Klein, Whorff Shine; Kernels Drop River Bandits 6-2

Davenport, IA - John Klein posted six two-run innings, and behind him, Jarret Whorff did not allow a single base runner across three perfect frames as Cedar Rapids took game two of the series in Quad Cities 6-2.

After leading wire-to-wire in game one of the set, the Kernels again got on the board first on Wednesday. In the top of the first inning, singles by Ricardo Olivar and Gabriel Gonzalez put runners on the corners for Rubel Cespedes, who put Cedar Rapids on top first with an RBI single.

In the bottom of the third, Quad Cities countered. A pair of base hits put two on for Spencer Nivens, who smashed a wall-ball double to jump the River Bandits in front 3-2.

But that would be the last hit allowed by Kernels pitching. Across the last six innings, the Cedar Rapids staff combined to allow just one walk en route to the win. Starter John Klein got the victory, allowing just two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts in six innings of work, and behind him, Jarret went the rest of the way, posting one-two-three innings across the final three frames, earning his first save of the season.

With the Kernels pitching staff dominating, the Kernels bats re-took the lead in the top of the fourth. With two outs, Nate Baez worked a walk and scored all the way from first on a Misael Urbina double and an error to tie the game 2-2. The next batter, Jose Salas, plated Urbina on a line drive single to put the Kernels back ahead 3-2.

That stayed the score until the top of the eighth. A Cespedes walk and Baez double put two runners in scoring position, and a wild pitch doubled the Cedar Rapids lead to 4-2.

In the top of the ninth, Olivar smashed a double, his fourth hit of the night, and scored two batters later on a long Kevin Maitan home run that upped the Cedar Rapids lead to 6-2, the score that would be the final.

The win is the second straight for the Kernels to begin the series in Quad Cities and improves Cedar Rapids to 53-37 on the year and 16-10 in the second half. Game three of the series is set for Thursday at 6:30 with Jeremy Lee on the mound opposite Ryan Ramsey.