Offense picks up pitching staff for Kernels

CEDAR RAPIDS – Jake Mauer has hoped his offense would be able to take some pressure off his pitching staff a little bit more in the second half of the Midwest League season.

That happened again Monday night.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels scored three times in the sixth inning and outscored Beloit, 7-5, in a rare slugfest, of sorts, at Veterans Memorial Stadium. These clubs came in ranked in the bottom five of the league in team batting average: Cedar Rapids 12th at .244 and Beloit dead last at .225.

But it didn't look like it here.

'We needed all of them tonight,” Manager Mauer said of the seven runs. 'Which is nice, because usually it's the other way. Our pitchers are usually picking us up.”

Lots of encouraging signs here offensively for the Kernels (49-33, 8-4 second half), most notably an 11-hit night after a 14-hit Sunday. Lots of different guys contributed again, too.

Tanner English had a single and double, drove in three runs and stole his 26th base of the season. Rafael Valera continues to impress when he gets a chance, going 1-for-2 with two walks, two runs and an RBI.

Nick Gordon had the go-ahead hit in the sixth, a one-hop bullet past drawn-in shortstop Yairo Munoz. It came against a fellow lefty, and a tough one, too, in Beloit reliever Jose Torres.

The parent Minnesota Twins top draft pick in 2014 (sixth overall) got behind in the count 0-2 and fouled a couple of pitches off before his winning hit. Edgar Corcino followed with an RBI double for the final margin.

'You try and see pitches up,” Gordon said. 'I've faced him before … He kind of came with a couple of fastballs early, and I was able to fight them off. He ended up throwing a breaking ball, I saw it up, and hit it good.”

After seeing his batting average dip into the .230, Gordon is back up to .255 following this 2-for-5 game.

'I've just been working, staying focused, trying to get better,” he said. 'I want to make myself get better. I can say I haven't really changed much. It's the same routines. I'm just sticking with it and trusting the process.”

'Learning. That would probably sum it up in one word for him,” Mauer said. 'He started out like the world on fire, and the league adjusted to him, as they normally do. Now he's starting to bounce back a little bit. His defense at shortstop has been good … Offensively, I think he's starting to grow up a little bit. He's shortening his swing, staying in there better against lefties. Hopefully he has hit that little bump in the road, and now he can take that next step.”

Starting pitcher Sam Gibbons (3-2) got the win despite allowing five runs in six innings. Jared Wilson struck out four in two strong relief innings, followed by Trevor Hildenberger, who got the ninth and his 10th save.

Wilson has been a member of the starting rotation most of this season and was a Midwest League all-star, but it sounds as if Mauer likes him better as a reliever.

'He's a tough one because he's got four pitches,” Mauer said. 'He could start, he made it as an all-star starter, but he comes out of the bullpen throwing probably 93 to 97 (miles per hour). With four pitches, he can overwhelm a lineup at least one time through, so he's an interesting guy. Probably a spot starter, for me, at higher levels. More of a bullpen guy.”

The teams play again Tuesday at noon.

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