Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball

Burdi makes wild debut for Kernels

Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Ethan Mildren does not come with the high draft-choice pedigree of some of his teammates, but on Sunday Mildren looked the part of an ace, shutting out the Clinton LumberKings for seven innings.

It was not enough to get the win, however, as Clinton plated seven runs in the top of the ninth inning to claim a 7-4 victory over the Kernels in front of 2,410 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Mildren, the Minnesota Twins' 12th-round selection in the 2013 draft from the University of Pittsburgh, faced 24 batters, just three over the minimum for seven innings, striking out six and yielding just four hits and one walk.

Dallas Gallant worked a perfect eighth inning, striking out a pair, allowing Cedar Rapids to take a 4-0 lead into the ninth.

That’s when the wheels fell off.

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Carew featured on 'Twins Night' Saturday

Minnesota Twins legend and Hall of Famer Rod Carew will attend Saturday night's game at Veterans Memorial Stadium as part of 'Twins Night' at the ballpark.

Carew will sign autographs from 5:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the concourse of the stadium. He will address fans before the game and throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The Kernels host Clinton at 6:35 Saturday night.

Target Field organist Sue Nelson and Twins mascot T.C. Bear will entertain fans during the game.

Burdi replaces Romero with Kernels

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and Minnesota Twins announced Friday that Twins second-round pick Nick Burdi has been signed and will join the Kernels and that pitcher Fernando Romero has been placed on the 7-day disabled list, retroactive to June 24.

The Twins selected Burdi in the second round (46th overall) out of the University of Louisville. In 32 relief appearances for the Cardinals, he posted a 3-1 record, 0.49 ERA and 18 saves. In 37 innings, he allowed 18 hits and five runs (two earned) with 10 walks and 65 strikeouts.

Romero goes on the DL with a right elbow UCL sprain. In three starts for the Kernels, he has no record and a 3.00 ERA, allowing 13 hits and four runs (all earned) with five walks and nine strikeouts in 12 innings.

The Kernels begin a four game series Friday at 6:35 p.m. against the Clinton LumberKings.

Chiefs sweep Kernels with 6-3 win

PEORIA, Ill. - The Peoria Chiefs finished off a three-game sweep of the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Thursday night with a 6-3 win before 2,277 fans at Dozer Park.

Cedar Rapids collected six hits Thursday and was held to five total runs in the three-game set. The Kernels went 1-6 on the road trip to open the second half.

Peoria took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Vaughn Bryan led off by lining a ball to left that rolled to the wall for a triple. CJ McElroy, Jr. then chopped a RBI single and later scored when Mason Katz reached on a RBI fielder's choice.

The Kernels got on the board in the third inning with a run to cut the Chiefs lead to 2-1. Jon Murphy led off by lining a double deep into the gap in left-center. Ryan Walker then pushed a singleto left field, moving Murphy up to third base. After Walker was caught stealing, Murphy scored on Zack Granite's RBI groundout.

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Twins summon Polanco from Fort Myers

Jorge Polanco has jumped from the Cedar Rapids Kernels to the Minnesota Twins in a single year.

Polanco, 20, was summoned to the Twins on Thursday due to injuries on Minnesota's 25-man roster. He is expected to be in uniform when the Twins play Thursday night Anaheim.

Polanco, an infielder from the Dominican Republic, hit .308 with five home runs and 78 RBIs for the Kernels last year. He was hitting .289 for the Fort Myers Miracle in the High-A Florida State League this season when the Twins made the call.

Polanco is the first Kernels player to reach the Major Leagues since the Kernels began their affiliation with the Twins last season. He is also the youngest player to join the Twins since all-star Joe Mauer made the club in 2004.

Minnesota infielders Trevor Plouffe and Eduardo Nunez are currently on the disabled list and Danny Santana hurt his leg in a game Wednesday night. Polanco was already on the Twins' 40-man roster and can play all three infield positions.

It's highly unusual for a player to jump from Class A to the Major Leagues, but Polanco was the right guy in the right spot.

Kernels trimmed by Peoria, 2-1

PEORIA, Ill. - The Cedar Rapids Kernels tallied one run for the second straight game Wednesday and lost to the Peoria Chiefs, 2-1, before 3,148 fans at Dozer Park.

The Kernels are 1-5 on their road trip to open the second half of the Midwest League season. They look to avoid the sweep at Peoria Thursday at 7 p.m.

Arturo Reyes (5-3) held the Kernels' offense to one run on five hits over six innings. He struck out five and walked one, the only walk the Kernels have drawn in the first two games of the series.

Kohl Stewart (1-4) pitched well but suffered the loss for the Kernels. He went five innings and allowed just two runs on six hits while striking out four and walking one. Stewart's earned run average is now at 2.53 after 13 starts.

The Kernels scored first with a single run in the third inning. J.D. Williams doubled past first base to get the inning started. He advanced to third base on a fly out by Jon Murphy. With the infield drawn in, Williams hurried home on Ryan Walker's RBI groundout, putting the Kernels up 1-0.

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Kernels put Garver on DL

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and Minnesota Twins announced Wednesday that catcher Mitch Garver has been placed on the 7-day disabled list with concussion-like symptoms.

In 70 games for the Kernels, he is batting .306 with eight homers, 17 doubles and 47 RBIs. He is the team leader in average, home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage.

The Twins did not announce a corresponding move. With today's transaction, the Kernels' roster is at 24 active players, one below the Midwest League maximum of 25, with seven players currently on the DL.

Burdi heads to Kernels with $1,218,800

Nick Burdi will feel like a million bucks when he joins the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Friday.

The Minnesota Twins signed the flamethrower from the University of Louisville and gave him a bonus worth $1,218,800 Tuesday. They are sending him to Cedar Rapids to begin his pro career in the Class A Midwest League.

Dustin Morse, the public relations director for the Twins, announced the signing Tuesday. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press reported the amount of the signing bonus.

Burdi, 21, is a 6-foot-4, 215-pound right-hander whose fastball has been clocked at 100 mph. He struck out 65 batters in 37 innings as the closer for Louisville this season as a junior, with a microscopic ERA of 0.49. He collected 18 saves in 32 games.

Minnesota selected Burdi with the 46th overall pick in the second round of the 2014 draft this month. The Twins also drafted Burdi in the 24th round in 2011 when he was a high school senior in Downers Grove, Ill.

A current member of the Kernels' 25-man roster will have to be removed from the team to make room for Burdi.

The Kernels begin a four-game series against Clinton Friday night at 6:35 at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Burdi hit 103 on gun at Louisville

Local baseball fans should expect to see some serious gas when Nick Burdi pitches for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in the next few days.

Burdi, a 6-foot-5 right-hander, has been popping the radar for quite some time now.

"It was 95-96 in high school," he said Friday after arriving in Cedar Rapids, "and at Louisville I got up to 102-103 this season, but mostly sitting 97 to 99."

That is serious heat, which is why the Minnesota Twins made him the 46th overall pick in the 2014 draft and gave him $1,218,800 to sign on the dotted line.

Kernels Manager Jake Mauer was anxious to get his first look at Burdi in a bullpen session Friday afternoon.

"I've seen him pitch on TV a little bit," said Mauer. "Obviously it looks like he's got a pretty good fastball. He's a big kid. It looks like he's got the potential for a pretty good slider.

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