Chiefs Sweep Kernels

Peoria, IL - The Peoria Chiefs completed the three-game sweep with a 5-1 win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Friday night. The Chiefs improved to 25-14 in the second half and 64-45 overall as they welcome the Quad Cities River Bandits to town on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. for a three-game series.

     The Chiefs got on the board first in the bottom of the fourth against Kernels starter Blayne Enlow. Yariel Gonzalez walked with one out and Zach Kirtley was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Dennis Ortega plated Gonzalez on a single up the middle for a 1-0 lead.
     Three straight singles resulted in another Peoria run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rayder Ascanio led off with a single followed by a Wood Myers single to put runners at the corners. Luken Baker dropped a single to right as Ascanio scored for a 2-0 advantage.
     The Kernels got a run back in the top of the sixth on Chiefs starter Johan Oviedo. Akil Baddoo hit a leadoff single and moved to second on a fielder's choice. A wild pitch advanced Baddoo to third and Jeffers drove him home on a double to left center as the deficit was cut in half, 2-1.
     The Chiefs answered in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kirtley singled to lead off the frame and he scored on a double to the gap in left center by Ortega for a 3-1 advantage. With one out, Brandon Benson lifted his first Chiefs homer of the season over the left field wall as the margin increased to 5-1.
     Oviedo (8-7) earned the win throwing seven innings allowing one run on five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. Robbie Gordon pitched one scoreless inning without allowing any hits with one walk and one strikeout. CJ Saylor threw a scoreless ninth inning without allowing a hit with no walks and two strikeouts.
Notes… Montero had his six-game hit streak snap...Oviedo has a team-high eight wins and he has won five straight starts, the longest Chiefs streak of the season...The Chiefs starting pitcher has gone at least five innings in 22 straight games...Peoria is 10-0 at home on Friday...The Chiefs are 13-5 during the last game of a series at home...Peoria is a season high 19 games above the .500 mark...The Chiefs are 8-3 when wearing specialty jerseys...Benson hit his first home run with the Chiefs...Peoria is 58-11 when allowing four runs or less...The Chiefs begin a three-game series starting on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against Quad Cities with post-game fireworks presented by Pekin Insurance... Saturday is Construction Night with a character appearance by Bob the Builder...Signature Saturday is back with select players signing autographs pre-game on the concourse...Saturday is also Faith and Family Night as well as Joe Torre Safe At Home Night...The Chiefs will start RH Angel Rondon (3-0, 3.08) against River Bandits RH Cesar Rosado (4-3, 4.63)…The broadcast can be heard, starting with the Pre-Game Show at 6:15 p.m. on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive and is also available on the Peoria Chiefs Network on the Tune-In Radio App...The game is available on MiLB.tv for subscribers.