Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball

Berrios garners Midwest League honor

Jose Berrios has been named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week for the period Aug. 5-11, the league announced Monday.

During that period, Berrios made one start on Aug. 10, scattering two hits over 7 1/3 innings while striking out seven and walking just one.

The Minnesota Twins selected Berrios in the compensation round (32nd overall) of the 2012 draft from Papa Juan High School in Puerto Rico. He spent last season with the GCL Twins and Elizabethton Twins.

D.J. Peterson of the Clinton LumberKings was named the MWL Player of the Week for the same period.

Walker cracks the 100-RBI mark in win

GENEVA, Ill. - Adam Brett Walker hit a three-run home run to push his season RBI total past the 100-barrier and powered the Cedar Rapids Kernels past the Kane County Cougars, 8-4, Sunday afternoon.

The Midwest League baseball game was played before a crowd of 5,574 at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. It was the Kernels' fifth straight win.

Walker belted his 26th home run in the fifth inning with two aboard giving him 102 RBIs for the season. That total ranks third in the modern day (since 1949) history of the Cedar Rapids baseball club. He is 10 behind Larry Barnes, who played for the Kernels in 1996. John Tanner is the modern day record holder with 121 set in 1949.

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Berrios gem leads Kernels past Cougars

GENEVA, Ill. - Jose Berrios tossed 7 1/3 innings of two-hit ball Saturday night to lead the Cedar Rapids Kernels past the Kane County Cougars, 6-0, in a Midwest League baseball game played before a crowd of 11,979 at Elfstrom Stadium.

The win was the Kernels' fourth straight and stretched their lead in the Western Division to 1 1/2 games over Quad Cities.

Joel Licon had two hits and drove in two runs for the Kernels.

Berrios (7-5) had a no-hitter through 5 1/3 innings. Jose Dore's one-out single in the sixth broke was Kane County's first safety.

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Walker's 25th homer leads Kernels

BELOIT, Wis. - Adam Brett Walker belted his 25th home run and Max Kepler also homered to power the Cedar Rapids Kernels past the Beloit Snappers, 7-4, Friday night in a Midwest League baseball game at Pohlman Field.

The Kernels swept the three-game series from the Snappers and held onto their half-game lead over Quad Cities in the Western Division second-half pennant race.

Five Kernels pitchers combined to strike out 13 Snappers. Mason Melotakis (10-4) pitched 2-1/3 innings of one-hit ball in relief of spot starter Tim Shibuya to pick up the win. Madison Boer pitched a perfect ninth inning for his fourth save.

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Murphy powers Kernels past Snappers

BELOIT, Wis.  – Cedar Rapids scored six runs in the fourth inning as they defeated the Beloit Snappers 7-2 on Thursday night at Pohlman Field.  Jonathan Murphy drove in four runs in the game as the Kernels won their second-straight contest to begin the road trip.

Beloit took a 2-0 lead in the third inning as Christopher Bostick and Renato Nunez both recorded their 80th run batted in on the season.  However, the Kernels came right back in their next at-bat with the six-run inning to take the lead for good.

The Kernels sent 11 men to the plate in the big fourth inning.  Niko Goodrum started the frame with a walk and came home on Jorge Polanco’s RBI double that went just inside the first base line.  Adam Brett Walker followed with a RBI double just inside the third base line to score Polanco and tie the game 2-2.  After Max Kepler singled and Travis Harrison was hit by a pitch, Joel Licon’s RBI single plated Walker and gave the Kernels a 3-2 lead.

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Twins GM likes what's happening in minors

Minnesota Twins General Manager Terry Ryan looks around at Minnesota's teams in the minor leagues and likes what he sees, including what's happening in Cedar Rapids.

However, he looks at what's happening with the Major League club and is not pleased with a 49-62 record and a 17 1/2 game gap between the Twins and the first-place Detroit Tigers.

"It's obvious we're struggling in the big leagues. There's no question," Ryan said during his visit to Cedar Rapids earlier this week. "We're not pitching well enough.

"I think our bullpen is fairly solid up there. Our starting pitching has struggled through the last couple of years now. We need to get headed back in the right direction."

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Kernels finally knock off Beloit

BELOIT, Wis. --  The Cedar Rapids Kernels used a five-run fourth inning to beat the Beloit Snappers, 7-4, in a Midwest League game before 1,163 fans at Pohlman Field on Wednesday night.

Cedar Rapids had lost its last six games to the Snappers.

The victory lifted the Kernels into first place in the Western Division, a half-game ahead of the Quad Cities River Bandits.

Niko Goodrum led the Kernels with a three-run homer and four RBIs. He nailed his home run to right field in the fourth inning to cap a five-run outburst in the frame.

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Lee activated by Kernels; Gonzales on DL

Pitcher Brett Lee was activated from the seven-day disabled list by the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Wednesday.

At the same, infielder Mike Gonzales was placed on the seven-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 4, with right wrist tendinitis.

Lee was placed on the disabled list July 27 with a left flexor mass strain. He has appeared in 18 games (16 starts) this season, posting a 7-4 record and 3.23 ERA.

In 100.1 innings, he has allowed 106 hits and 47 runs (36 earned) with 23 walks and 78 strikeouts. He was selected by the Twins in the 10th round of the 2011 draft from St. Petersburg (Fla.) College.

Gonzales joined the Kernels on July 20 and is batting .220 with a home run and four RBIs in 11 games. The Twins selected him in the ninth round of the 2008 draft from Diablo Valley College (Calif.). He spent last season at Fort Myers, where he hit .244 with six home runs and 27 RBIs in 72 games.

Ryan thinks Jake Mauer could manage Twins

The general manager of the Minnesota Twins thinks Cedar Rapids Kernels skipper Jake Mauer has the right stuff to manage the Twins someday.

Terry Ryan, who began his second stint as Minnesota's G.M. in 2011, has known Mauer since he was a young college player at St. Thomas University 15 years ago and likes what Mauer has accomplished as a manager in the Twins' minor league system the past six years.

Ryan spent time in Cedar Rapids earlier this week, inspecting the Kernels during their series against the Quad Cities River Bandits and getting a feel for the organization.

He's been a big fan of Mauer's for a long time, both as a minor league player in the Minnesota system and now as a skipper. Mauer played pro ball for the Twins for five years (2001-2005), reaching as high as Double-A before an arm injury forced him to retire.

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