MWL1 Peoria Chiefs

Radack Collects Five Hits as Chiefs Rally for Win

Published on May 13, 2015 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release


Cedar Rapids, IA- The Peoria Chiefs tied the game in the top of the ninth and scored two in the 11th to beat the Cedar Rapids Kernels 5-3 Tuesday night. Collin Radack collected five hits, the most for a Chiefs player since 2010, as the Chiefs improved to 17-15 on the season and 5-3 on the roadtrip.

After losing a runner on base in each of the first three innings, the Chiefs cashed in against Mat Batts in the top of the fourth. Oscar Mercado walked to start the inning and stole second, his second steal of the game. Mercado went to third as Andrew Sohn grounded out and Luis Cruz walked to put runners on the corners. Nick Thompson put the Chiefs up 1-0 with a fielders' choice grounder to third as Mercado scored. Radack singled to right and both he and Thompson moved up a base on an error in right field on the play. Justin Ringo walked to load the bases but Batts escaped the inning as Alex DeLeon flew out to right.

The lead didn't last long as Cedar Rapids rallied against Chiefs starter Austin Gomber in the bottom of the inning. Nick Gordon reached on a grounder to first base as Gomber dropped the flip from Alex DeLeon and Gordon advanced to second. After a strikeout, Max Murphy hit his second home run of the season, a two-run shot to left field for a 2-1 Kernels lead.

The Chiefs tied the game in the top of the fifth while knocking Batts from the game. Blake Drake led off with a single and Darren Seferina walked before C.K. Irby came out of the Kernels bullpen. Mercado popped out before Andrew Sohn tied the game with a double to left-center. Irby recovered to strikeout Cruz and Thompson to keep the game tied.

Cedar Rapids grabbed the lead in the bottom of the sixth while ending Gomber's night. Gomber got his eighth strikeout of the game to start the inning before Murphy doubled to right. Jhonny Polanco took over on the mound and Zach Larson's double to right-center put the Kernels on top 3-2 before Polanco got out of the inning.

The Chiefs rallied to tie the game against closer Cameron Booser in the ninth. Mercado singled with one out and moved to second on a Sohn walk. Cruz tied the game with a single off the glove of first baseman Trey Vavra as Mercado scored and Sohn moved to third. Thompson walked to load the bases but Booser struck out Radack and Ringo grounded out to first to end the inning.

In the 11th inning, Mercado led off with a single to left against reliever Sam Clay and he was sacrificed to second by Sohn. With one out and Mercado at third, Thompson singled down the right-field line to give the Chiefs a 4-3 lead. Radack doubled off the top of the left-center wall for his fifth hit of the game as Thompson scored for the 5-3 lead.

Gomber allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits over 5 1/3 innings in the no-decision. He walked one and tied a career and season-high with eight strikeouts. Polanco allowed an inherited runner to score on two hits and two strikeouts over 1 1/3 innings. Nick Lomascolo allowed one and struck out two in his one inning of work. Kyle Grana struck out three and allowed one hit in 1 1/3 shutout innings. Tyler Bray (2-1) allowed two hits and struck out three over 1 1/3 innings to earn the win. Rowland retired both batters he faced with a strikeout for his team-leading sixth save.

Notes: Peoria scored more than three runs for the first time since May 2...The Chiefs pitching staff has allowed four runs or less in 22 of the 32 games...The Chiefs are 16-6 when allowing four runs or less... Peoria is 0-for-7 with no runs scored in the series with the bases loaded...Both of Bray's wins are in Cedar Rapids in extra-inning games...The Chiefs are 2-1 in extras...Peoria is 1-14 when training after eight innings and Tuesday was the Kernels first loss in 17 games this season when leading after seven...At 4:08 Tuesday's game was the longest of the season...Mercado stole two more bases and leads the Midwest League with 20 on the season...He has six multi-steal games and Tuesday was his first 3-hit game of the season...The Chiefs lost four runners on the basepaths, two stealing second, one stealing third and one trying to advance to second on a pitch in the dirt...Radack leads the Chiefs with eight multi-hit games...Radack has two four-hit games to go along with tonight's five-hit game...The last five-hit game by a Chiefs player was Hak-Ju Lee on July 16, 2010 against Dayton...The Chiefs tied a season-high with 16 hits...The home run by Murphy ended a 14 inning shutout streak for Gomber...Gomber also struck out eight at Cedar Rapids on April 16...Gomber had a decision in his first five starts and the Chiefs have scored just 18 runs in his six starts...Chiefs pitchers struck out a season-high 19 batters, the most since a team-record 23 August 12, 2014...Sohn snapped a 0-for-19 streak with his fifth inning double, his first hit since May 1...His last two-hit game was April 20...Cruz hit in the 3-slot for the first time this season...DeLeon grounded into his team-leading fifth double play...The four-game series continues at 12:05 p.m. Wednesday...The Chiefs will start RH Daniel Poncedeloen (3-0, 1.23) against Kernels RH John Curtiss (2-2, 4.57)...The broadcast can be heard, starting with the Pre-Game Show at 11:50 a.m., on  HYPERLINK "http://h" www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive which also has downloads for a free app on the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android...The broadcast is also available on the Peoria Chiefs Network in the MiLB Inside the Park and Tune-In Radio Apps.

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Midwest League Stories from May 13, 2015


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