Peoria Pulls Out 3-2 Win Thursday

PEORIA, ILL. - The Peoria Chiefs claimed their second one-run victory in as many nights with Thursday's 3-2 triumph over the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Dozer Park. Peoria improved to 24-14 in the second half and 63-45 overall. Cedar Rapids dropped to 27-13 and 59-50, respectively.
Both teams plated an unearned run in the first inning. Jose Miranda reached on a two-out single, moved up via passed ball, and scored on Ryan Jeffers' RBI single. During the home half of the first, a two-out error allowed Elehuris Montero to get aboard prior to an RBI double from Zach Kirtley that tied the contest at 1-1.

The Chiefs jumped ahead, 3-1, within the bottom of the third. Luken Baker collected a leadoff single, and Kirtley picked up a one-out walk. Later in the inning, Wood Myers lifted a two-out, two-run double to center field to break the tie.
Akil Baddoo sliced Cedar Rapids' deficit in half in the top of the fifth. Ariel Montesino led off with a single and moved to third base on a single from Gabriel Maciel. Baddoo brought in Montesino with a sacrifice fly to trim Peoria's lead to 3-2.
Jake Dahlberg (1-0) kept the Kernels quiet through the rest of his quality start to win his Midwest League debut. Dahlberg tallied six strikeouts over seven innings while allowing just two runs including only one earned run.
Zach Prendergast and Fabian Blanco each tossed a scoreless inning of relief to complete the Chiefs' win. Prendergast worked around a two-out single in the eighth and notched his team-high fifth hold. Blanco secured his team-high-tying seventh save by stranding the potential game-tying run in scoring position.
Randy Dobnak (7-4) conceded three runs including two earned runs over five frames and took the loss. Dobnak and Kevin Marnon combined to hold St. Louis Cardinals infielder Kolten Wong without a hit Thursday. Wong, who was playing for the Chiefs on rehab assignment, went 0-of-3 with a walk. He also recorded five assists and one putout as the second baseman.
Friday's series finale is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., and the probable pitchers are Kernels right-hander Blayne Enlow (2-3, 3.28) and Chiefs right-hander Johan Oviedo (7-7, 5.09). Broadcast coverage with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz will be available on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and also online at www.kmryradio.com and www.kernels.com.
Cedar Rapids' final 15 home games of the regular season are coming up in August. 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.