inning, Leonel Valera stepped to the plate with two on and two out. Valera had been hitting .184 in those situations this season, but on Thursday night he came through to push the Loons ahead of the Cedar Rapids Kernels 2-1 and ultimately win the game 3-1.
Jack Little, Justin Bruihl and Jose Chacin combined to hold a struggling Cedar Rapids offense to one run on five hits. Little made his second start at the single-A level and allowed two baserunners in three innings while Bruihl bridged the gap to Chacin with a scoreless fourth inning.
Chacin (W, 7-6) allowed Trevor Casanova to take him deep on the first pitch of his night but settled in after that. The Venezuelan righty ceded just two baserunners in his final four 2/3 innings of work.
A ninth-inning insurance run was added by the Loons on an RBI-single by Chris Roller.
The Loons have now won three consecutive series against Cedar Rapids at Perfect Game Field dating back to 2015. They've won seven-of-eight against the Kernels overall. Also of note… Loons starting pitchers now have an ERA of 2.75 since the All-Star Break.
Great Lakes and Cedar Rapids meet-up for the final time in the 2019 regular season Friday night with the Loons looking for the series sweep. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CDT. Another great pitching matchup is in store with John Rooney (2.96 ERA) taking the ball for Great Lakes and Josh Winder (2.32) for Cedar Rapids.
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
July 17: Grand Slam Game
July 18: Christmas in July
July 19: Latino Night w/ FIREWORKS
July 20: 9 Innings of Winning w/ Zooperstars! and FIREWORKS
July 21: Inclusion Day
July 22: Skip Work Day
The Great Lakes Loons have been the Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team's inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team's home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.