Chiefs Start May With 4-3 Loss
Neither team had a hit in the first three innings as Peoria's Austin Kirk and Burlington's Josh Bowman traded zeroes. The Chiefs got a hit in the fourth inning but couldn't move the runner past first base. After Kirk retired the Bees in order in the fourth, Richard Jones crushed the first pitch of the fifth inning over the right-center field wall for his third homer of the season. Elliot Soto followed with a single as did Sergio Burruel. After a fielders' choice and a pop-up, Arismendy Alcantara gave the Chiefs a 2-0 lead with a single to center.
Burlington finally got their first hit of the game off Kirk in the bottom of the fifth and turned it into a run. Yordy Cabrera, who walked in the second inning, connected for a one-out single in the fifth. Douglas Landaeta got the Bees on the board with a double down the left-field line before Kirk got out of the inning with a flyout and a strikeout.
Kirk retired the first two batters in the sixth inning before Tony Thompson doubled down the left-field line to put the tying run in scoring position. Yohan Gonzalez came in out of the Chiefs bullpen and walked Jose Rivero. Cabrera tagged a double over Rubi Silva's head in right to score two runs and give Burlington their first lead of the day at 3-2. Landaeta made it 4-2 with a single to left before Gonzalez escaped the frame.
The first two Chiefs in the seventh inning drew walks and Chris Mederos relieved Josh Bowman. Pierre LePage sacrificed and Elliot Soto scored from third on a groundout by Anthony Giansanti. Mederos stranded the tying run at third as Alcantara bounced out to first. Peoria put the tying run at second in the eighth and at first in the ninth but failed to score both times.
Kirk allowed two runs on just three hits over 5 2/3 innings. The lefty struck out seven and walked one in a no-decision. Gonzalez (0-2) took a blown save as three of the four batters he faced reached base. Gonzalez gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in 1/3 of an inning. Casey Harman threw two shutout innings with one hit allowed and two strikeouts.
Casey's General Store Player of the Game - Austin Kirk (LHP) - Kirk left with a 2-1 lead with two outs in the sixth but took a no-decision as Burlington rallied for the win. He struck out seven and allowed just three hits on the afternoon.
Notes: Matt Szczur singled in the fifth and now has a nine game hit streak...Szczur has at least one hit in all but two games this season...Micah Gibbs also has an eight game hit streak but got the day off after catching the last two...Kirk also struck out seven on August 23, 2010 for the Chiefs while he had a personal career-high nine strikeouts last July while pitching with Boise...Hayden Simpson and Cam Greathouse also have seven strikeout outings this season...The Chiefs were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position...Greg Rohan, who leads the MWL in RBI, hits and doubles through April, missed Sunday's game with a fever and flu-like symptoms...The Chiefs are 1-4 in Burlington with two 1-run losses and a two-run loss...The Chiefs are 6-4 in day games this season and 2-2 on Sunday...Cubs Assistant General Manager Randy Bush was in attendance at the game and will watch the Chiefs for most of this week...This is the Chiefs' second series in Burlington already this season and the Bees make their first appearance in Peoria at the end of the next homestand, May 10-12...The three-game series continues Monday at 6:30 p.m. in Burlington...The Chiefs will throw RH Robinson Lopez (1-0, 5.29) against Bees RH Tyler Vail (0-0, 0.00) who will be making his 2011 debut...The game can be heard live starting with the pre-game show at 6:15 p.m. on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive which also has downloads for an iPhone and iPad app.