Chiefs Score Six Late Runs to Down Loons in Series Opener
MIDLAND, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons certainly won’t complain about allowing no extra-base hits Tuesday night at Dow Diamond. But the Peoria Chiefs made them pay for the nine singles they allowed. The Chiefs strung their hits together for seven runs, six in the final three frames, to take
MIDLAND, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons certainly won’t complain about allowing no extra-base hits Tuesday night at Dow Diamond.
But the Peoria Chiefs made them pay for the nine singles they allowed.
The Chiefs strung their hits together for seven runs, six in the final three frames, to take down the Loons, 7-1, in the series opener.
Peoria (46-57, 18-19 second half) scored their first run on no hits in the second inning. Tyler Reichenborn walked with one out, advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw, then scored on another errant pickoff attempt, to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
For the Loons (60-43, 20-17), that was the only run allowed by Emmet Sheehan, and it was unearned. The Boston College right-hander tossed five frames of two-hit baseball, walking three and striking out nine batters.
Great Lakes, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ High-A partner, evened the score in the fourth inning.
The Chiefs, High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, had a great start from Inohan Paniagua (W, 1-1) in just his third start at the level. Paniagua tossed six innings, allowing six hits, one earned run an no walks while punching out six Loons.
For Peoria, it was two three-run innings, the seventh and the eighth, that propelled them to their seven-run victory. In each frame, they mustered three hits, all singles, for their three runs, aided in the seventh by an error, a walk and a hit batsman, and in the eighth by three walks. Jeff Belge (L, 1-2) tossed the seventh and takes the loss. Todd Lott drove in three of the runs with a single in each frame.
The Loons were unable to respond, with Nick Trogrlic-Iverson (SV, 3) tossing the final three innings and not allowing a baserunner. He struck out three in his three-inning save.
Great Lakes had six hits in the game, including a two-hit game for Vivas, whose triple was the only extra-base hit of the game.
Peoria takes a 6-1 lead in the season series, along with taking a lead in this six-game set, one game to none. The series continues Wednesday at Dow Diamond, with first pitch at 7:05 p.m. Right-hander Nick Frasso makes his Loons debut, newly acquired from the Toronto organization. He opposes Peoria righty Wilfredo Pereira (6-5, 4.46 ERA). Pregame coverage begins on ESPN 100.9-FM at 6:50 p.m. with the Loons On-Deck Circle, driven by Garber Chevrolet Midland.
At Dow Diamond, the Loons will take the field as the Great Lakes Camels, with the authentic jerseys auctioned off during the game at Loons.com/auction. It’s also a Paws & Claws Night, presented by White Claw: enjoy 50% off White Claws all game long, plus bring your dog to the ballpark. Plus, Zeke the Wonder Dog makes an appearance, performing his incredible frisbee-catching tricks. Tickets are still available at Loons.com.
The Great Lakes Loons have been a Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team’s inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team’s home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.