Burlington, IA - The Peoria Chiefs led 8-3 before allowing seven runs on six walks and two hit batters in the fifth inning in a 10-8 loss to the Burlington Bees on Sunday afternoon. The Bees scored seven runs in an inning that included just two hits as the Chiefs fall
Burlington, IA - The Peoria Chiefs led 8-3 before allowing seven runs on six walks and two hit batters in the fifth inning in a 10-8 loss to the Burlington Bees on Sunday afternoon. The Bees scored seven runs in an inning that included just two hits as the Chiefs fall to 19-30 on the season and back into last place in the West Division.
Shane Billings led off the game with a single to center against Nate Bertness and he moved to second on a groundout. Bertness had Billings picked off second base with Andy Young batting but the third baseman missed the tag and Billings slid in safely. Young took advantage with a RBI groundout for a 1-0 Chiefs lead.
Steve Farinaro started for the Chiefs and cruised through the first inning before allowing a leadoff double to John Schuknecht in the second. Jordan Zimmerman's single tied the game and with one out Jose Martinez made an error on a should-be inning-ending double play to put two on base. Another missed double play put runners on the corners with two down and Angel Almao doubled to give the Bees a 3-1 lead though he was thrown out at third to end the inning.
The Chiefs bounced right back against Bertness in the top of the third inning. Billings led off with a triple to center field and Trosclair drew a walk to put runners on the corners. Young launched a three-run homer off the scoreboard to tie Andrew Knizner for the team lead with seven.
Peoria added on the fourth against Bertness. Juan Yepez led off with an infield single to third base and moved to third when Martinez singled to right. Martinez got picked off first base but stayed in the rundown long enough for Yepez to score for a 5-3 Chiefs lead. Yound struck again in the fifth inning as he doubled home Billings and Trosclair for a 7-3 Chiefs lead and to run his RBI tally for the day to six. Brian O'Keefe followed with a double and Yepez singled home Young for an 8-3 Chiefs lead.
The Chiefs pitching imploded in the bottom of the fifth. Almao singled off Farinaro to start the inning and eight pitches later the bases were loaded off consecutive walks. Dewin Perez replaced Farinaro and walked Brennon Lund to force in a run. Perez then hit Schuknecht to bring home another run and a wild pitch as he walked Zimmerman cut the Chiefs lead to 8-6. Another wild pitch cut the Chiefs lead to 8-7 before Perez hit Sam McDonnell. The Chiefs finally replaced Perez with Yeison Medina but he walked Juan Moreno to force home the tying run. The first out of the inning came on a strikeout of the ninth batter before Almao drew the sixth walk of the inning to give the Bees a 9-8 lead. Jaimai Jones singled for a 10-8 lead before Medina finally got out of the inning. All told the Bees scored seven runs on just two hits as they drew six walks, had two hit by pitches and two wild pitches while putting just three balls in play during the inning. Three Chiefs pitchers faced 13 batters in the inning while throwing 54 pitches, 21 for strikes.
Farinaro took a no-decision as he allowed six runs, four earned, on four hits and four walks over four innings. Perez (0-2) took the loss as all four batters he faced reached without a hit and all four scored. Medina did not allow a run of his own as he walked two, allowed a hit and struck out two in one inning of work. Ronnie Williams allowed one hit over three shutout innings while striking out four.
Notes… Billings had a career-high four hits, the Chiefs third 4-hit game of the season and second this road trip…He also stole two bases…Young's six RBI are the most by a Chiefs players since Dustin Geiger tied the team record with eight on August 1, 2012…He leads the Chiefs with 25 RBI…Andrew Knizner missed his fourth straight game and no reason has been given…Farinaro got his first strikeout since May 11, a three-start span…He has allowed at least five runs in four straight starts…The five-run lead lost is the second largest of the season as the Chiefs lost a six-run lead April 22 at Wisconsin with Farinaro on the mound…Perez has walked or hit seven of the last eight batters he has faced dating back to Wednesday in Quad Cities…Eight of the nine Bees batters reached on either a walk or HBP…Carlson had his team-leading fifth outfield assist… The series finishes Monday with a 2:00 p.m. Memorial Day start… The Chiefs will start LH John Kilichowski (0-4, 4.59) against Bees RH Andrew Vinson (2-5, 5.93)… The broadcast can be heard, starting with the Pre-Game Show at 1:45 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 Network in the Tune-In Radio App.
