Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball

Beloit snaps Kernels' 5-game streak

BELOIT, Wis. - The Beloit Snappers topped the Cedar Rapids Kernels, 6-4, Sunday afternoon before 1,056 fans at Pohlman Field, snapping a five-game winning streak for Cedar Rapids.

Four of Beloit's runs were unearned because of two Kernels errors. However, the Kernels still won their eighth series in a row.

The loss dropped Cedar Rapids into a tie with Kane County for first place in the Western Division standings in the Midwest League at 25-17.

The Kernels open a home series against Wisconsin Monday at 6:35 p.m.

Beloit scored the first run in all three games of the series. The Snappers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning Sunday on a pair of doubles. Luis Baez doubled with one out to right-center and scored on Michael Soto's two-out double to deep left-center.

Read more...

Mauer, Nolasco will sign autographs

Minnesota Twins players Joe Mauer and Ricky Nolasco will sign as many autographs as possible during their rehab assignments with the Cedar Rapids Kernels this week.

Mauer is scheduled to practice with the Kernels Monday at 3 p.m. and if there are no medical setbacks, he will play for the Kernels Tuesday night and Wednesday night against Wisconsin. Both games are scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

If Mauer's workout does not go well Monday he will return to Minneapolis, according to a statement issued Sunday by the Kernels.

Nolasco is scheduled to pitch for the Kernels Tuesday night. If all goes well in that start, he will pitch again next Sunday afternoon for the Kernels against Kane County.

Gates will open at 3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday for ticket-holders. The Twins have not established precise times for autographs, but both players will be available.

Read more...

Surging Kernels win twice in Beloit

BELOIT, Wis. - Bryan Haar belted a three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning Saturday night and the Cedar Rapids Kernels topped Beloit, 5-2, in a Midwest League game at Pohlman Field.

The Kernels also topped the Snappers, 4-2, earlier Saturday in a game that was suspended Friday night due to inclement weather.

The two victories kept Cedar Rapids in first place in the Western Division for the second half of the Midwest League campaign with a 25-16 record. Kane County is one game behind the Kernels at 24-17.

The second game Saturday was scheduled for seven innings, but it went an extra frame before Haar socked his 14th homer of the season.

Read more...

Kernels game suspended at Beloit

BELOIT, Wis. - The Midwest League baseball game between the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Beloit Snappers was suspended in the second inning Friday night due to inclement weather with the score tied, 0-0.

The game will be resumed at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by the regularly scheduled game at 7 p.m. The second game will be seven innings.

Bryan Haar drew a walk to begin the top of the second inning for the Kernels. He will be on first base with nobody out when the game continues Saturday.

Friday's game was delayed due to rain and hail before being suspended.

Hot ticket! Joe Mauer joining Kernels

People tell Cedar Rapids Kernels Manager Jake Mauer all the time that he's a spitting image of his younger brother Joe, a former American League MVP with the Minnesota Twins and a six-time all-star.

Now baseball fans here will get to see for themselves when Joe Mauer joins the Kernels next week on an injury rehab assignment. If all goes well, Mauer will play Tuesday night against Wisconsin.

"I'm ecstatic," said Kernels General Manager Doug Nelson, who anticipates a sellout of more than 5,500 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium. "When we decided to make the Twins our affiliate, this is one of the situations we were hoping would occur."

Mauer will practice and take batting practice with the Kernels Monday afternoon. If there are no complications, he will play for the Kernels Tuesday night in their Midwest League game at 6:35 p.m.

Read more...

Slegers promoted from Kernels to Miracle

The Minnesota Twins have promoted pitcher Aaron Slegers from the Cedar Rapids Kernels to the Fort Myers Miracle in the Florida State League.

Slegers, a 6-foot-10 right-hander, compiled a 7-7 record and 4.53 ERA in 20 starts for the Kernels. He struck out 90 batters in 113.1 innings, allowing 118 hits and 20 walks.

The Twins selected Slegers in the fifth round of the 2013 draft from Indiana University.

Matt Batts, a left-handed pitcher, will replace Slegers on the Kernels' roster. Batts compiled a 2-0 record and 2.05 ERA in four starts for Elizabethton in the Appalachian League this season. He struck out 25 batters in 22 innings, with only three walks.

The Twins picked Batts in the 17th round of this year's draft from North Carolina Wilmington.

Murphy helps Kernels stay in 1st place

Max Murphy grew up rooting for the Minnesota Twins and won the Kirby Puckett Award during his collegiate career at Bradley University, so imagine his delight when his favorite team selected him in the ninth round of the draft this summer.

"It was cool getting drafted by them," said Murphy, who is from Robinsdale, Minn. "It was incredible. It was awesome."

Murphy used to drive through Cedar Rapids along I-380 on his trips from Minnesota to Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., but he never stopped in town. The outfielder is here now, however, as a Twins farm hand.

Murphy helped the Cedar Rapids Kernels top Burlington, 6-1, Thursday before 3,059 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium to stay in first place in the Western Division of the Midwest League.

Read more...

Kernels climb into tie for 1st place

It has been a long road back to the top for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, but when they topped Burlington, 3-2, in 11-inning walk-off fashion on Wednesday night, they pulled into a tie atop the Midwest League’s Western Division standings.

The Kernels rode their way to the top on the shoulders of second baseman Ryan Walker.

Walker had three hits in six at-bats and all three Cedar Rapids RBIs, including the game-winner in the 11th inning when he drove in Max Murphy and sent 2,424 fans home happy from Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Walker has ridden the bench much of the past two weeks, seeing action in just one of the team’s six games on their recent road trip, but he’s making the most of his opportunities.

“We had two guys behind me who I knew could do the same thing,” Walker said. “Luckily he threw me one and I got good contact on it.”

Walker may have played down his role, but his manager was impressed.

“He’s been on the bench a little bit, didn’t say a word,” Jake Mauer said. “When he gets a chance to play, he made the most of it.”

Kane County fell to Wisconsin, 2-0, Wednesday night, allowing the Kernels to pull even with the Cougars on top of the Western Division standings for the second half of the season.

The Kernels started the night in a three-way tie for second place with Quad Cities and Peoria. Both of those teams lost Wednesday, dropping them both even with Wisconsin, a game behind Cedar Rapids and Kane County.

The victory assures the Kernels of a series win over Burlington, the club’s seventh straight series win.

In addition to Walker’s heroics, the Kernels' pitching staff once again delivered.

Cedar Rapids starting pitcher Ryan Eades had perhaps his best start of the 2014 season, facing just three Burlington Bees batters over the minimum possible in his seven innings of work.

Read more...

Pitching lifts Kernels into playoff race

In mid-June, after a disappointing first half to their Midwest League season, the Cedar Rapids Kernels limped into the MWL’s All-Star break with a 31-39 record, not only 14 games behind Western Division leader Kane County but also 7.5 games behind the second place Burlington Bees.

The latter is important because, in the world of Class A minor league baseball, seasons are split into two halves, with the first and second place teams in each division, each half-season, earning berths in the postseason playoff series.

Kane County and Burlington snatched the MWL West spots in the first half, leaving Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities, Clinton, Beloit, Peoria and Wisconsin to slug it out in the second half for two more spots, with each team starting with fresh 0-0 records June 19.

With Peoria, Wisconsin and Quad Cities all assembling winning records in the first half, it was logical to assume that those three teams would contend for the Western Division’s two second-half playoff spots – and they have been doing just that.

Entering Wednesday, Peoria and Quad Cities were tied for second place in the Division’s second-half standings, trailing Kane County by just one game, and Wisconsin is two games back.

Clinton and Beloit have repeated their first-half fortunes, each at least 11 games under .500 and filling the final two spots in the standings, as they did in the first half.

Read more...