Chiefs Rally to Sweep Kernels, Finish Half With Win
Published on June 16, 2013 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
Cedar Rapids, IA - The Peoria Chiefs rallied from four runs down with two outs to play to stun the Cedar Rapids Kernels 10-9 on Sunday afternoon and secure the three-game sweep to finish the half. The win puts the Chiefs at 38-29 to end the half in sole possession of third place and 1.5 games out of a playoff spot.
Trailing 9-5 as the ninth inning started, the Chiefs put the firsts two runners on base as Brett Wiley and Jimmy Parque drew walks from Kernels reliever Tyler Jones. After a popup, Josue Montanez entered the game and Ildemaro Vargas singled to left to load the bases. Jeremy Schaffer unloaded with a no-doubt-about-it grand slam over the left-field wall to tie the game, 9-9. The slam is the fourth homer for Schaffer since joining the team in early June and he has homered in three straight series. Jordan Walton was hit by a pitch to put the go-ahead runner on base and Alex Muren came out of the Kernels bullpen to face Patrick Wisdom. A wild pitch moved Walton to second and Wisdom singled him home to put the Chiefs up 10-9. Dixon Llorens nailed down his fifth save of the season with three strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth, including one of Byron Buxton to end the game.
Cedar Rapids scored first against Silfredo Garcia in the bottom of the first inning. Fresh off the disabled list Niko Goodrum doubled and scored on a single by Dalton Hicks. The Kernels grounded into a bases loaded double play to end the inning.
The Chiefs snatched the lead in the top of the second. Walton singled, Wisdom doubled and Nick Martini tied the game with an infield single against Mason Melotakis. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Wisdom scored for a 2-1 Chiefs lead as Wiley bounced into a double play.
Cedar Rapids regained the lead in the third as Buxton and Goodrum each singled home runs against an erratic Garcia who walked one and hit one with two outs to start the rally. The Chiefs again responded immediately and regained the lead against Melotakis in the fourth. Montero doubled to start the inning and Parque singled. Brevic Valera's single to right field tied the game 3-3 and moved Parque to third. Vargas laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Parque for the 4-3 Chiefs lead.
The game stayed 4-3 as Michael Aldrete took over with two on in the fifth and got Garcia out of a jam. However the Kernels provided another lead change in the sixth with a big inning. Jorge Polanco singled home the first run to tie the game, 4-4 and put two on for Hicks. The MWL's RBI leader launched a three-run homer to right field to put the Kernels on top 7-4. The blast was his 12th of the season and third of the series as the Kernels grabbed a lead for the third time in the game.
Peoria scratched across a run in the seventh to knock Melotakis from the game. With two on and one out, Vargas singled home a run to cut the lead to 7-5. Jones came out of the Kernels bullpen and got out of the threat with back-to-back outs to keep the hosts on top by two.
It appeared the Kernels had put the game out of reach in the eighth when Hicks struck again. With two on, the All-Star doubled off the wall in left field against Joe Donofrio to chase home two more runs and put the Kernels on top 9-5. The double gave Hicks a career-high six RBI in the game and he now leads the league with 63 on the season, nine in this three-game series.
The heroics for the Chiefs in the ninth made a winner out of Donofrio (4-0) who allowed two runs on three hits in one inning of work with a strikeout. Garcia started and allowed three runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings while striking out three, walking two and hitting three. Aldrete allowed four runs on four hits in one inning of work, Robert Stock worked a perfect seventh inning with two strikeouts and Llorens earned the save by striking out all three batters he faced in the ninth.
Notes: The Chiefs have hit four grand slams in 2013Wisdom has a RBI and at least two hits in four straight gamesWalton and Vargas both have nine game hit streaksThe four-run comeback ties for the largest of the season for the ChiefsGarcia had hit three batters all season before hitting three on SundayDonofrio and Aldrete are tied for the bullpen lead with 20 appearancesLlorens secured his first save since May 6 against Fort WayneThe Chiefs last road sweep was April 25-27, 2012 at ClintonThe Chiefs are now 2-24 when trailing after eight innings, the other win was on May 1 against Lake CountyPeoria has nine last at-bat winsThe Chiefs went 5-1 against the Kernels in the first halfWith a record of 38-29 the Chiefs are nine games over .500 since being 19-10 on May 1, 2010The Chiefs finish the half with the best first half winning percentage since the 2006 team won the first half at 41-28This was the best half for the Chiefs since the 2009 team went 43-26 as second half championsThe Chiefs last swept Cedar Rapids July 25-27, 2012 but hadn't earned a sweep in Cedar Rapids since July 7-9, 2007The Chiefs hadn't swept a Minnesota affiliate since June 2-5, 2009 when they took four straight from Beloit at home and last earned a sweep against a Twins affiliate on the road June 2-4, 2004 in Quad CitiesThe Chiefs hit .259 as a team in the first half with a 3.92 ERAIn 67 games the Chiefs hit 37 home runs and averaged 4.8 runs per game while leading the MWL in fielding percentage at .972 with a league low 72 errorsThe entire Midwest League is off now for the All-Star BreakThe Chiefs open the second half on Thursday in Beloit at 7:00 p.m. with RH Cory Jones (2-0, 0.95) on the mound against the First Half Western Division Champions.
Midwest League Stories from June 16, 2013
- Burlington Falls 5-4 in First Half Finale - Burlington Bees
- Chiefs Rally to Sweep Kernels, Finish Half With Win - Peoria Chiefs
- Snappers Walk-Off with Western Division Crown - Beloit Sky Carp
- Bandits Announce Two Scholarship Winners - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Peoria Scores Five in Ninth to Stun Kernels - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Bowman, Pickney & Evans to Play at Ashford University Field - Clinton LumberKings
- Guerrieri Spins Lugnuts to Start Shutout - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Dragons Earn Shutout Win in First Half Finale - Dayton Dragons
- Hawks Shutout in Pitchers' Duel to Close First Half - South Bend Silver Hawks
- Johnson Tosses Shutout in W to Close 1st Half - Kane County Cougars
- Hot Rods blank Lugnuts to close out first half - Lansing Lugnuts
- Rattlers drop final game of first half - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Vasquez Goes 5-For-5 But Whitecaps Lose - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Loons Close First Half with Road Victory at Lake County - Great Lakes Loons
- TinCaps Close Third-Best Half in Franchise History with Win - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Loons Win Half Finale 6-2 - Lake County Captains
- Dragons GameDay for June 16 at South Bend - Dayton Dragons
- Niko Goodrum activated from the 7-day disabled list; Candido Pimentel promoted to Fort Myers - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Ross Helps Bees Split Doubleheader - Burlington Bees
- Loons Drop Doubleheader at Lake County - Great Lakes Loons
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