Kernels Blank Peoria 6-0, Extend Winning Streak to Five

Cedar Rapids, IA - For the second time in three games, Kernels' pitching held the Chiefs scoreless as Cedar Rapids shut out Peoria 6-0 to extend its winning streak to five games.

After a wire-to-wire win on Saturday, Cedar Rapids got on the board first in the second inning on Sunday. With one out, Nate Baez crushed his first home run with the Kernels to put Cedar Rapids on top 1-0.

In the third, Baez doubled the lead. Rubel Cespedes doubled to lead off the inning, and three batters later came home to score on a Baez RBI single to lift Cedar Rapids ahead 2-0.

That remained the score until the bottom of the seventh. A pair of walks gave the Kernels two base runners, and Agustin Ruiz extended the Kernels' lead to 3-0 with an RBI single. The next batter, Keoni Cavaco, then made it 4-0 on a sacrifice fly.

In the eighth, Luke Keaschall took a one-out walk, and the next batter, Danny De Andrade, smashed his second home run of the series, a two-run shot, to extend the edge to 6-0, which would be the final score.

On the mound, the Kernels staff continued to dominate in the series. Jordan Carr made his first start of the season and pitched four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while collecting two strikeouts.

Behind Carr, Kyle Bischoff went two scoreless innings, allowing one hit with three strikeouts. Jacob Wosinski then came on out of the bullpen and pitched two shutout frames while not allowing a hit, and Juan Mercedes slammed the door with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Overall, the Kernels staff posted a season-low two hits allowed and retried the final 15 batters of the game, en route to the second shutout win of the series.

The victory extends the Kernles' winning streak to five games, as Cedar Rapids wraps up the 12-game homestand with a 9-3 record. The Kernels hit the road to open up a six-game series in South Bend on Tuesday at 5:05. Both starters in game one are TBD.