Chiefs Fall 6-1 in Game 3

Bowling Green, KY - The Peoria Chiefs lost game three of the Midwest League Championship Series 6-1 Saturday night to the Bowling Green Hot Rods. The Chiefs face a must-win game four on Sunday in an effort to force a deciding game five on Monday.

    After both teams left runners on base in the first three half-innings, Bowling Green took the lead in the second against Jake Dahlberg. Trey Hair drew a lead off walk and with one out Justin Bridgman bounced a single into right. Carl Chester tripled home both runners and scored on a single by Vidal Brujan as Bowling Green took a 3-0 lead. Brujan stole second and scored on an error by Rayder Ascanio as the hosts went on top 4-0.
   The Hot Rods added on in the sixth against the Chiefs bullpen. Fabian Blanco walked the leadoff man and allowed a single before Bowling Green loaded the bases on a bunt. Robbie Gordon came in out of the bullpen and a wild pitch scored a run for a 5-0 lead. Two straight walks put the Hot Rods on top 6-0 before Gordon got two strikeouts to escape the inning.
   The Chiefs got on the board in the seventh inning against Bowling Green reliever Sebastian Rosenblum-Larson. Dennis Ortega drew a leadoff walk and Nick Dunn doubled him home to get the Chiefs on the board. The next three batters struck out as the Chiefs trailed 6-1, which was the final score.
   Dahlberg (1-1) took the loss as he allowed four runs on six hits over four innings plus one batter faced in the fifth. Three of the runs were earned as he walked two and struck out three. CJ Saylor struck out two over a perfect inning of work. Blanco did not record an out as he allowed two runs on a hit and a walk. Gordon struck out two and walked two in a hitless inning of work. Alvaro Seijas threw two shutout innings and allowed one hit as he struck out one.
Notes: Dunn has hits in all seven playoff games…He leads the Chiefs with 10 hits and is the seventh player in team history to have at least 10 hits in one playoff run…The Chiefs are 5-11 all-time in Kentucky…September 15 is the latest the Chiefs have ever played a game in their history…The team who has won game three in a 1-1 series is 4-1 in winning the Midwest League title since 2004…The exception was West Michigan in 2015 as they won games four and five in Cedar Rapids…The only team to win game three on the road in a 1-1 series was Wisconsin in 2012 and they won the title the next night in Fort Wayne…Seijas pitched for the first time since August 31…Dahlberg tied his season high with four runs allowed…Gordon had not walked more than one batter in an outing since August 29, 2017, a span of 35 outings…The series continues Sunday at 6:35 pm as the Chiefs send RH Angel Rondon to the mound against Hot Rods RH Paul Campbell…The broadcast with Voice of the Chiefs Nathan Baliva can be heard starting with the Pre-Game Show at 6:20 p.m. on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive and is also available on the Peoria Chiefs Network in the Tune-In Radio App.