Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball

Twins send Rodriguez to Triple-A

Cedar Rapids Kernels catcher Jairo Rodriguez has been promoted to the Rochester Red Wings in the Triple-A International League, the Minnesota Twins announced Wednesday.

Rodriguez played in 15 games for the Kernels, batting .149 (7 for 47) with four RBIs. He was signed by the Twins as a non-drafted free agent in 2007 and spent the 2012 season with Beloit.

Rodriguez also has played for the Fort Myers Miracle in the Florida State League this season.

Brewer retires from Kernels

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and Minnesota Twins announced Tuesday that right-handed pitcher Brian Gilbert will join the Kernels from Elizabethton and that Caleb Brewer has announced his voluntary retirement. Brad Steil, Director of Minor League Operations for the Twins, announced the move.

The Twins selected Gilbert in the seventh round of the 2013 First Year Player Draft out of Seton Hall University where he posted a 4-4 record and 2.40 ERA in 27 appearances (one start) with six save. He has made five relief appearances for Elizabethton with a 1-0 record 0.00 ERA and one save, allowing a hit, walking one and striking out seven over six innings.

Brewer appeared in 12 games for the Kernels with a 1-1 record, 5.95 ERA and one save. In 20 2/3 innings he allowed 28 hits and 17 runs (15 earned) with 10 walks and 18 strikeouts. He was signed by the Twins as a minor league free agent on June 4 after being released from the Atlanta Braves organization.

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Kernels pound Tincaps, 11-4

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Cedar Rapids Kernels used two big innings to take the series finale from the Fort Wayne Tincaps by the score of 11-4 at Parkview Field on Monday night.

The Kernels scored five runs in the third inning, and added three more runs in the sixth.

Adam Brett Walker went 3-for-5 with a double, home run and three RBIs and Mike Gonzales was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. The home run was Walker’s 22nd of the season and he raised his RBI total to 88.

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Walker's 21st homer lifts Kernels to win

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Adam Brett Walker hit a two-run home run, Mason Melotakis won his eighth game and David Hurlbut notched his sixth save as the Kernels beat Fort Wayne, 2-1, Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 7,261 at Parkview Field.

Walker’s homer was his 21st of the season and was hit to dead center field. The Kernels had eight hits in the game. Jonathan Murphy went 2-for-3 and Jorge Polanco was 2-for-4 with a double.

Melotakis (8-3) allowed a run on four hits and struck out six over six innings. Hurlbut worked the final three innings for the save and struck out three.

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Kernels blanked by Fort Wayne, 1-0

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Cedar Rapids Kernels suffered their first loss on a six-game Eastern Division road trip as they were shut out, 1-0, by the Fort Wayne Tincaps on Saturday night at Parkview Field. The Kernels out-hit the Tincaps, 9-5, but left 13 runners on base and were just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Tim Atherton (5-3) delivered a quality start, despite taking the loss. Atherton allowed a run on five hits and struck out nine over seven innings pitched. Caleb Brewer struck out two over an inning of relief. It is the fourth game in a row that the Kernels have struck out 10 or more batters in a game.

Adam Brett Walker went 2-for-5 with a double. Jonathan Murphy and Niko Goodrum both had two hits for the Kernels. Travis Harrison, Jeremias Pineda and Joel Licon each had a hit and Pineda added a stolen base.

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Kernels add infielder to roster

Infielder Mike Gonzalez has joined the Cedar Rapids Kernels from the GCL Twins in Florida, the club announced Saturday.

The Minnesota Twins selected Gonzalez in the ninth round of the 2008 draft from Diablo Valley College. He spent last season at Fort Myers in the Florida State League, where he hit .244 with six homers and 27 RBIs in 72 games.

Gonzalez will join the Kernels in Fort Wayne and be active for Saturday night's game with the Tincaps.

Lee's complete game fuels Kernels sweep

EASTLAKE, Ohio - It took nearly two years between complete games by a Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher.

Brett Lee tossed his second in as many starts Friday night at Classic Park.

Lee scattered six hits and struck out 10 to lead the Kernels to a 4-1 win over the Lake County Captains in a Midwest League baseball game played before a crowd of 5,557.

Adam Brett Walker slugged a pair of home runs and drove in three runs to power the Kernels offense.

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Murphy powers Kernels into 1st place

EASTLAKE, Ohio - Jonathan Murphy homered and drove in three runs to power the Cedar Rapids Kernels past the Lake County Captains, 9-7, Thursday night in Midwest League baseball.

The Kernels (18-8) reclaimed first place in the Western Division by themselves when Beloit was beaten by Dayton, 7-6.

Murphy had three hits to lead the Kernels' 12-hit attack. He also had a double. Jorge Polanco had two hits and drove in two runs.

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Grimes catches on with Kernels

A number of this year's Cedar Rapids Kernels have had to make an adjustment to wearing a Kernels uniform this summer after playing last season for the Beloit Snappers, who were the Minnesota Twins' Midwest League affiliate during the eight prior years. It no doubt felt a little odd to some of them.

But to Tyler Grimes, who was the Snappers' primary shortstop much of last season, the change in geographic location was far from the most drastic of the adjustments he's had to make.

A couple of weeks before the Snappers' season ended, Grimes was informed by the Twins' minor league field coordinator, Joel Lepel, that the organization intended to convert him to catcher during the fall instructional league. Grimes said he hadn't caught since Little League.

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