MWL1 Peoria Chiefs

Peoria's Win Streak Snapped At Four

Published on August 9, 2011 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release


Peoria, IL - The Peoria Chiefs left 10 runners on base, and couldn't complete a four-game sweep as they fell 3-1 to the Cedar Rapids Kernels Tuesday evening. Peoria still finished the homestand 6-2 and they are off to a 7-2 start in August with a 51-63 overall record.

After falling behind in the last two games, Cedar Rapids took an early lead on Tuesday. Travis Witherspoon and Rolando Gomez began the game with back-to-back singles off of Peoria's starting pitcher Brett Wallach. The Kernels took the 1-0 lead when Jeremy Cruz grounded out and Witherspoon dashed home for the early advantage.

The Chiefs responded quickly in the bottom of the second inning. Anthony Giansanti reached on a one-out bunt single against Kernels' starting pitcher Seth Fowler. Giansanti advanced to second after Rafael Valdes drew a walk and went to third on Micah Gibbs' single to left field. With the bases loaded, Jesus Morelli rammed a single into center field to score Giansanti and tie the game at one apiece. Fowler recovered to strike out Ben Klafczynski and Taiwan Easterling bounced out to end the inning with the bases loaded.

Peoria had a runner 90 feet away from scoring in both the third and fourth innings but couldn't produce a run. In the third, Rubi Silva smashed a one-out triple to deep center field, but was stranded after a shallow fly out and strikeout. In the fourth, Morelli drew a two-out walk, and moved to third on Klafzynski's double before being stranded on a ground out.

Cedar Rapids ended the stalemate in the top of the fifth inning. Francis Larson started the inning with a double to center and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After Wes Hatton drew a walk to put runners on the corners, Jean Almanzar grounded into a fielder's choice scoring Larson and giving the Kernels a 2-1 lead.

The fifth and sixth innings were the same story for the Chiefs: leaving a base runner on third base. In the fifth, Silva hit a one-out single to center field and advanced to third on Giansanti's two-out line drive single. However, Fowler struck out Valdes to end the threat. In the sixth, Gibbs singled to center field off of Cedar Rapids' reliever Donn Roach. Gibbs moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and to third on a ground out, but another strikeout ended the inning.

Bad luck was the main storyline for Peoria in the bottom of the seventh inning. Arismendy Alcantara led off with a line drive single. Next, Silva drilled a ground ball but Cedar Rapids' second basemen Almanzar made a diving stop before flipping the ball to the shortstop to get the force out at second. Now with Silva on first, Dustin Geiger smashed a line drive to Kernels first basemen Cruz, who made the catch and stepped on first base for the unassisted double play.

The Kernels added a crucial insurance run in the top of the ninth. After Roderik Pichardo replaced Patrick Francescon, Randal Grichuk hit a one-out double to left. Grichuk advanced to third on a fly out, and scored on Larson's single to right field.

The Chiefs put a runner on base before falling short in the ninth inning. Easterling singled to right field with two-outs, before Richard Jones entered the game as a pinch-hitter. However, Jones popped out to second base to end the game.

Wallach (0-2) struck out five and gave up two earned runs in five innings. Wallach also allowed three hits, two walks, and one wild pitch. Francescon replaced Wallach to start the sixth inning and tossed three scoreless innings. Francescon struck out four and gave up only one hit. Pichardo entered in the ninth inning and he allowed three hits, one earned run, one walk, and he struck out one.

Casey's General Store Player of the Game - Rubi Silva (2B) - Silva went 2-for-4 with a triple in the third inning. He also turned a spectacular double play in the fourth.

Notes: Peoria went 6-2 in this eight-game homestandThe Chiefs are 8-13 in two-run games Peoria is 19-57 when scoring four runs or lessThe Chiefs are 0-47 when trailing after eight inningsPeoria hit 2-for-10 with runners in scoring positionThe Chiefs are 16-39 when the opponent scores first.Tuesday was the first time Jones pinch-hit this seasonPeoria has only employed four pinch-hitters this season, going 1-for-3 with a walkThe Chiefs left 10 runners on base, seven in scoring positionKlafczynski's double was his first as a ChiefRubi Silva hit his fourth triple of the seasonGiansanti has four multi-hit games in AugustSilva is on a team-leading seven-game hit streakMorelli's sacrifice bunt was his first of the seasonSilva leads Peoria with 13 hits in AugustWallach hit two batters, moving Peoria's total to 66, third in the Midwest LeagueThe Chiefs finished this season with a 5-3 record at home against Cedar Rapids The Chiefs will return to Peoria Saturday for a three-game series against the Clinton LumberKingsSaturday is Salute to Firefighters and will also feature postgame Fireworks presented by CEFCU and a Tennis Ball Toss Pitch in For Charity presented by HumanaPeoria will begin a three-game series Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. against the Kane County Cougars Wednesday, the Chiefs will start LH Austin Kirk (5-7, 3.27) vs. Kane County RH Greg Billo (8-2,1.48)The broadcast can be heard, starting with the pre-game show at 6:15 p.m. on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive which also has downloads for an iPhone/iPad app, a Blackberry app and a Droid app.

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Midwest League Stories from August 9, 2011


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