MWL1 Cedar Rapids Kernels

KERNELS RECAP (): Arraez, Molina Extend Streak in 2-1 Win

Published on August 23, 2016 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Cedar Rapids Kernels News Release


Luis Arraez and Nelson Molina secured 12-game hit streaks with critical RBI singles Tuesday in a 2-1 Cedar Rapids Kernels victory against the Quad Cities River Bandits. The Kernels (34-24, 70-57) improved to a season-high 13 games above .500 and guaranteed their fourth consecutive winning season by defeating the River Bandits (27-31, 58-69).

Arraez singled in the first inning and gave Cedar Rapids a 1-0 lead. Zander Wiel's two-out double against Matt Bower extended the inning, and Arraez hit a single into left-center field that brought in Wiel and put the Kernels ahead.

Quad Cities evened the score at 1-1 during the second inning. Stephen Wrenn reached on a leadoff single but was later picked off at second base by Eduardo Del Rosario for the second out. However, the following pitch to Hector Roa was driven over the left-center-field wall. Roa's game-tying solo shot was his sixth home run of the year.

The game remained tied despite close calls over the next several frames. The Kernels loaded the bases in the third after three straight walks before Wrenn caught a line drive in center field to end the inning. During the fifth, the River Bandits had a runner at third base, but a slicing liner from Bobby Wernes was caught by Wiel at first base for the final out. Del Rosario recorded six strikeouts over six innings in a quality start while Bower surrendered a career-high five walks in 5.1 innings.

In the bottom of the seventh, Molina brought the Kernels back in front, 2-1. Manuel Guzman recorded a leadoff single and advanced to second base due to a wild pitch. After two strikeouts from reliever Justin Ferrell, Molina found a gap within an infield shift and deposited a go-ahead single into shallow center field to push Cedar Rapids into the lead.

Kernels reliever Williams Ramirez (3-1) retired all six batters that he faced over the seventh and eighth innings to take the win. Anthony McIver followed with a perfect ninth inning for his team-high 10th save. Arraez, the Midwest League's leading hitter, batted 2-for-3 to lift his batting average to .349 while Molina went 1-for-3 in the contest.

The loss was charged to Ferrell (4-6), who gave up one run over 2.2 innings pitched Tuesday and shared a team-high four strikeouts with Bower.

Coming up, Cedar Rapids hosts Quad Cities at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday. Kernels right-hander Sean Poppen (0-0, 1.80 ERA) will face River Bandits southpaw Framber Valdez (1-1, 3.18 ERA). Catch the action with Morgan Hawk and Chris Kleinhans-Schulz on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and online at www.kmryradio.com, www.kernels.com and MiLB.TV.

Wednesday is Wells Fargo Customer Appreciation. All fans can receive a discount on tickets when using a Wells Fargo credit or debit card at the Kernels Ticket Office. The Kernels and the Transamerica Foundation will present a check to Kids First for the Transamerica K's for Kids program. Each strikeout thrown by a Kernels pitcher this season has added $25 to this year's donation.

Check out the Cedar Rapids Kernels Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from August 23, 2016


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