Chiefs Fall 4-1 Thursday

Peoria, IL - The Peoria Chiefs started a four-game homestand with a rain-delayed 4-1 loss to the last place Burlington Bees on Thursday night. The loss drops the Chiefs to 56-59 overall and 26-20 in the second half as they maintain a half-game lead over the Beloit Snappers in the wild card race.
     The Bees took the lead in the top of the third as the rain began to fall. Chiefs starter Evan Kruczynski hit leadoff man Leonardo Rivas in the ankle with a two-strike pitch. Rivas stole second base and with one out he moved to third on an infield single by Jonah Todd. Richie Fectau put the Bees on top 1-0 with a single to right before Kruczynski got out of the inning with consecutive strikeouts.

     Peoria had two early chances against starter Luis Madero. In the first inning Nick Plummer singled, moved to second on a balk and to third on a wild pitch with two outs. However Juan Yepez flew out to center to end the inning. In the second Ryan McCarvel doubled with one out and Danny Hudzina walked but a 4-6-3 double play ended the threat.
      Following the rain delay, the Chiefs put two runners on base against Zac Ryan in the fourth. Yepez and Stefan Trosclair reached on consecutive one-out singles before a 5-4-3 double play ended the inning. Birthday-boy JR Davis made it to third in the fifth inning on a single, stolen base and an error with two outs. Plummer walked to put runners on the corners but a Dylan Carlson fly ball ended the frame.
     Burlington extended the lead in the seventh against reliever Colton Thomson. Julian Leon drove his fourth homer of the season over the groundscrew gate in right-center for a 2-0 lead.
     Peoria finally got on the board after the stretch. McCarvel greeted Tyler Stevens with a single to center though Hudzina was robbed of extra bases at the wall by center fielder Brandon Sandoval's lunging grab. With two down Davis doubled to right-center and McCarvel scored from first to cut the Bees lead to 2-1 but Plummer struck out looking to end the inning.
     The Bees put the game away in the eighth. With one on and one out, Sam McDonnell crushed his sixth homer of the season into the right-field picnic tables to put the Bees on top 4-1. The Chiefs went in order in the eighth and got just a McCarvel walk in the ninth against Carlos Salazar.
     Kruczynski (2-3) took the loss with a rain-shortened three innings. He allowed one run on four hits and a walk while striking out five. Bryan Dobzanksi allowed one hit and one walk over three shutout innings while striking out four. Colton Thomson gave up three runs on three hits while striking out two over two innings. Yeison Medina allowed one hit over one shutout inning while striking out two.
Notes… The game was delayed 56 minutes by rain after the third inning…Trosclair has a career-high eight game hit streak for the second time this season...McCarvel has tied his career and season-high with a six-game hit streak…Kramer Robertson lost a six-game hit streak…Thomson had not allowed a home run in 45 2/3 innings as a professional before allowing two in a span of five batters Thursday night…The Chiefs have allowed 102 homers on the season, tied for second most in the MWL…Peoria has hit a league high 87 batters, second most in team history (101 in 2004)…The rain-shortened start was the shortest for Kruczynski as a professional…Peoria is 7-11 at home in series openers…Peoria had won six in a row against Burlington and are now 10-6 against them this season and 35-16 the last three years…The series continues on Friday at 7:00 p.m. as the Chiefs start RH Frederis Parra (3-3, 2.74) against a yet to be named Bees starter…The first 1000 fans 13 and over receive a Alex Reyes bobblehead presented by Homefield Energy…There will be a post-game fireworks show presented by ITV3…Friday is Princess Night with appearance by Cinderella, Snow White, Belle and Rapunzel…The broadcast can be heard, starting with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. on 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 Radio Network in the Tune-In Radio App