For Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Jaylen Nowlin, strike 1 leads to big ‘W’

CEDAR RAPIDS — Strike one.

You’ve gotta throw it if you want a good, effective, deep pitching start. Ball one won’t give it to you, neither will counts such as 2-1, 3-1 and 3-2.

Jaylen Nowlin went pretty much strike one exclusively Wednesday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium and got ... well, a good effective deep start against Quad Cities. And a winning one.

The left-hander tied his season high by going six innings, giving up just a pair of hits, a walk and two runs, striking out 10 as the Cedar Rapids Kernels snatched a 3-2 win before 1,681 fans.

It’s the first ‘W’ since May 18 for the 22-year-old Georgia native who was drafted by the parent Minnesota Twins in the 19th round of the 2021 draft out of Chipola Junior College in Florida. A most needed one.

“I think it was his best outing by far,” said Kernels Manager Brian Dinkelman. “He was in the zone, only walked one guy, got ahead of hitters a lot with first-pitch strikes, instead of pitching from behind, like he has a few times this year. That makes things tougher. But he had a real good outing tonight.”

Nowlin (3-5) didn’t give up a hit until Shervyen Newton blooped a double just inside the right-field line that Newton couldn’t have thrown in a better spot. In the fifth, Q.C.’s Carter Jensen walked, then Kale Emshoff hit a fly to right-center that seemed to carry and carry until it landed over the fence for a two-run home run.

“Pretty much the focus was get ahead and try and stay ahead as much as possible,” Nowlin said. “Try and fill up the zone as much as possible today. (The home run) was a slider, left it up a tad bit, but he got it. This Midwest wind.”

Nowlin’s ERA in June was over 9.00, so this puts things in a much better place as everyone begins July.

“Better focus today. Just try and lock in as much possible for games,” he said. “Take every pitch one pitch at a time. Take my time, just go out there and compete.

“(Struggling sometimes) is just part of it. But, yeah, there have been some frustrations along the way Every day is a learning experience.”

The Kernels moved to a season-best 47-30 overall and 7-4 in the Midwest League’s second half. The Fourth of July game Tuesday lasted exactly two hours, while Wednesday’s went under that at an hour and 58 minutes.

Jose Salas had a solo home run and triple and Cedar Rapids. Oh, and a sacrfice bunt.

Ben Ross drove in a run with a two-out single in the fourth against Quad Cities starting pitcher Mason Barnett (2-5). The teams play again Thursday night at 7:35.

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