You don’t see many inside-the-park home runs. You see even fewer of them legged out by catchers.

But that’s what the 4,399 fans who attended the Cedar Rapids Kernels game saw Saturday evening when Kernels catcher Tyler Grimes hit a line drive off the high diagonal wall in left field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Grimes sprinted around the bases as the ball caromed toward center field and his head-first slide at the plate was ahead of the wide throw home.

It was just one of many highlights for the home team in the Kernels 6-3 win over the visiting Bowling Green Hot Rods.

Two hitters before Grimes’ four-base sprint, Adam Brett Walker hit his third home run in as many games. It was Walker’s 16th round-tripper of the season, giving him the Midwest League lead in home runs.

“He’s swinging the bat pretty good. He absolutely destroyed that lefty,” said Kernels Manager Jake Mauer, referring to Stone Speer, the Bowling Green relief pitcher who gave up Walker’s long home run.

Grimes was asked after the game what he was thinking when he saw his manager waving him home from the third base coach’s box.

“Trying to keep my feet underneath me,” Grimes said. “It felt like a bear jumped on me around third. I was just trying to get in there. I had it in my head, no matter what, I was diving head first. Luckily it worked out.”

Grimes showed his wheels again in the eighth inning when he beat out an infield ground ball to the Bowling Green third baseman and, when the Hot Rod infielders turned their collective attention elsewhere, Grimes sprinted on to second base.

Grimes eventually scored on a Joel Licon double that gave the Kernels an important insurance run and established the 6-3 lead that held up through the end of the game.

Grimes was quick to credit that piece of heads-up baserunning to teammate Jonathan Murphy, who was coaching first base.

“That was Murphy’s call,” said Grimes. “I didn’t even have my head up and Murphy was like, ‘go, go, go, go.’ So I just took off and that worked out, too. Murphy deserves all the credit for it. He was on top of his job at first base.”

Kernels starting pitcher Tim Atherton gave his team six strong innings of work in just his third start since joining the rotation. He held the Hot Rods hitless through four innings and gave up only two hits overall. He walked two batters while striking out four.

Mauer is liking what he’s seeing from Atherton. “Obviously we’re still stretching him out. He did a nice job. He’s been effective, just throwing the ball over more.”

Bowling Green starting pitcher Jeff Ames hadn’t given up a run since June 3. The Kernels put an end to that streak in the bottom of the first inning when Walker ripped a two-out double down the left-field line to score Jorge Polanco from second base and put the Kernels up 1-0.

Max Kepler followed with an RBI single of his own that drove in Walker and gave the Kernels a 2-0 lead.

The Kernels added a run in the second on a Jeremias Pineda leadoff double and a Dalton Hicks sacrifice fly to center field.

Ames did not return to the mound for the third inning.

“We hit him hard and (Ames) kind of backed off,” observed Mauer. “He had better stuff than what it shows. For whatever reason, he got hit and just kind of backed off.”

Steve Gruver entered the game in relief of Atherton and pitched the seventh and eighth innings. He gave up a pair of runs on four hits.

Tyler Jones worked a perfect ninth inning, striking out two, for his ninth save.

The Kernels and Hot Rods will play again on Sunday afternoon at 2:05 at Perfect Game Field.

BOWLING GREEN (3): Toles, 4 1 2 2, Reginatto, 3b, 4 0 1 0, Coyle, 2b, 4 1 0 0, Maile, c, 2 0 1 0, Martin, ss, 3 0 0 1, Gantt, lf, 4 1 2 0, Rickard, rf, 3 0 0 0, Dunn, 1b, 4 0 0 0, Leonard, dh, 4 0 0 0. Totals 32 3 6 3.

KERNELS (6): Williams, lf, 3 0 0 0, Polanco, ss, 4 1 2 0, Hicks, 1b, 3 0 0 1, Walker, rf, 4 2 2 2, Kepler, cf, 4 0 1 1, Grimes, c, 4 2 2 1, Goodrum, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Licon, 2b, 4 0 1 1, Pineda, dh, 4 1 3 0. Totals 33 6 11 6.

Bowling Green  000 010 020 - 3  6 1
Kernels            210 020 01x - 6 11 0

Ames, Speer (3), Jensen (7) and Maile. Atherton, Gruver (7), Jones (9) and Grimes. W-Atherton (5-2). L-Ames (7-2). Sv-Jones (8). 2B-Gantt (12), Walker (19), Pineda (2), Licon (4). HR-Toles (2), Walker (16), Grimes (6). S-Williams. SF-Martin, Hicks. E-Martin (7). T-2:42. A-4,399.