Five Loons Pitchers Combine to Shutout Chiefs

Midland, MI - It was a team effort Saturday as five Great Lakes Loons hurlers combined to blank the Peoria Chiefs 6-0 at Dow Diamond. With the win, the Loons secured the series and their fourth victory in a row over the Chiefs.

Great Lakes again struck in the opening inning, this time against Peoria starter Dionys Rodriguez. Jorbit Vivas led off the Loons first with a triple to the gap in left center and stood at third with no one out. After Rodriguez whiffed Diego Cartaya, a one-out double from Imanol Vargas scored Vivas to make it 1-0. The next batter, Jose Ramos, singled into the center and the Loons doubled their lead before Rodriguez wiggled out of further trouble.

In the bottom of the second, Rodriguez appeared locked in. He quickly struck out the side and got the Chiefs back into the dugout. Through two innings, the Peoria right-hander whiffed five.

After the Chiefs went down in the third, the Loons loaded the bases with nobody out. Ramos, who already delivered an RBI, smashed a grounder towards third where Jacob Buchberger made a diving stop to his left to start a 5-4-3 double play. The Loons were only able to scratch the one run to make it 3-0.

In the fifth, the Loons tacked on another. Cartaya connected on his third homer in the series to push Great Lakes in front 4-0. Rodriguez completed the inning and his night concluded after five innings of work. Despite some traffic, the Peoria right-hander tied his season high with eight strikeouts.

Peoria’s best scoring chance came in the seventh after consecutive singles from Mack Chambers and Francisco Hernandez led off the frame. Peoria’s hottest hitter, Todd Lott, hit one sharply but grounded into a double play to end the rally.

Great Lakes chipped in a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh against Peoria reliever Chris Gerard, who made his High-A debut Saturday with a clean sixth inning. Vivas connected for his third hit of the game, a two-run shot, to balloon the lead to 6-0.

The Great Lakes bullpen used four one-inning stints to secure the victory, their second shutout win of the series.

The Chiefs will wrap up their 12-game road trip Sunday at Great Lakes. Inohan Paniagua is scheduled to make his second start of the series. First pitch is set for 1:05 EST/12:05 CST.