Article: Twins Minor League Report (9/11): Kernels Swing-And-Miss In Game 2

[Steven Buhr]

If the Cedar Rapids Kernels are going to return to the Midwest League Championship Series for the second consecutive year, they’re going to need to do it the hard way – with a win on the road in a series-deciding game 3.

 

The Kernels fell hard on Sunday night at Clinton, dropping game two of the series 6-1 to the Lumber Kings. The same two teams will play Monday night in Clinton with the winner moving on to the MWL’s championship series against either West Michigan or Great Lakes.

 

Kernels starting pitcher Sam Gibbons was touched for all six Lumber King runs, all earned, in four innings of work. Most of the damage came in a four-run Clinton fourth inning, topped off by a bases-clearing double off the left-centerfield wall by Chris Mariscal.If you’re looking for a silver lining for the Kernels, you won’t find much here.

 

Kernels batters were virtually shut down by Clinton starting pitcher Kevin Gadea, who struck out 11 Cedar Rapids batters in six innings while giving up just four hits and one walk. In total, Kernels batters were sent back to the dugout on strikeouts 17 times.

 

Kernels manager Jake Mauer summed the game up succinctly.

 

“It’s tough to win baseball games when you don’t put a ball in play,” he said. “We can’t hit and run, we can’t move guys over. Just is not much you can do.”

 

The manager was disappointed that his hitters didn’t do more against Gadea.

 

“He just overpowered us with very average stuff, I thought,” Mauer said. “He slowed it down and threw it over. For whatever reason, we couldn’t do anything.”

 

Cedar Rapids scored their only run off Gadea in the fourth inning and even that required a bit of a fluke to accomplish.

 

After Luis Arraez’s two-out single to right field, Zander Wiel hit a squibber to the left side of the infield where Clinton’s third baseman and shortstop apparently each thought the other was going to try to bare-hand the ball. Neither did, however, and the ball rolled into shallow left field, allowing Arraez to advance to third base.

 

A pitch later, Arraez crossed the plate on a wild pitch.

 

The Kernels fared no better against Gadea’s mound replacement, Reginald Dominguez, who struck out four in two relief innings.

 

Wiel was the only Kernels player with multiple hits, adding a single up the middle in the seventh inning to his fourth inning infield hit.

 

Arraez, JJ Fernandez and Nelson Molina each had one hit for Cedar Rapids, all singles.

 

Williams Ramirez relieved Gibbons to begin the fifth inning and held Clinton scoreless, striking out five (so there’s your silver lining, I suppose). Colton Davis struck out one in working a scoreless eighth inning.

 

Mauer had not announced a game 3 starting pitcher prior to the game, but afterward said that he will send Sean Poppen to the mound for the deciding game Monday night in Clinton. Game time is 6:30.

 

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[clutterheart]

Mauer's comments on Gadea are strange.  

 

Gadea has 72K's in 50 IP with only 11 walks.  So Gadea has been doing that all year to the MidWest League.

[Guest]

 

Mauer's comments on Gadea are strange.  

 

Gadea has 72K's in 50 IP with only 11 walks.  So Gadea has been doing that all year to the MidWest League.

 

About all I'd add is that Gadea wasn't overpowering at all. Sat about 91 mph with the fastball. Breaking ball was significantly slower, though, and that had hitters flailing some.