Chiefs Lose 8-3 to Kernels

Peoria, IL- After the Peoria Chiefs grabbed an early two-run lead, the Cedar Rapids Kernels scored five runs in the third inning and eventually secured the four-game sweep of the Chiefs with a 8-3 win Tuesday night. The loss dropped the Chiefs to 65-59 on the year and 27-30 in the second half, three games behind Clinton for a wildcard spot.

    The Chiefs took their first lead of the series with two runs in the second inning against Tim Atherton. With two outs Breyvic Valera doubled and was brought home by a Trevor Martin single. Ildemaro Vargas hit on a soft liner up the middle to drive in Martin and give the Chiefs a 2-0 lead.

     The Kernels answered with five run in the top of the third against Chris Perry. Jeremias Pineda reached on a lead off walk and with one out advanced to third as Nico Goodrum's ground ball rolled under Jordan Walton's glove. With runners at the corners and one out Max Kepler doubled to right-center plating Pineda and putting two in scoring position. Adam Brett Walker followed with a single up the middle to score Goodrum and Kepler while advancing to second on the throw home. After Mike Gonzales walked, Walker came around to score on a throwing error by Trevor Martin to extend the Kernels lead to 4-2 while Gonzales advanced to second and Travis Harrison ended up on first. With two outs Altobelli singled to give the Kernels a 5-2 advantage before Harrison was caught in a rundown between second and third and was eventually tagged out by Valera to end the inning. 

     Cedar Rapids added three more runs in the top of the fourth inning. Pineda led of with a single and moved to second on a one-out single by Goodrum. Kepler drove in Pineda with his second double of the game while Goodrum moved to third. Brady Adamek replaced Perry and struck out Walker, but Gonzales drove in Goodrum and Kepler with a two-out double to put the Kernels up 8-2.

     The Chiefs got one of the runs back in the sixth inning. C.J. McElroy Jr. reached first on an infield single and then moved to second on a throwing error by Goodrum to lead off the inning. He moved to third on a Tilson ground out to second and came around to score as Jordan Walton beat out an infield single. With Walton on first Atherton retired the next to Chiefs to preserve the Kernels 8-3 lead. That would ultimately be the final as the Chiefs were not able to muster a hit in the final three innings.    

     Perry (2-2) pitched 3 1/3 innings while giving up eight runs (five earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out three. Adamek pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings giving up one hit and two walks while striking out two. Steve Sabatino tossed a scoreless inning striking out three and giving up one hit. Joe Scanio pitched two perfect innings while fanning one.

 

Notes: The Chiefs suffered their first four-game home sweep since losing four straight to Wisconsin June 14-16, 2011....Tilson's six-game hit streak ended while Vargas increased his streak to seven games…Martin's RBI single snapped a team 0-for-17 slump with runners in scoring position…The Chiefs had gone 30 straight innings without scoring more than one run before platting two in the second frame…Perry allowed more than one run for the first time in four August starts…The Chiefs batted 3-for-4 with runners in scoring position…The Chiefs did not draw a walk…Peoria is 7-9 against Cedar Rapids this season and finish the year 2-5 against the Kernels at Dozer Park…The Chiefs extended their home losing streak to a season-long five games and are now 37-22 at home this season…The Chiefs welcome in the Burlington Bees for their second to last series at Dozer Park this season on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m… Wednesday is "Won Dollar Wednesday" meaning $1 hot dogs, $1 ice cream sandwiches and $1 fountain sodas…Also if the Chiefs do not win, all fans can exchange their ticket for a free ticket to Wednesday, August 28 game against Clinton…The Chiefs start RH Silfredo Garcia (3-4, 4.23) against the Bees LH Ryan Crowley (10-6, 3.32)… The broadcast can be heard, starting with the Premier Print Group Pre-Game Show at 6:15 p.m. on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive which also has downloads for a free app on the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android.