Crossland's gem breaks Whitecaps

Cade Crossland delivered 5.2 no-hit innings and eventually chucked 6.1 scoreless frames, leading the Chiefs to a 2-0 victory over West Michigan on Tuesday night at LMCU Ballpark.

The shutout victory comes on the heels of back-to-back shutout losses for Peoria.

With the win, the Chiefs improved to 25-29 in the second half.

West Michigan starter Rayner Castillo, who eventually suffered the loss, kept Peoria off balance through five scoreless innings, limiting the Chiefs to three hits.

In the sixth, Peoria broke through when Sammy Hernandez drew a one-out walk and scored from first on Jalin Flores’ RBI double into the left-field corner, giving the Chiefs a 1-0 lead.

Logan Berrier replaced Castillo and Caden Ferraro followed with an RBI single to left to score Flores, extending the lead to 2-0.

Cade Crossland, who is now 2-0 as a Peoria starter, was near untouchable in his fourth start with the Chiefs. After walking the first batter he faced, Crossland retired 11 consecutive Whitecaps, keeping them out of the hit column until the bottom of the sixth.

His no-hit bid was broken up with two outs in the sixth inning when Beau Ankeney’s ground-rule double bounced just beyond the reach of a sprinting Ferraro in right and over the side wall.

Crossland tied a career-high with nine strikeouts, allowing just one hit and two walks over 6.1 scoreless innings.

His nine strikeouts were one shy of Peoria’s season-high, set by Cardinals No. 13 prospect Yhoiker Fajardo when he punched out 10 on July 17. His 6.1 innings mark the most by a Chiefs starter this season.

The Chiefs' bullpen of Bobby Olsen, Liam Best and Nelfy Ynfante combined for 2.2 scoreless innings, with Ynfante picking up his second High-A save.

Peoria aims for back-to-back wins Wednesday at 5:35 p.m. CT. Fans can listen to the hometown call on PeoriaChiefs.com.