Cedar Rapids, IA - Mike O'Reilly retired the first 18 batters he faced and fired his second one-hitter of the season as the Peoria Chiefs beat the Cedar Rapids Kernels 3-0 Monday afternoon. The win moves the Chiefs to 11-8 in the second half and 41-47 overall. O'Reilly took a perfect
Cedar Rapids, IA - Mike O'Reilly retired the first 18 batters he faced and fired his second one-hitter of the season as the Peoria Chiefs beat the Cedar Rapids Kernels 3-0 Monday afternoon. The win moves the Chiefs to 11-8 in the second half and 41-47 overall.
O'Reilly took a perfect game into the seventh before giving up a leadoff double to Christian Cavaness. He retired the next nine batters in order to preserve the one-hitter while striking out a career-high 12. O'Reilly is the first Chiefs pitcher to throw two complete games since 2013 and the first to throw to shutouts since 1997. He has not allowed a run in 26 2/3 innings and has struck out 30 batters while walking just one over his last 24 innings.
The Chiefs took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Stefan Trosclair delivered an inside-the-park home run as Cavaness slammed into the left-center field wall and the ball bounced back to center. Trosclair circled the bases ahead of the throw home for his sixth home run of the season and a 1-0 Chiefs lead.
Peoria hit into a double play in the third and left the bases loaded in the fifth inning to keep the game 1-0 against Eddie Del Rosario. The Chiefs finally added on in the ninth against reliever Max Cordy. Dylan Carlson led off with a single and Danny Hudzina walked before both moved up on a ground out. Carlson scored on a sacrifice fly by Mick Fennell for a 2-0 lead and Hudzina scored on a wild pitch for a 3-0 advantage.
O'Reilly retired the Kernels in order with a groundout, strikeout and groundout in the bottom of the ninth. He finished the game on 101 pitches, 80 strikes while completing his second shutout of the season. He tied a career high with nine innings and allowed just one hit with no walks and a career-high 12 strikeouts.
Notes…The last MWL pitcher to have two shutouts in a season was Amir Garrett of Dayton in 2014…The last Chiefs pitcher to throw two complete game shutouts in one season was Mark Nussbeck in 1997…The single-season Chiefs record is three, done by four pitchers all in 1989 or 1990…O'Reilly is the 15th pitcher in team history to have two shutouts in the same season…He has started five of the Chiefs seven shutouts this season…He has gone at least seven innings in three straight starts…He leads the MWL with a 0.67 WHIP and is second with a 1.56 ERA…He is tied for the team lead with Jordan Hicks with eight wins which is fourth in the MWL…The 12 strikeouts are the most by a Chiefs pitcher since Sandy Alcantara struck out 14 on May 23, 2016 against Beloit…The last Chiefs pitcher to have two complete games in a season was Tyrell Jenkins in 2013…No one has had three in a season since 1996…The Chiefs have two inside-the-park home runs this season, both against Cedar Rapids with Cavaness slamming into the wall…O'Keefe is third on the Chiefs career list with 27 double plays after he grounded into one to end the third inning…He is the 21st player in team history to play in 200 games…The Chiefs went 2-6 at Cedar Rapids this season…Tuesady is a MWL off-day.
