West Michigan Overcomes Early Deficit, Edges Peoria 6-5
July 22, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
PEORIA, IL - The Peoria Chiefs fell short on Tuesday night to the West Michigan Whitecaps, 6-5, behind four straight unanswered runs.
The Chiefs scored three times in the bottom of the fourth to break a deadlock and grab a 5-2 lead. Won-Bin Cho singled home a pair to give the Chiefs a 4-2 advantage. Two batters later, a Travis Honeyman sac fly pushed the lead to 5-2.
Peoria turned to the bullpen after Brandt Thompson worked four innings in his High-A debut on Tuesday. The former Missouri State product tied a career high with seven strikeouts. Right-hander Dionys Rodriguez entered the fray and served up a solo home run to Andrew Jenkins to make it a 5-3 game. Then, after an error opened the door, Seth Stephenson singled home a run to cut the Peoria lead to 5-4. Later in the frame, with John Peck on the move for second, Stephenson showcased his speed by breaking for the plate and stealing home as part of a double steal to tie the game at 5-5.
Tuesday's series opener remained tied into the eighth inning. Chiefs reliever Darlin Saladin turned in a pair of scoreless innings before West Michigan found a breakthrough. Garrett Pennington led off with a double to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. He came around to score on a one-out double to right field by Austin Murr, giving West Michigan a 6-5 lead, creating the final margin.
West Michigan's bullpen closed it down, with right-handers Dariel Fregio and Blair Calvo recording the final outs to secure the win for the Whitecaps. Fregio tossed 1 1/3 innings in relief, allowing just one hit and striking out two to earn the victory. Calvo retired the final three batters in order in the ninth to notch the save.
The clubs traded two-run homers in the second inning, setting the tone for the back-and-forth-affair. After a single, Austin Murr launched a two-run homer to right field, giving West Michigan an early 2-0 lead. Peoria answered back with a long home run off the bat of Brayden Jobert to knot the game up at two. For Jobert, it was his seventh homer of the campaign.
Tre Richardson recorded two of the six hits for Peoria, his 16th multi-hit game of the season in the defeat.
The series continues Wednesday with Gerardo Salas set to start for Peoria. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m. Enjoy $2 hot dogs and nachos at the ballpark, presented by Ollie's.
Midwest League Stories from July 22, 2025
- River Bandits Walk Their Way to Second-Straight Walk-Off Win - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Loons Pitching K's 16 and Wagner Homers in 7-4 Win - Great Lakes Loons
- Timber Rattlers Suffer a Heart-Breaking Loss in Quad Cities - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- 'Caps Rally for 6-5 Tuesday Victory - West Michigan Whitecaps
- West Michigan Overcomes Early Deficit, Edges Peoria 6-5 - Peoria Chiefs
- Loons Snap Sky Carp Winning Streak at 7 - Beloit Sky Carp
- Fort Wayne Mashes Two Home Runs, TinCaps Best Kernels 4-2 - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Cozart Slam Helps Caps Top Lugs - Lansing Lugnuts
- Cubs Have Big 6th Inning, Defeat Dragons in Series Opener on Tuesday - Dayton Dragons
- Robert Gasser Scheduled to Make Starts for Timber Rattlers - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- TinCaps Game Information: July 22 at Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins Affiliate) - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Tuesday (7:05 PM) - Dayton Dragons
- Lake County Captains Announce Roster for 2025 Darius Garland Celebrity Softball Game - Lake County Captains
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
