Whitecaps Complete Sweep as Peoria Falls 3-1
June 9, 2011 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
Peoria, IL - The Peoria Chiefs allowed just two hits but dropped their fourth straight ballgame on Thursday night as the West Michigan Whitecaps completed a three-game sweep with a 3-1 win. It was the first time Peoria had been swept at home in a three-game series since May 11-12, 2010 by Clinton. With the loss, the Chiefs fell to 30-30 on the season and are 2-7 against Eastern Division opponents this season, with South Bend coming into town Friday.
For the third consecutive night, West Michigan got out in front of the Chiefs early with one run in the top of the first. Luis Castillo drew a leadoff walk and moved to third when Hernan Perez ripped a double into left against Peoria starter Cam Greathouse. After Rob Brantly popped out, Nick Castellanos lifted a sacrifice fly to Anthony Giansanti in right field. Giansanti made the catch and fired home but he throw bounced over Micah Gibbs' glove behind the plate and Castillo scored to make it 1-0.
Greathouse got into trouble again in the second as the lefty walked Billy Nowlin and Ryan Hamme to begin the frame. Dixon Machado moved each runner up 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt before Jeff Rowland was hit with a pitch in his first plate appearance of the series. With the bases loaded, Castillo sent a groundball to Arismendy Alcantara at shortstop but Alcantara booted the ball for an error as Nowlin came in to score. With one out and the bases still loaded, Perez sent a fly ball into right field that was caught by Giansanti who came up throwing. For the second straight inning, his throw was close but did not get the runner as Hamme scored to make it 3-0.
The Chiefs got their only run in the bottom of the third, which was also the final run of the game. Matt Szczur walked against Whitecaps' starter Alex Burgos and David Macias sent Szczur to third with a single into right field. With nobody out, Ryan Cuneo knocked a long sacrifice fly into center that allowed Szczur to cross the plate.
Greathouse (4-4) suffered the loss and allowed three runs, two earned, on just one hit in five innings of work. He walked six, hit three and struck out three in the no-decision. Yohan Gonzalez entered the game in the sixth inning and pitched three shutout frames. He allowed just one hit and one walk, while striking out four batters. Casey Harman faced four batters in the final inning of work and did not allow a run or hit. He walked one batter and struck out two in the outing.
Casey's General Store Player of the Game - Yohan Gonzalez (RHP) - Gonzalez allowed just two base runners in three shutout innings of relief work. He gave up one hit, walked one batter, and struck out four. Gonzalez has not allowed a run since May 31, a span of three games.
Notes: ...The Chiefs are at the .500 mark for the first time since May 6 when the club was 14-14Peoria went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring positionGreg Rohan went 0-for-4 and his career-high 18-game hit streak came to an endThe hit streak is tied for the fifth longest in team historyCuneo has the longest current hit streak on the team at 12 gamesFormer Bradley Braves' pitcher and West Michigan reliever Patrick Cooper pitched one shutout inning in his first trip back to O'Brien FieldPeoria had allowed at least one walk every inning until the sixthGreathouse walked six batters in the contest, which is the sixth time in 12 starts this year that he has walked five or more in a gamePeoria is now three games behind Quad Cities in the wild card race with 10 games to play in the halfThe Chiefs are on a season-high four game losing streakPeoria is 2-7 against Eastern Division opponents this season and 3-10 in its last 13 gamesSzczur has 38 runs scored in 41 games played this season, fourth best in the leagueCuneo has 18 RBI in 21 games this yearMacias singled in the third and has at least one hit in every game this season with PeoriaMacias is on a six-game hit streakAlcantara committed his team-leading 21st error of the season allowing West Michigan to extend its lead in the secondThe Chiefs are outscoring their opponents 34-21 in the third inningPeoria begins a three-game series with South Bend on Friday at 7:00 p.mFriday is King of Pop Night featuring a post game concert by "Who's Bad," a unique Michael Jackson tribute bandBreakin' BBoy McCoy will also make an appearance during the game to greet fans and dance the night awayThe Chiefs will start RH Angel Guzman (0-0, 0.00) vs. South Bend RH Jeff Shields (3-5, 6.29)The broadcast can be heard, starting with the pre-game show at 6:40 p.m. on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive which also has downloads for an iPhone/iPad app and a Droid app.
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