Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball

Hu-Dini works his magic for Kernels

BURLINGTON - Chih-Wei Hu is playfully called Hu-Dini by the Cedar Rapids Kernels because he's a great illusionist and escape artist, just like the real Harry Houdini who entertained legions of admirers a century ago.

This Hu-Dini makes batters and potential jams disappear with his artistry on a pitching mound.

Hu did it again Saturday night when he tossed a four-hit shutout for six innings as the surging Kernels blanked Burlington, 3-0, before 2,764 fans on Fireworks Night at Community Field.

Hu made the Bees batters disappear with relative ease. He also took another notch off the Kernels' magic number as the visitors moved onto the verge of clinching a spot in the Midwest League playoffs.

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Kernels put Stewart on 7-day DL

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and Minnesota Twins announced Saturday that pitcher Kohl Stewart has been placed on the 7-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 21.

Stewart goes on the DL with right shoulder inflammation after leaving in the second inning of the Kernels' 5-3 win over Quad Cities Monday. In 19 starts for the Kernels, he has a 3-5 record and 2.59 ERA, allowing 75 hits and 36 runs (25 earned) with 62 strikeouts and 24 walks in 87 innings.

The Twins did not announce a corresponding move. The Kernels' roster is at 24 active players, one below the Midwest League maximum of 25.

Stewart was the No.4 overall pick in the 2013 draft and received a $4.5 nmillion bonus from the Twins.

Kernels can taste playoff spot now

BURLINGTON - The Cedar Rapids Kernels can start putting the champagne, beer and cider on ice any time they want now.

A cherished spot in the Midwest League playoffs is just a sip or two away and it's nearly time to celebrate.

The Kernels won for the 10th time in their last 11 games Friday by whipping Burlington, 8-2, before 870 fans on a steamy night near the Mississippi River.

When the Kernels hopped on the bus for the ride back to Cedar Rapids Friday night, they left Burlington with an eight-game lead for the final playoff position with only 10 games left in the regular season.

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Hinojosa, bullpen lift Kernels by Bees

BURLINGTON - The Cedar Rapids Kernels chanted "M-V-P!, M-V-P!" and slapped Jonatan Hinojosa on the back after they rallied to trim Burlington, 6-5, Thursday night before 1,119 fans at Community Field in Burlington.

Hinojosa lined a three-run triple into the right-field corner in the seventh inning to tie the game, 5-5, and then scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball.

"I like to hit when I've got men on base," said Hinojosa. "I got a chance to get an RBI for the team. I don't worry with men on base. "I was waiting for the fastball and I hit it."

The victory moved Cedar Rapids a step closer to clinching a spot in the Midwest League playoffs with 11 games left in the regular season. The Kernels have won 9 of their last 10 games, in no small part to Hinojosa's arrival from Elizabethton in the Appalachian League last week.

"He's brought some energy, there's no doubt about it," said Manager Jake Mauer. "That was huge. Bases loaded triple. How cow. Brought us back."

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Kernels fall in sleeper to Bandits

The Cedar Rapids Kernels have won 30 of their last 40 games and are undoubtedly headed to the Midwest League playoffs, but Manager Jake Mauer does not want to see his club develop any bad habits coming down the stretch.

The Kernels saw their eight-game winning streak come to end Wednesday night in a 5-2 snoozer to the Quad Cities River Bandits before 1,673 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Kernels hold a commanding lead over their competitors for a playoff spot with 12 games left in the regular season, so Mauer did not need to hold any closed-door meetings or chew anybody out after his guys committed three errors and a few other mistakes.

Cedar Rapids opens a three-game commuter series at Burlington Thursday night, followed by another three-game commuter series at the Quad Cities. That means six straight days of getting on the bus, playing games, coming right home and doing it again the next day without spending any nights in hotel rooms.

Mauer will be curious to see how his team plays at Burlington Wednesday night before making any judgments.

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Kernels win again, but Stewart hurt

The Cedar Rapids Kernels won their eighth straight game Tuesday night, but they may have paid a severe price as they chase the Midwest League pennant.

Kohl Stewart, their $4.5 million bonus baby, had to leave the game in the top of the second inning with what could be a recurrence of the shoulder ailment that landed him on the Disabled List for 19 days recently.

The Kernels rallied for a 5-3 victory over Quad Cities before 1,678 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium, but Stewart looked dejected as he left the mound after conferring with Cedar Rapids Manager Jake Mauer, pitching coach Ivan Arteaga and the Kernels trainer.

"It's frustrating," Stewart said in the locker room. "It didn't feel right the first inning, but I tried to get through it. We'll see what happens."

Stewart was placed on the DL from July 25 through Aug. 13 with an "impingement" in his right shoulder. He pitched four strong innings against Beloit Aug. 13 and looked good, according to Mauer, but Stewart struggled from the outset Tuesday.

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Twins shut Buxton down for the season

The Minnesota Twins decided Monday to shut top prospect Byron Buxton down for the rest of the season after the outfielder was hospitalized in his Double-A debut last week.

The center fielder was injured in Wednesday's New Britain game after he collided with right fielder Mike Kvasnicka when they both dove for a ball in the gap in the fifth inning.

Twins general manager Terry Ryan told MLB.com on Monday they plan to be cautious with Buxton's recovery over the final two weeks of the Minor League season. He also refused to commit to baseball's top overall prospect playing in the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League in October, saying it will depend on the progress he makes over the next six weeks.

"I would doubt it," Ryan said of Buxton returning to live game action before the season ends on Sept. 1. "They're on the road for 11 days and he's going to be in Florida and we still have to go through the protocol to get him cleared. So I don't think we're going to mess with it."

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Hu-dini helps Kernels win 7th straight

The Cedar Rapids Kernels stretched their winning streak to a season-high seven games Monday night, defeating Quad Cities in the first game of a three-game series, 4-2.

The Kernels are proving they can beat you with the bats, as they did in Beloit a week ago when they  scored 28 runs in their three-game series sweep of the Snappers. And they can beat you in an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel, as they did to the River Bandits Monday in front of 1,394 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Kernels starting pitcher Chih-Wei Hu (6-1) struck out eight River Bandits in six innings while giving up just one unearned run on three hits.

The win was Hu’s sixth in eight appearances for the Kernels. His lone loss came in his last start Aug. 6 against Wisconsin. That loss didn’t sit well with the right-hander from Taiwan.

After that game, Hu said he asked pitching coach Ivan Arteaga, “Why was I so bad?”

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There's magic in the air for Kernels

It’s the time of year when baseball teams in the playoff hunt start talking of “magic numbers” – the number of combined wins for your team and losses by your closest competitor that a team needs to clinch a postseason berth.

Before the game on Sunday, the Kernels’ magic number was 11.

After the Kernels generated a bit of ninth-inning magic Sunday, that number is now in single digits at nine with 15 games remaining in the regular season.

The Kernels completed their sweep of the Peoria Chiefs with a walk-off 5-4 win in front of 4,050 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium that featured the winning run scoring on a wild pitch during an attempted intentional walk.

With Logan Wade on third base and Chad Christensen at first, the Chiefs decided to intentionally walk Cedar Rapids cleanup hitter Mitch Garver with the score tied at 4-4.

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