MWL1 Peoria Chiefs

Loosen Strikes Out Seven In Five Innings

Published on July 18, 2011 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release


Peoria, IL - The Peoria Chiefs battled back from a three-run deficit in the eighth inning before two errors in the tenth inning caused a 5-3 loss to the Fort Wayne TinCaps Monday afternoon. The TinCaps swept the Chiefs, dropping Peoria to 9-15 in the second half, and 42-52 overall.

Both starters cruised through the first two innings of the game as Peoria's Matt Loosen and Fort Wayne's Keyvius Sampson allowed just one hit apiece. In the third, Loosen got into trouble for the first time, but escaped without any damage. Cole Tyrell singled down the left field line to begin the frame and advanced to second on a passed ball before Rico Noel sent the runner to third with a two-out infield single. With runners on the corners, Cory Spangenberg lifted a fly ball to deep center field that was tracked down by Rubi Silva for the third out. In the bottom half of the inning, the Chiefs also got a runner to third but could not score. Newcomer Dustin Geiger knocked a one-out double to right field and advanced to third on a wild pitch with two outs, but Silva struck out to end the threat.

The TinCaps broke the tie with two runs in the seventh inning against Chiefs' reliever Frank Del Valle. With one out, Connor Powers scorched a double into left field and with two down Tyrell drew a walk. A wild pitch by Del Valle moved both runners up 90 feet and Emmanuel Quiles drove in both runners with a single into center field, giving Fort Wayne a 2-0 lead.

After Peoria stranded runners on the corners in the bottom of the seventh, the TinCaps took added to their lead in the eighth. With two gone, Rymer Liriano reached on an infield single to Geiger at third and traveled to second on a balk. Luis Domoromo drove Liriano home with a single to left that made it 3-0 against Del Valle.

Not to be denied, the Chiefs offense came to life in their half of the eighth to tie the game at 3-3 for the third game in a row. With one out, Silva began a streak of four straight hits with a base hit to center followed by singles from Arismendy Alcantara and Ryan Cuneo. Richard Jones stayed hot with a two-run single to right that cut Peoria's deficit to one. With runners on the corners, Jones attempted to advance on a ball in the dirt but was thrown out at second by Quiles for the second out of the inning. Elliot Soto evened the score with a RBI double down the left field line before Chris Franklin retired Micah Gibbs to end the inning with the game tied at three.

After Peoria squandered an opportunity to score with a botched sacrifice bunt attempt in the ninth inning, Fort Wayne took advantage in the tenth. Spangenberg reached on a fielding error by Alcantara, and later scored after Del Valle's pickoff attempt went down the first base line. After taking the 4-3 lead, Liriano extended the TinCaps lead with his 11th home run on the season to left field.

The Chiefs had another opportunity to score in the bottom of the tenth inning with two runners in scoring position. Alcantara hit a one-out single into right field and after Cuneo flew out to center, Jones hit his 26th double of the season to center field, putting runners on second and third. With the tying run on second base, Franklin forced Soto to fly out to right and Fort Wayne escaped with the victory.

Loosen allowed just four hits with no runs through five innings of work. He did not allow a walk and tied a season/career high with seven strikeouts in a no-decision. Del Valle (0-2) suffered the loss and allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits. He walked two and struck out three batters in 4 1/3 innings pitched. Pete Levitt entered the game in the 10th and pitched the final 2/3 of an inning retiring both batters he faced.

Casey's General Store Player of the Game - Richard Jones (DH) - Jones went 3-for-5 from the plate with two RBI that tied the game in the seventh. He also doubled for the 25th time this season and is now hitting .397 in the month of July.

Notes: ...Peoria has played in extra innings seven times since July 3, going 2-5 in those gamesWith the loss, the Chiefs are ten games below .500 for the first time since the end of the 2008 season, where Peoria finished the year with a 60-78 recordPeoria has a losing record at home for the first time since April 9Jones extended his hitting streak to 13 games and has reached base in 17 consecutive games Alcantara committed his team-leading 31st error of the seasonPeoria went 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight on baseThe Chiefs are now 3-14 when tied entering the ninth inningPeoria allowed an opponent to score first for the fifth consecutive gamePeoria is 9-17 in one-run games this seasonFor the 18th time this season, an opponent has beat the Chiefs in their last at-bat compared to only six last at-bat wins for PeoriaThe Chiefs are 11-32 when an opponent scores firstJones has hit .474 with five doubles and 7 RBI in the past four gamesThe Chiefs are 16-43 in games that they score four runs or lessMonday was Loosen's first appearance in Peoria after three appearances on the road Between Peoria, Daytona and Tennessee, Loosen has not pitched in a home game since June 13 with DaytonaJones improved to 65 RBI on the season, second in the Midwest LeagueThe Chiefs have been swept five times this seasonThe Chiefs will enjoy a day off on Tuesday as part of a league-wide off-dayPeoria begins a 12-game, 13-day roadtrip with a three-game series at Dayton on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. CDT...The Chiefs will start LH Austin Kirk (5-6, 2.95) vs. Dayton RH Daniel Corcino (8-4, 3.45)The broadcast can be heard, starting with the pre-game show at 5:45 p.m. CDT on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive which also has downloads for an iPhone/iPad app and a Droid app.

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Midwest League Stories from July 18, 2011


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