Chiefs Come from Behind to Win 9-6 Wednesday
May 5, 2010 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
Peoria, IL - The Peoria Chiefs fell behind early but used a five-run eighth inning to beat the Cedar Rapids Kernels 9-6 Wednesday night. The win improves the Chiefs to 18-9 on the season, a half game ahead of Beloit for first place in the Midwest League's Western Division.
The Kernels got on the board early, scoring in the first inning off starter Rob Whitenack. Mike Trout led off with a walk before stealing second base. Ivan Contreras walked and Jean Segura reached on a bunt single to load the bases. Carlos Ramirez grounded into a fielders' choice to give the Kernels the 1-0 lead.
Cedar Rapids added to their lead in the top of the fourth inning. Randal Grichuk led off with a double and scored on a Casey Haerther single to make the score 2-0.
The Chiefs got on the board for the first time in the bottom of the fourth off starter Fabio Martinez. Logan Watkins walked before Greg Rohan ripped a ground ball to third that was fielded on a diving stop. Watkins advanced to second on the ground ball and third on the throw to first before a throwing error on the first baseman allowed him to score on the play, making it 2-1.
The Kernels put another run on the board in the top of the fifth, still facing Whitenack. With two outs in the inning Segura blasted a solo home run to the palm trees in left field to give the Kernels a 3-1 lead.
The scoring continued for Cedar Rapids in the top of the sixth against Whitenack and reliever Steven Grife. Haerther singled and was thrown out at third for the second out of the inning on a Justin Bass single, with Bass reaching second on the play. The Chiefs brought Grife on in relief and Kevin Ramos reached first on a dropped third strike swinging that advanced Bass to third before a Trout two-run double made the score 5-1.
The Chiefs answered in the bottom of the sixth, still facing Martinez. Matt Cerda led off with a double and advanced to third on a Rohan single. Justin Bour drove in Cerda with a single and Rohan scored on a Richard Jones single. A Mario Mercedes sacrifice fly allowed Bour to score cut the lead to 5-4.
The Chiefs batted around and took the lead for first time in the eighth inning off of relievers Kyle Hurst and Jeremy Berg. Bour walked, advanced to second on a DJ Fitzgerald single, and scored thanks to a throwing error by the catcher on a fielders' choice off the bat of Jones. The error allowed Fitzgerald to reach third and a Mercedes single brought him in to give the Chiefs the 6-5 lead. Hak-Ju Lee doubled to score Jones and advance Mercedes to third. An intentional walk to Cerda loaded the bases, and the Kernels brought in Berg to relieve Hurst and he gave up a two-run single to Rohan to give the Chiefs a 9-5 lead.
The Kernels mounted a comeback attempt in the ninth off of reliever Ronny Morla. Contreras drew a walk and took second base without a throw from Mercedes before advancing to third on a Segura single. A fielding error by Lee allowed Contreras to score and make the score 9-6, but Morla forced the next two batters to fly out to preserve the victory.
Whitenack pitched five and 2/3 innings and gave up four runs, three earned, while walking two and striking out three. Grife (2-0) pitched 2 and 1/3 innings and surrendered an unearned run on two hits and four strikeouts. Morla pitched one inning and gave up a run on one hit, while walking one and striking out one.
Casey's General Store Player of the Game - Steven Grife (P)- Grife pitched two and 1/3 innings and did not allow an earned run while striking out four batters to register his second win of the season.
Notes...All nine Chiefs had at least one hit...The Chiefs had three players with two hits Wednesday...The Chiefs batted around for the second time at home this season...Every Chiefs player scored except Valdez...The Chiefs have gotten at least seven hits in every game of this homestand...Jose Valdez registered his second outfield assist of the season Wednesday night...Valdez leads the Midwest League with 17 stolen bases...Rohan leads the Chiefs with 22 RBI...Cerda received the Chiefs' third intentional walk this season, the other two were to Bour...Wednesday was Lee's first two error game of the season...The Chiefs have won five straight series at home...The Chiefs and Kernels finish the series Thursday at 11:00 AM...Thursday is GAMEDay Education Day, a special day for all the students and classes that are part of The Chiefs GAMEDay Education Program...The Chiefs will pitch RH Nick Struck (2-2, 2.25) against Cedar Rapids' LH Patrick Corbin (4-0, 4.96)...The game can be heard starting with the pre-game show at 10:45 AM on 96.5 ESPN Radio and www.peoriachiefs.com.
• Discuss this story on the Midwest League message board...
Midwest League Stories from May 5, 2010
- Loons Bowl Over Whitecaps With Rally - Great Lakes Loons
- Defense Does In 'Caps as Loons Rally - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Chiefs Come from Behind to Win 9-6 Wednesday - Peoria Chiefs
- Krol Leads Cougars Past Bees - Kane County Cougars
- Kings Still Can't Solve Ibarra, Beloit - Clinton LumberKings
- Ejections Spark Late Inning Rally - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Kruzel Rejoins Bandits As Hitting Coach - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Dragons Game Suspended In Lake County - Dayton Dragons
- Wisconsin Timber Rattlers V. Quad Cities River Bandits (may 5, 2010 - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Osterbrock, Rams Promotion - Beloit Sky Carp
- Snappers Roster Move 5-5 - Beloit Sky Carp
- Surging Cedeno Leads Hot Rods Past Fort Wayne - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- TinCaps strand a dozen in 5-1 loss - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Rattlers Offense Gives Heckathorn First Pro Win - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Snappers Pitchers Continue Dominance Over LumberKings - Beloit Sky Carp
- Lugnuts Halt Skid, Down Hawks, 5-2 - Lansing Lugnuts
- Errors Cost Hawks In 5-2 Loss - South Bend Silver Hawks
- Concert At The Cove 2010 - South Bend Silver Hawks
- Turner Activated, To Start Tonight - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Urbana Returns To Play At Fifth Third Field - Dayton Dragons
- Tippecanoe Returns To Play At Fifth Third Field - Dayton Dragons
- Graham To Play At Fifth Third Field - Dayton Dragons
- Bellafontaine Returns To Play At Fifth Third Field - Dayton Dragons
- Dragons Gameday For Wednesday, May 5 - 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.
