Bullpen Struggles Doom Chiefs on Tuesday
May 6, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
PEORIA, IL - The Peoria Chiefs fell on Tuesday in the series opener to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, 14-9, after a seven-run seventh inning by Wisconsin.
The Chiefs held leads of 5-0 and 8-3 but the bullpen could not keep the home club in front. Peoria pitching issued 15 walks in the series opener, including 13 by the bullpen.
Peoria led 8-3 heading into the top of the seventh inning before the Timber Rattlers brought 11 batters to the plate in the frame. After the Chiefs retired the first batter, a double and two walks loaded the bases for Luiyin Alastre, who was hit by a pitch to bring in a run. The next batter, Daniel Guilarte, walked to force in another run and make it 8-5. Yhoswar Garcia followed with another walk, cutting the lead to 8-6. Peoria then removed reliever Dionys Rodriguez and brought in Joseph King. The first batter he faced, Hedbert Perez, walked to plate another run and make it 8-7. Jadher Areinamo followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at eight. Moments later, Blake Burke doubled to center field to drive in two more and give Wisconsin a 10-8 lead. In the inning, the Timber Rattlers tallied two hits, five walks, and a hit-by-pitch.
Wisconsin added one run in the eighth inning on a solo home run by Eduardo Garcia to left-center and tacked on three more in the ninth to extend their lead. Peoria pushed one across in the bottom of the eighth on a solo home run from Joshua Baez, his second of the season, but could not get any closer.
Offense came easy for the Chiefs against Wisconsin starter Ryan Birchard. After scoring a run in the first, Peoria opened it up early with a four spot in the second inning. Trey Paige, Jon Jon Gazdar and Ian Petrutz all drove in runs. Petrutz tacked on two more hits Tuesday to push his hit streak to 12 games.
In the sixth inning, Wisconsin chipped away to cut the deficit to 5-3, but Peoria promptly got all three runs right back, buoyed in large part by a two-run homer from Michael Curialle, his team-leading third blast of the season.
From there, the Peoria bullpen, which had turned a corner in recent weeks, struggled to get outs. Tuesday's defeat marked the second time this season that the Chiefs have lost a game in which they held a five-run lead.
The series continues Wednesday at Dozer Park with first pitch scheduled for 11:05 a.m. Right-hander Jose Davila is slated to start for the Chiefs. Wednesday will also feature the season's second Education Day at the ballpark.
• Discuss this story on the Midwest League message board...
Midwest League Stories from May 6, 2025
- Gutierrez Shines in Gem City, Throws Five Scoreless in Loons 3-2 Win - Great Lakes Loons
- Bullpen Struggles Doom Chiefs on Tuesday - Peoria Chiefs
- Rattlers Rally from Five-Run Deficit to Beat Peoria 14-9 - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Chaney Dominates, Kernels Soar Past Sky Carp 8-0 - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Captains Held to 3 Hits in 3-0 Shutout Defeat to River Bandits - Lake County Captains
- TinCaps Open Trip with Win - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Beam, Bandits Shutout Lake County in Series-Opener - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Loons Edge Dragons 3-2 in Series Opener Tuesday in Dayton - Dayton Dragons
- Sky Carp Drop Opener 8-0 - Beloit Sky Carp
- TinCaps Bury Cubs with Nine-Run First Inning, Win 14-9 - South Bend Cubs
- Sears Speeds Through Lugnuts, 2-0 - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Nuts Deny No-Hitter, Fall 2-0 - Lansing Lugnuts
- Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Tuesday (7:05 PM) - Dayton Dragons
- South Bend Cubs & Beacon Health Systems Host Cancer Awareness Night on June 7 - South Bend Cubs
- Penn Station to Announce Local Athlete of the Year During May 8 Dragons Game - Dayton Dragons
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
