MWL1 Peoria Chiefs

Chiefs Lose Pitchers Duel 2-1, Fall 2 ½ Back in Wild Card Race

August 12, 2008 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release


Beloit, WI -The Peoria Chiefs lost four runners on the base paths and left nine more on base in a 2-1 loss to the Beloit Snappers Monday night. The loss puts the Chiefs back to .500 at 25-25 on the half and they are now trailing each of the other four teams in the Western Division playoff race. Beloit jumped out on top of the Chiefs for the first time in the series as they scored against Kevin Kreier in the bottom of the first. With one out Estarlin De Los Santos singled to left. He was on the move as Yangervis Solarte grounded out to third and made it all the way to third base as first baseman Luis Bautista dropped the ball while attempting to throw back across the diamond. The heads-up base running paid off as De Los Santos easily scored on an infield single by Rene Leveret for a 1-0 Snappers lead. Kreier walked Mark Dolenc, but got Ramon Santana on a fly ball to center to end the inning. Beloit doubled their lead in the third against Kreier. De Los Santos again singled with one out and moved to third on a double to right by Solarte. Leveret drove home De Los Santos for the second time in the game with a grounder to short for a 2-0 Snappers lead before Kreier got out of the inning. The Chiefs finally got on the board in the sixth after losing three runners on the base paths in the first five innings. With two down, Brandon Guyer tripled off the left field wall for just the third hit off Snappers starter Shooter Hunt. Mario Mercedes followed with a RBI single that hit second base and bounced into right field as Guyer scored. Mercedes was caught stealing second to end the inning with Jonathan Wyatt at the plate. Peoria threatened in the seventh but came up empty against Snappers reliever Charles Nolte. With one down, Cliff Andersen doubled off the left-centerfield wall before Elvis Lara struck out looking. Josh Harrison drew a walk to put the go-ahead runner on base, but Samson bounced into an inning-ending fielders choice. The Chiefs threatened again in the ninth against Snappers closer Santos Arias. Mercedes walked to start the frame and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Wyatt. Jake Opitz pinch-ran for Mercedes and Andersen flew out to left. Lara then bounced out to first base to end the game as Arias picked up his third save of the season. Kreier allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings of work. The 20-year-old struck out one and took the loss for the fourth straight start. Zach Ashwood tossed two shutout innings while allowing one hit and one walk. The lefty struck out one and also hit a batter. Jake Muyco tossed a perfect eighth inning with a strikeout. Hunt, a 2008 1st round supplemental pick by the Twins, picked up his first professional win as he held the Chiefs to four hits and one run over six innings.

Player of the Game - Kevin Kreier (SP) - Despite taking the loss, Kreier pitched a solid five innings and kept the Chiefs in the contest. He struck out one and allowed just two hits and two walks but got no help from his offense.

Playoff Watch: With 20 games remaining in the regular season, the Chiefs are in a five-team battle for two second half Western Division playoff spots. Burlington leads Cedar Rapids by three games for first place. Cedar Rapids is ½ game ahead of Quad Cities for the wild card with Beloit 1 ½ back and the Chiefs 2 ½ behind. The Chiefs are done playing Burlington and Quad Cities while they have one game left Tuesday against Beloit and a four game series against Cedar Rapids at O'Brien Field August 21-24. The Chiefs will also play three against last-place Wisconsin and 12 against Clinton and Kane County, the two first-half playoff qualifiers.

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Midwest League Stories from August 12, 2008


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