Donovan Homers & Doubles in Ft. Wayne

Fort Wayne, IN - The Peoria Chiefs hit their first home run off a left-handed pitcher since May 5 but fell to the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Wednesday night 6-2 in the first game of a nine-game, 10-day road trip. Brendan Donovan, who hit the homer and also doubled, was the Pekin Insurance Beyond the Expected Player of the Game.

     Donovan started the game with a double against Ryan Weathers, the 7^th overall pick in the 2018 draft. Delvin Perez singled to put runners on the corners and Brady Whalen drove in his league-leading 56^th run with a groundout to third base.
     With the Chiefs down 6-1, Donovan launched a 398-foot home run with an exit velocity of 103 MPH. The blast landed under the video board in right-center field and cut the Chiefs deficit to four. Donovan leads the active roster with eight homers and the blast was the first hit by a lefty, off a lefty this season.
     The Chiefs bullpen did not allow a hit or a run over 3 1/3 innings. Parker Kelly struck out two over 2 1/3 perfect innings and stranded two runners. Rodard Avelino walked one and struck out one while inducing a double play in his hitless inning. At 2 hours and 12 minutes, the contest was the shortest nine-inning game for the Chiefs this season.
     The Chiefs will have LH Colin Schmid on the mound Thursday against Ft. Wayne RH Sam Keating with a 6:05 Central Time start. Fans in Peoria can join Homer and members of the Chiefs front office at Bullpen Bar & Grill at Landmark for a Watch Party. There will be $1 Natural Light Drafts, $2 Bud Family bottles, 50 cent jello shots and half price pizzas. Fans outside Peoria can listen to Thursday's broadcast, beginning with the Pre-Game Show at 5:50 p.m. (CT) on the Peoria Chiefs Tune-In Page, which is free and also has a free app for smartphones and tablets. The game is also available on MiLB.tv to subscribers.
     The Chiefs return home on Saturday, July 27 to start a seven-game homestand. Individual game tickets, group tickets and season ticket packages, including full-season, a 35-game ticket package, an 18-game ticket package or a Flex Plan are currently on sale by calling 309-680-4000. Individual game tickets are also on sale with the Dozer Park Box Office open Monday - Friday from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm and online at www.peoriachiefs.com which also lists all of the season's promotions. Game times and promotions are subject to change