Hobbled Kernels drop another double-header

CEDAR RAPIDS - Maybe all the injuries are finally taking a toll on the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

Or maybe it's just the Peoria Chiefs, who wiped them out in another double-header Wednesday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium, 4-3 and 5-3.

That's back-to-back twinbill losses and five straight losses overall for the Kernels, who suddenly have dropped under the break-even mark at 19-20. In the redundancy department, the club placed two more guys on the disabled list, making it an astounding seven there.

'You can say that's an excuse,” said Kernels Manager Jake Mauer. 'But the guys in here who wanted to get playing time are getting playing time. Now they've got to make the most of it. Unfortunately we've had some injuries, no doubt about it. But it's also an opportunity for some of these guys who haven't gotten much of a chance.”

Outfielder Jason Kanzler (concussion) and shortstop Engelb Vielma (hamstring) are the latest DLers, both injured in Tuesday night's double-header. Don't forget there's another guy on the restricted list, too, in infielder Jonathan Hinojosa.

The parent Minnesota Twins sent shortstop Ryan Walker and infielder Carlos Avila to town from extended spring training, and both arrived just in time for Wednesday's first game. Walker pinch ran, then got the start in Game 2.

He was trapped in a malfunctioning elevator at the hotel he was staying at in Fort Myers, Fla. (the Twins' spring training base) for an hour Tuesday night, so he fits in well with this hard-luck team.

It's not as if Cedar Rapids continues to get blown out in these recent losses. What did them in here was an absolute lack of hitting in the clutch.

Peoria (23-15) scored what turned out to be the winning run in Game 1 in the top of the seventh inning. The Kernels loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half, but Michael Quesada took a questionable called third strike and Joel Licon flied routinely to center.

It was more of the same in the second game, with Cedar Rapids having another bases-loaded, one-out opportunity in the fourth that produced nothing. Taking both games into account, the Kernels had five different innings in which they had a runner on third and less than two outs and didn't get that runner home.

They stranded 20 guys on base. That's a recipe for disaster, as is giving up four unearned runs in the double-header, two in each game.

'We had 18 hits tonight,” Mauer said. 'We just can't get hits with runners in scoring position ... Guys get in there and completely change their approach. It's frustrating. We can talk to them until we're blue in the face about it. All it is, really, is a mentality. It's a mentality of just get the job done. We've got guys trying to hit three-run home runs with a guy on third. It doesn't work that way.”

The Kernels head back to the road for four commuter-trip games at Burlington beginning Thursday night. The next home game is Monday night at 6:35 against the Beloit Snappers.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@sourcemedia.net