CLINTON - Ah, the glamorous life of a professional baseball player.

Private jets. Fancy hotels. Fat contracts.

That's the Major Leagues. Unfortunately for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, they play in the Minor Leagues.

Bus trips. Late nights. Early mornings. Small paychecks. Quick meals on the run. More bus trips. An uncertain future.

The Kernels experienced all of that during a 24-hour stretch this weekend.

The Kernels lost to the Clinton LumberKings in Clinton Saturday night in 11 innings, returned to Cedar Rapids after midnight, went back to Clinton Sunday morning, lost another game in 90-degree heat Sunday afternoon and made that 90-minute trip back to Cedar Rapids again after the setback.

In the middle of all that, Manager Jake Mauer had to tell 24-year-old catcher Jhonatan Arias that his seven-year career with the Minnesota Twins organization is over.

"It's the worst part of the job. By far," Mauer said Sunday.

The Kernels lost to the LumberKings, 5-3, in a Midwest League game before a paltry crowd of 675 fans at Ashford University Field Sunday.

The Kernels began the second half of the Midwest League campaign with 11 straight victories, but they've lost five of their last six games and three in a row.

It was a hot, sticky day and the Kernels did not make any noise until they seventh inning. They trailed 5-0 by then and it was too little, too late.

"The bus ride is what gets you the most," said Cedar Rapids catcher Tyler Grimes. "You have to drive about an hour and a half and then play and be mentally prepared and stuff.

"But that's our job, that's our profession. I think everybody knows how to go about their business."

Arias, a native of the Dominican Republic, was the third catcher on the team behind Grimes and Michael Quesada. He played in only 22 games and hit .236, but was a popular member of the club and a tireless worker.

Mauer told Arias the bad news once they got back to Cedar Rapids late Saturday night.

"He did a nice job. Great kid. A hard worker," said Mauer. "I had him in the Gulf Coast League four years ago. I've known him since he was a really young kid."

The Minnesota Twins released Arias so they could activate David Hurlbut, a left-handed relief pitcher who tossed a scoreless inning Sunday. Arias got caught in the numbers game.

"It wasn't anything he did or didn't do," said Mauer. "Hurlbut was ready and we need him in the bullpen."

Mauer said Arias never caused any problems, even though he played sparingly and had to handle much of the dirty, tireless work in the bullpen.

"It was never a problem," said Mauer. "He caught all the bullpens down there every day. It's not fun, without a doubt.

"He's a smart kid, he's a good kid. He's going to be successful whatever direction he decides to go. We thank him for everything he did."

Grimes was sorry to see Arias released.

"He's a great guy, a great teammate," said Grimes. "We went through a lot this season. He handled everything well. I wish him the best of luck and hope all his travels are safe."

Baseball can be a fickle game. Arias got two hits for the Kernels Friday night as the designated hitter, then Saturday night got his walking papers.

"In this game, you never know," said Mauer, who played minor league ball himself. "We've talked about, 'Take every day like it's your last.' The guys don't understand it yet.

"But as you get further along in your career, you don't know what can happen. There are a lot of things that are out of your control."

Grimes knows the dangers. "None of us have experienced it yet," he said, "but that day is going to come."

The Kernels have 14 pitchers on the 25-man roster and only 11 position players now with Arias gone. "We won't go with 14 pitchers for very long, I'm sure of that," said Mauer.

Mauer said he'd like to get another infielder or perhaps a third catcher who can play multiple positions. He said Joel Licon, a reserve infielder, is probably the emergency third catcher behind Grimes and Quesada for the time being.

Clinton scored five runs in five innings against Kernels starter Mason Melotakis Sunday. Hudson Boyd threw two scoreless innings and Hurlbut tossed a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

The Kernels drew within 5-1 in the seventh when Grimes singled to center and scored on an RBI double by Licon. They scored two more runs in the eighth inning on a double by Jorge Polanco, an RBI single by Dalton Hicks and an RBI double by Adam Brett Walker.

Cedar Rapids brought the tying run to the plate on three occasions in the eighth and ninth innings, but the rally ended there.

The Kernels (52-33) and LumberKings (42-44) meet again Monday in Clinton at 7 p.m.

KERNELS (3): Williams, lf, 5 0 0 0, Goodrum, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Polanco, ss, 4 1 1 0, Hicks, 1b, 4 1 1 1, Walker, rf, 4 0 2 1, Kepler, dh, 4 0 1 0, Grimes, c, 3 1 2 0, Licon, 2b, 4 0 1 1, Murphy, cf, 4 0 1 0. Totals 35 3 9 3.

CLINTON (5): Marte, ss, 4 0 0 0, Zorrilla, cf, 4 1 0 0, Pizzano, lf, 4 0 0 0, Ard, 1b, 4 0 0 0, Littlewood, c, 4 1 2 1, Lara, dh, 2 1 0 0, Guerrero, rf, 3 1 2 1, Lopes, 2b, 4 1 2 1, Peguero, 3b, 3 0 3 2. Totals 32 5 9 5.

Kernels     000 000 120 - 3 9 1
Clinton     021 200 00x - 5 9 1

Melotakis, Boyd (6), Hurlbut (8) and Grimes. DeCecco, Vargas (8), Copping (9) and Littlewood. W - DeCecco (6-6). L - Melotakis (6-3). S - Copping (1). 2B - Licon (2), Polanco (22), Walker (18), Littlewood (11), Peguero (3). E - Goodrum (17), Lopes (11). T - 2:29. A - 675.