Chatwood impresses, Kernels rally

This kid is all right.

Tyler Chatwood made his debut for the Cedar Rapids Kernels last night at Memorial Stadium. The teenager from California didn't get a decision in a 3-2 ninth-inning Kernels comeback win over Clinton before what is believed to be an April club-record 3,236 fans but flashed more than enough stuff on the mound to show why the Los Angeles Angels made him their top draft pick last year.

The hype surrounding this second-round draft choice seems justified.

"It felt good," Chatwood said. "It felt like (the ball) was coming out (of my hand) good there towards the end. I got into a rhythm there for a little while. I could have cut down on the walks, but it was a pretty good first outing."

Chatwood, 19, overcame an obvious case of the jitters in the first inning. He walked the leadoff man and No. 3 hitter on four pitches each, escaping damage by getting an inning-ending double-play grounder. The walks kept coming, one each in the third, fourth and fifth, but so did the strikeouts, six of them. He allowed just one hit, a single.

When you've got mid-90s heat and a 12-to-6 curveball, you can pitch your way around walks and other trouble. Chatwood, who was limited to 70 pitches last night, has that heat and curve.

He hit 94 on the radar gun and pitched consistently in the 90s. That's bringin' it, especially for a guy who isn't very big (5-foot-11 and 175 pounds), who was a shortstop in high school and who had Tommy John elbow surgery his sophomore year at East Valley High School in Redlands, Calif.

"They say dynamite always comes in little packages," smiled Kernels pitching coach Brandon Emanuel. "I thought tonight for him, as far as being pitch effective, it was good. Five innings in 70 pitches for him is really good. He made some big pitches when he had to. He wasn't always ahead in the count, and we've got to cut down on the walks, but he definitely made some pitches to get out of some jams."

"I had to find my release point at the beginning," Chatwood said. "It could have been a little jitters, too, a little too much excitement."

The Kernels (9-5) had so many chances offensively in this one but needed a two-run ninth to win. Anel De Los Santos and Darwin Perez had back-to-back one-out doubles against Clinton reliever Keith Meyer (0-1) to tie the game at 2-2.

Matt Crawford won it by lining a two-out single into left. That came two pitches after his popup was dropped by Clinton shortstop Terry Serrano after a long run into foul territory.

"Second chances," Crawford said. "They gave me a second chance, and I was able to take advantage of it. We battled all game. I was just looking to end it there."

The Kernels had four guys thrown out stealing, another picked off and stranded the bases loaded in the eighth. They head to Peoria for four games beginning Saturday night.