Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball

Walker named MWL Player of Week

Cedar Rapids Kernels outfielder Adam Brett Walker has been named the Midwest League Player of the Week for the period April 22-28.

Walker hit .381 (8-for-21) with five home runs, 16 RBIs and a 1.238 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS).

He was selected by the Twins in the third round of the 2012 draft from Jacksonville University and spent last season with the Elizabethton Twins.

Pitcher Ryan Crowley of Burlington was named the MWL Pitcher of the Week for the same period. Crowley pitched for the Kernels last season.

Sweeney enjoys home cooking in return to C.R.

All Kellen Sweeney needed was a few hugs and the prospect of a home-cooked meal to snap out of a nasty batting slump in the Midwest League.

Sweeney returned to Cedar Rapids Sunday with the Lansing Lugnuts and went 2-for-3 with a double and 400-foot home run in a 4-3 loss to the Kernels before a season-high crowd of 2,552 fans on a sunny afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Sweeney, 21, had been mired in an 0-for-23 skid in Lansing's last seven games, but he delighted his family and friends with a breakout game in his home town.

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Kernels place Mazza on DL

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and Minnesota Twins announced Sunday that right-handed pitcher Chris Mazza has been placed on the 7-day disabled list, retroactive to April 27, with biceps tendinitis. Brad Steil, Director of Minor League Operations for the Twins, announced the move.

Mazza was a member of the Kernels 2013 Opening Day Roster and made seven relief appearance for the Kernels, allowing twelve hits and six runs (all earned) with three walks and 10 strikeouts in 8.2 innings. He is two for two in save opportunities.

The transaction puts the Kernels' roster is at 24 active players, one below the Midwest League maximum of 25, with one player on the disabled list.

The Kernels begin a three-game series Sunday afternoon at 2:05 pm, with the Lansing Lugnuts, the MWL affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Bizarre ending to Kernels' 6th straight win

For the first 3 1/2 hours of Saturday night’s game with the Great Lakes Loons, Travis Harrison sat and watched, much like the 2,063 fans who paid the price of admission.

But in the bottom of the 11th inning, with the game tied and the bases loaded, he came to the plate as a pinch hitter for designated hitter Tyler Grimes and set off a bizarre finish to what ultimately was ruled an 8-7 win for the Kernels.

Harrison launched a fastball from Loons pitcher Arismenda Ozoria in to the picnic area beyond the left-field wall for an apparent walk-off grand slam.

But appearances can be deceiving.

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Kernels add pitcher Burris

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and Minnesota Twins announced Saturday that right-handed pitcher Josh Burris will join the Kernels from extended spring training in Fort Myers, Fla. Brad Steil, Director of Minor League Operations for the Twins, announced the move.

The Twins selected Burris in the 17th round of the 2011 First Year Player Draft out of Louisiana State University-Eunice. He spent the 2012 season with the Elizabethton Twins where he posted a 7-0 record and 1.75 ERA in 18 relief appearances. In 36 innings he allowed 24 hits and 10 runs (seven earned) with 21 walks and 40 strikeouts.

Burris will be active and available for Saturday’s 5:05 p.m. game with the Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers).

The Kernels' roster is at the Midwest League maximum of 25 active players.

Walker drives in 7; Kernels roll to 13-8 win

Adam Brett Walker belted two home runs and drove in seven runs to power the Cedar Rapids Kernels to a 13-8 win over the Great Lakes Loons Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Kernels have scored 29 runs in the first two games of the series against Great Lakes. They scored 16 in a win Thursday.

The Kernels scored three in the first inning Friday on Walker's three-run home run and they never looked back.  Walker led the way with three hits that included a grand slam in the fourth inning.

“It was a pretty good day. I think that’s the most RBIs I have had in a game,” said Walker, who also homered Thursday. His five homers lead the Kernels.  “I have been concentrating on slowing the game down and not trying to do too much. Individually, it’s my job to try and drive the ball from gap to gap and that is what I focus on.”

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Kernels swat Great Lakes, 16-7

The Byron Buxton Express got back on track Thursday night.

Buxton, the Cedar Rapids Kernels center fielder and lead off hitter, had a pair of doubles to go along with a towering three-run home run beyond the left field wall of Veterans Memorial Stadium. His three hits were among 11 Kernels hits on the night as they trounced the visiting Great Lakes Loons, 16-7.

Buxton had been in a bit of a minor slump with just three hits in the Kernels previous four games. That may not seem like much of a slump to most players, going hitless in only one of the four games. But Buxton carried a .476 batting average into this past Friday's game at Peoria and had seen that average drop to .404 going into Thursday's game with the Loons.

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Leachman promoted, Tomshaw activated

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and Minnesota Twins announced Thursday that infielder Drew Leachman has been promoted to the Fort Myers Miracle of the Florida State League and that left-handed pitcher Matthew Tomshaw has been activated from the 7-day disabled list. Brad Steil, Director of Minor League Operations for the Twins, announced the move.

Leachman played in six games for the Kernels batting .346 (9-for-26) with a double, triple and four RBI. Tomshaw went on the disabled list on April 18 with an undisclosed injury. Both players were part of the 2013 Kernels Opening Day roster.

The Kernels roster is at 24 active players, one below the Midwest League maximum of 25.

The Kernels begin a six-game homestand Thursday with games against Great Lakes and Lansing.

Kernels come home with 12-5 record

There is no shortage of great story lines through the first three weeks of the Cedar Rapids Kernels' inaugural season as the Minnesota Twins Class A affiliate in the Midwest League.

To begin with, the Kernels (12-5) sit atop the MWL Western Division standings, with a one-game lead over the Quad City River Bandits (Astros). Cedar Rapids has had success both at home (5-2) and on the road (7-3).

The Kernels open a six-game homestand Thursday night at 6:35 p.m. against Great Lakes.

The biggest story of the first three weeks of the MWL season has undoubtedly been the weather. The Kernels have played only 17 games at this point, and that's more than 10 of the other 15 MWL teams have played.

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