Sanabria Flirts with Perfect Game for Quad Cities

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - Carlos Sanabria took a perfect game into the seventh inning Tuesday at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium as the Quad Cities River Bandits claimed an 8-2 win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Sanabria picked up a career-high-tying seven strikeouts but fell short of completing a perfect game while winning the opener of a three-game series.
Sanabria retired 18 consecutive batters while chasing perfection for Quad Cities (26-24). He also struck out five hitters in a row early in his perfect start. The biggest scare within that stretch came in the fifth inning when Travis Blankenhorn lifted a deep fly ball to right-center field that was caught in front of the wall by Ronnie Dawson.

While Sanabria quieted Cedar Rapids (29-23), the River Bandits jumped out to an 8-0 lead. Marcos Almonte opened the scoring with a first-inning RBI single. During the fourth, Osvaldo Duarte added an RBI single of his own. Dawson and Duarte collected RBI doubles in the fifth inning, and Taylor Jones produced a two-run single between those run-scoring hits. In the sixth, Almonte delivered an RBI double, and Wander Franco posted an RBI groundout.
The Kernels broke up the perfect game, the no-hitter, and the shutout during the bottom of the seventh. Ariel Montesino hit a leadoff double, and Jermaine Palacios followed with a two-run home run. Palacios' round-tripper was his seventh homer this season, but it was the only Kernels offense within an 8-2 loss.
Sanabria improved to 1-2 this year as the winning pitcher. He conceded two runs over 6.2 innings in a quality start. The loss went to Cedar Rapids' Eduardo Del Rosario (4-3), who allowed six runs and a career-high 10 hits in 4.2 frames.
The only perfect game in Cedar Rapids in Midwest League history remains Abelino Pena's 2-0 seven-inning victory for the Burlington Bees back on July 20, 1975 in game two of a doubleheader at the old Veterans Memorial Stadium.
This three-game series continues Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Kernels welcome the Saints Baseball Program for their annual night at the ballpark. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. for the 6:35 p.m. contest. Broadcast coverage is also available on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and online at www.kmryradio.com, www.kernels.com, and MiLB.TV.
Fans can purchase tickets for all Kernels home games by visiting www.kernels.com, going to the Kernels Ticket Office, or calling (319) 896-7560. The Kernels Ticket Office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. On Sundays when the Kernels have a home game, the Kernels Ticket Office will open at 11:00 a.m.