Suárez, Chiefs fly past Beloit in opener
Behind a six-run fourth inning, the Chiefs cruised to an 11-1 series-opening win against the Beloit Sky Carp on Tuesday night at Dozer Park. The Chiefs jumped on the Sky Carp with a two-run home run by Jack Gurevitch in the first inning, scoring Jesús Báez, who reached on a
Behind a six-run fourth inning, the Chiefs cruised to an 11-1 series-opening win against the Beloit Sky Carp on Tuesday night at Dozer Park.
The Chiefs jumped on the Sky Carp with a two-run home run by Jack Gurevitch in the first inning, scoring Jesús Báez, who reached on a leadoff single.
With the bases loaded in the second inning, Peoria added another when Báez walked in Cameron Nickens to make it 3-0.
In the fourth, the Chiefs opened it up with six runs on four hits and four walks. Báez drove in his second run on a sacrifice fly to score José Suárez. Jalin Flores and Cade McGee followed with RBI singles, to extend the lead to 6-0.
Won-Bin Cho scored on a wild pitch by Beloit reliever Luis Cesar. Then, Suárez knocked a two-run single that brought McGee and Nickens home to lengthen Peoria’s advantage to 9-0.
The Sky Carp cracked their goose egg in the fifth on a Brandon Compton RBI single which brought in Jesus Hernandez to cut their deficit to 9-1.
That fifth inning also marked the end of the night for Chiefs starter Yhoiker Fajardo, who allowed one run on five hits over 4.2 innings. The 19-year-old walked three batters, matching his season-high set May 13 at Beloit. Fajardo also recorded a season-low three strikeouts.
Bobby Olsen recorded the final out of the fifth before Gerardo Salas and Jason Savacool led Peoria through the eighth. The trio combined for five strikeouts in 4.1 scoreless frames.
After Sammy Hernandez drew a walk in the eighth inning, Suárez rocketed an opposite field two-run homer that sliced just inside the right field foul pole to make it 11-1 Chiefs.
Dominic Freeberger worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth to secure the victory.
Suárez finished with three hits and four RBIs, while Báez added three hits and drove in two runs.
The 25-27 Chiefs continue their series against the 24-27 Sky Carp on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m.
Wallet Friendly Wednesday, presented by Ollie’s, offers $2 hot dogs and $2 nachos. Fans can also bring their dogs to the ballpark.
Otherwise, join Larry Larson and Nico Horning on the airwaves at PeoriaChiefs.com, or by watching the game on MiLB.TV or the Bally Sports Live app.