Fireworks start popping early for Kernels skipper

Moments before the start of last night's Cedar Rapids Kernels game at Memorial Stadium, Bill Mosiello shared a good-luck fist bump with his son. That lighthearted moment was replaced a short time later with a tirade that earned Mosiello his first ejection as Kernels manager.

Other than that animated second-inning argument with the home-plate umpire, the Kernels did their best to quiet a big fireworks-driven crowd of 5,141. A 4-1 loss to South Bend was Cedar Rapids' fourth in a row, tying a season high, and its fifth in six games.

“These kids are resilient. We'll get it going again,” Mosiello said. “We'll start playing well. It happens. You're going to go through your tough periods. You've just got to survive them.”

The previous four losses by the Kernels (56-40, 16-11 second half) were by a run, one in extra innings, but this one was different. Cedar Rapids is somewhat hamstrung pitching-wise because two of their five starters (Tyler Chatwood and Ryan Chaffee) are limited to no more than five innings because of inexperience and the number of innings they have accumulated.

Chaffee (6-4), who hasn't won since June 9, used five innings worth of pitches in just three innings last night. He walked three, all with two outs and all of those runners scored.

“I get it,” Chaffee said, when asked if he understands why he's on an innings count. “It's an excuse, and I could use it, but I won't. I should be able to go five innings, you know?”

The play that got Mosiello tossed came in the South Bend second, when Jake Elmore was ruled safe at the plate on a Reynaldo Navarro double, even though it appeared catcher Beau Brooks had tagged him. Elmore slid past the plate, but reached back to touch it just ahead of a diving Brooks and was called safe.

That led to Mosiello's ejection.