Lake County Outlasts Peoria in Back-And-Forth Affair, 6-5
MWL Peoria Chiefs

Lake County Outlasts Peoria in Back-And-Forth Affair, 6-5

Published on August 14, 2025 under Midwest League (MWL)
Peoria Chiefs News Release


EASTLAKE, OH - Despite a late push, the Peoria Chiefs fell to the Lake County Captains, 6-5, on Thursday evening at Classic Auto Group Park.

Down 6-3 in the top of the seventh inning, Won-Bin Cho doubled with one out to put a runner on second base for Peoria. After the next batter was hit by a pitch, a wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position. Jesus Baez followed with an RBI groundout, making it 6-4. It was the first RBI for Baez since joining the Cardinals organization in the trade that sent Ryan Helsley to the Mets. Ryan Campos then lined an RBI triple to left field, cutting the deficit to 6-5. The Captains turned to the bullpen with two outs, bringing in right-hander Xavier Martinez, who retired the next batter to escape the jam.

Martinez did the rest of the heavy lifting. He retired all seven men that he faced over 2 1/3 innings. He punched out the final five Chiefs batters he saw to lock down the save.

Peoria right-hander Chen-Wei Lin, making just his second start since returning from the injured list, tossed three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four on 36 pitches.

The Chiefs struck first in the fourth inning with back-to-back singles to open the frame. After a double play, Deniel Ortiz delivered a two-out single with a runner on third base, driving in the game's first run to make it 1-0.

In the bottom half of the inning, Lake County responded with four runs, three of them coming with two outs. A leadoff single from Esteban Gonzalez put a runner aboard, he stole second base and scored on a Jose Devers RBI single to center field, tying the game at one. After a walk and a ground-ball double play, it appeared Chiefs right-hander Gerardo Salas would escape with minimal damage. However, the Captains had other plans. Ryan Cesarini was hit by a pitch, stole second, and set up two runners in scoring position. Maick Collado followed with a two-run single to make it 3-1, and Jeffery Mercades added an RBI single to right to extend the lead to 4-1. Salas took the loss, allowing five hits and four runs over one inning.

Lake County extended its lead in the fifth inning when, with two aboard and one out, a Juan Benjamin groundout brought in a run to make it 5-1.

In the sixth inning, Peoria loaded the bases with two outs on a single and a walk before Josh Kross lined a two-run single to center, cutting the deficit to 5-3. However, Deniel Ortiz, the runner at first, was thrown out trying to advance to third on the play, ending the inning.

Lake County answered in the bottom half of the sixth inning on a Jose Devers RBI single, extending the lead to 6-3 before Peoria's push in the seventh.

Peoria will search for their first win of the series on Friday with first pitch on tap for 7:05 p.m. EDT/6:05 p.m. CDT. Left-hander Braden Davis is the probable starter for Peoria.

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