Chaffee finds a ‘W’ for Kernels

Ryan Chaffee didn't pitch out of his head last night at Memorial Stadium. But he didn't let his head get in his way, either.

Chaffee scattered four hits in six shutout innings, Alexi Amarista's two-run triple highlighted the Kernels' four-run third inning and Cedar Rapids beat Kane County, 4-1, in a Midwest League baseball game before a crowd of 3,070.

“I just decided to go out and pitch and not worry about everything like I had been,” said Chaffee (7-4), who won for the first time since June 9 in his longest outing since seven innings against Beloit June 30.

“It's not like he hasn't been pitching well. He's had tons of great outings,” Kernels Manager Bill Mosiello said of Chaffee, a Midwest League All-Star after getting off to a 6-1 start. Chaffee has been on a five-inning pitch limit that was stretched to 90 pitches last night.

Bases on balls had plagued Chaffee his last three starts, when he issued 13 in 10 1/3 innings.

“A big key was just throwing strikes,” said Chaffee, who fired 56 strikes in 85 pitches, including 12 first-pitch strikes. He walked three and struck out four.

“It's nice to get the first pitch over and work off it, but it was more important to just throw strikes,” Chaffee said. “It was the worst I've felt with my curveball and slider, but I was locating my fastball and change-up better. Those are what were getting me my strikes.”

Chaffee also used an often seen but seldom successful bluff-to-third-and-throw-to-first pickoff attempt to erase the only runner to reach third base against him. It came with two outs in the Kane County fifth.

Reliever Christian Scholl struck out six of the seven batters he faced. The only hit he gave up was a home run on the first pitch to Mike Spina after a 19-minute delay because a bank of lights went out with one out in the ninth.

The Kernels sent seven men to the plate and scored four runs in the third inning, when they got three of their five hits. Matt Crawford's bloop single scored the first run and two more scored on Amarista's triple off the right-field wall. Gabe Jacobo's sacrifice fly sent home Amarista.

Amarista's hit was the last off South Bend starter Shawn Haviland (6-8). He retired the final 15 batters he faced. Jeff Jones' single leading off the Kernels' eighth off reliever Scott Deal broke the streak.

The Kernels open a seven-game road trip tonight at West Michigan.