Four Unearned Runs Doom Chiefs Friday

Cedar Rapids, IA - An error in the third inning led to four unearned runs as the Peoria Chiefs fell to the Cedar Rapids Kernels 5-2 Friday night ending a three-game win streak. The loss drops the second-place Chiefs to 10-6 in the second half and 40-45 overall.

     The Chiefs got things going right away as Ryan McCarvel led off the game with a triple to right-center off Kernels All-Star Clark Beeker. Kramer Robertson popped up to shortstop in his first professional at-bat and Dylan Carlson was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners. Vince Jackson gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead with a single to left but Beeker got the next two batters on groundouts as Peoria left runners at second and third.
     Cedar Rapids rallied immediately against spot starter Frederis Parra. Travis Blankenhorn singled with one out and Lewin Diaz doubled down the left-field line. With two outs the Kernels tied the game as Amaurys Minier singled to right.
     The Kernels took advantage of a Chiefs mistake to take the lead in the third. With one down Hank Morrison reached on an error by Danny Hudzina at third base and Parra walked the next two batters to load the bases. Ben Rortvedt singled home Morrison for a 2-1 Kernels lead before Parra threw out Minier at the plate on a comebacker. Gorge Munoz singled home two more runs to put the Kernels on top 4-1 and the Chiefs went to the bullpen. Ronnie Williams entered the game and gave up a single two Aaron Whitefield as Cedar Rapids went on top 5-1 before a groundout ended the frame.
     The game stayed 5-1 until the top of the eighth. With two down, Carlson homered to right field off reliever Max Cordy, his sixth of the season. The Chiefs did not have another base runner on the night in falling 5-2.
     Parra (1-2) allowed five runs, one earned, on seven hits over 2 2/3 innings. He struck out one, hit one and walked two in his first start of the season. Williams allowed two hits and struck out two over 2 1/3 shutout innings. Bryan Dobzanski threw two shutout innings as he struck out three and allowed one hit. Keaton Siomkin walked one and struck out one without allowing a hit in one shutout inning.
Notes… The Chiefs streak of scoreless innings ended as 22 1/3…McCarvel hit leadoff for the first time in his pro career…Carlson batted third for the first time this season…Jackson hit cleanup for the first time this season…Robertson went 0-for-4 in his pro debut while batting second and playing shortstop where he had just one play his direction which he made…Parra made his first start since last August…With Parra's hit batter in the first inning, the Chiefs have hit 71 batters on the season, more than any other team in Minor League Baseball…The Chiefs are 25-15 when scoring first…Peoria is 8-28 when allowing fir runs or more…The Chiefs are 2-8 on the road this season in their road navy blue uniforms…The Kernels lead the season series 8-3 after taking seven of 10 in the first half…The series continues Saturday at 6:35 p.m. as the Chiefs send LH Evan Kruczynski (0-1, 4.70) to the mound against Kernels RH Griffin Jax (0-0, 0.00)…The broadcast can be heard, starting with the Pre-Game Show at 6:20 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.