Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball

Kernels make 4 roster moves

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and Minnesota Twins announced Wednesday that infielder Pat Kelly and outfielder Zack Larson have been placed on the 7-day disabled list.

Outfielder Chris Paul has been activated from the 7-day DL and outfielder LaMonte Wade has joined the Kernels from Elizabethton.

The Twins selected Wade in the ninth round of the 2015 draft from the University of Maryland. He played in 64 games at Elizabethton, batting .312 with nine homers and 44 RBIs.

Kelly went on the DL with a right hamstring strain. He is batting .220 with three homers and 30 RBIs.

Larson heads to the DL with a left oblique strain. In 106 games for the Kernels, he is batting .214 with 20 doubles and 54 RBIs.

Paul went on the DL Aug. 21 with a right shoulder impingement. He is batting .167 in six games with the Kernels.

Kernels fall to Peoria in 9th

PEORIA, Ill. - Nick Thompson's walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Peoria a 5-4 victory over the Kernels on Tuesday night at Dozer Park in the rubber game of their series.

The Chiefs scored two runs in the eighth inning to tie the game after the Kernels had worked for a 4-2 edge.

Harrison Bader singled to right field with two outs in the ninth inning for Peoria. He advanced to second on Brian O'Keefe's base on balls. Thompson's liner to left scored Bader for the game-winning run. It was Thompson's third hit of the game.

Zack Tillery (5-5) took the loss, allowing one run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning.

The Kernels pushed a run across in the first inning. Sean Miller began the game with a double into right-center and scored on a one-out single to left by T.J. White.

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Kernels waste gem by Jorge

PEORIA - The Cedar Rapids Kernels wasted a strong pitching performance by Felix Jorge Monday night and lost to Peoria, 1-0, in a Midwest League game before 1,528 fans at Dozer Park.

The Chiefs scored an unearned run against Jorge in the bottom of the first inning following an error by Kernels second baseman Rafael Velera. As it turned out, that was the only run in the game.

Jorge (6-7, 2.76 ERA) pitched 6 2/3 innings before retiring for the night. He allowed six hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Michael Theofanopoulos pitched 1 1/3 scoring innings in relief with three strikeouts and no hits.

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Kernels snap 5-game losing streak

PEORIA - Keaton Steele pitched eight strong innings Sunday and the Cedar Rapids Kernels snapped a five-game losing streak with a 7-3 victory over the Peoria Chiefs before 2,869 fans at Dozer Park.

Steele (6-4, 3.33 ERA) allowed three runs on eight hits. He struck out six batters and did not walk anyone.

T.J. White went 3-for-5 for the Kernels with a home and two runs scored. Rafael Valera, Nick Gordon and Austin Diemer had two hits. Alex Real drove in two runs.

The Kernels scored six runs in the second inning to take control.

Cedar Rapids (73-59) and Peoria (71-59) meet again Monday at 7 p.m. in Peoria.

KERNELS (7): Valera, 2b, 5 1 2 0, Gordon, ss, 5 1 2 1, Corcino, rf, 5 0 0 0, White, 3b, 5 2 3 1, Murphy, lf, 4 1 1 0, Real, dh, 3 1 1 2, Doe, 1b, 4 0 0 0, Navarreto, c, 3 0 0 0, Diemer, cf, 4 1 2 1. Totals 38 7 11 5.

PEORIA (3): Seferina, 2b, 4 0 2 0, Thompson, rf, 4 0 0 0, DeJong, 3b, 4 1 1 0, De Leon, 1b, 4 1 1 0, Bader, cf, 4 0 2 0, O'Keefe, dh, 4 1 3 3, Bean, c, 4 0 0 0, Peoples-Walls, lf, 3 0 0 0, Swirchak, ss, 3 0 0 0. Totals 34 3 9 3.

Kernels    061 000 000 - 7 11 1
Peoria     020 000 100 - 3 9 4

Steele, Curtiss (9) and Navarreto. Beck, Bray (7), Grana (9) and Bean. W - Steele (6-4). L - Beck (0-2). 2B - Diemer (8), DeJong (12), O'Keefe (7). 3B - Gordon (6). HR - White (2), O'Keefe (5). E - White (18), Seferina 2 (11), Peoples-Walls (3), DeJong (9). T - 2:18. A - 2,869.

Miller made quick climb to Kernels

Cedar Rapids Kernels infielder Sean Miller was wearing a South Carolina-Aiken uniform when his baseball season began in the spring and he’s now suiting up for his second pro team this summer.

Miller, a shortstop by trade, has been getting work at second base for the Kernels, who have Nick Gordon solidly entrenched at shortstop. As they have been doing frequently, Miller and Gordon hit in the top two spots of the Kernels’ batting order during the nightcap of their doubleheader with the Kane County Cougars Saturday night.

A Saturday fireworks crowd of 4,863 at Veterans Memorial Stadium saw the Cougars sweep both ends of the twinbill, 6-2 and 4-3, giving Cedar Rapids a season-worst five game losing streak.

Miller was a “young junior,” to use Kernels Manager Jake Mauer’s words, at SC-Aiken. He was just 20 years old throughout his junior season of college and won’t turn 21 until after the season ends.

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Kernels set twinbill for Saturday

Friday's scheduled game between the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Kane County Cougars was postponed due to rain. The two teams will play a doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The doubleheader will consist of two seven-inning games.

Saturday is Cargill/Special Olympics Night featuring a silent auction on the concourse during the game with the proceeds to benefit Special Olympics. There will be a fireworks show after the doubleheader.

Kane County blanks Kernels, 5-0

Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Randy Rosario hadn’t been credited with a win since a start at Kane County on July 11.

On Thursday night against those same Cougars, he pitched well enough to win, but the Kernels offense was lacking as four Kane County pitchers combined for a 5-0 shutout before 2,214 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The loss was the third straight for the Kernels.

Rosario gave up the first three Kane County runs, but only one was earned. One of the errors leading to an unearned run in the second inning was committed by Rosario when he failed to catch a throw while covering first base.

The lefty retired the final 10 batters he faced, though several of those outs were well-hit balls.

The final two Cougar runs, both charged to reliever Yorman Landa in the eighth inning, were also unearned.

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Kernels show feet of clay in loss

For awhile Wednesday night it looked like Sam Clay might have a good story to tell his grand-kids some day.

He learns Tuesday night that he's being promoted from Elizabethton to Cedar Rapids, hustles to Iowa on short notice and is the starting pitcher for the Kernels in their Midwest League game against Peoria at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

All goes well for awhile as Clay, a 22-year-old southpaw from Georgia who pitched for the Kernels earlier in the year. He tosses three shutout innings to begin the game and Cedar Rapids grabs a 2-0 lead.

Peoria scores three runs in the top of the fourth for a 3-2 lead, but the Kernels score twice in the bottom of the fourth for a 4-3 advantage and Clay needs just three more outs to qualify for a victory.

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Clay replaces Mildren on Kernels

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and Minnesota Twins announced Wednesday that pitcher Ethan Mildren has been promoted to Fort Myers and pitcher Sam Clay will rejoin the Kernels from Elizabethton.

Mildren joined the Kernels June 17 and pitched in 12 games. He posted a 4-1 record and 3.51 ERA. The Twins selected Mildren in the 12th round of the draft from the University of Pittsburgh.

Clay was assigned to Extended Spring Training May 18 and made 10 appearances for Elizabethton, posting a 1-3 record and 3.00 ERA. Clay made nine relief appearances for the Kernels this season, posting an 0-2 record and 4.50 ERA. He was selected by the Twins in the fourth round of the 2014 draft from Georgia Tech.