Wade with late winning homer as Kernels survive

BURLINGTON – Where do you want to start? Let's say the top, then work on down.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels saved their Midwest League season with a 2-1 win Thursday night over Burlington at Community Field. Logan Wade's solo home run in the eighth inning was the difference.

That's pretty much it in black and white, though there's so much more. Like Manager Jake Mauer getting tossed in the bottom of the eighth after another run-in with umpire Adrian Gonzalez.

Mauer went off after Burlington's Bo Way was called safe at first base on a sacrifice bunt, even though Way appeared to be out. Gonzalez and the Kernels coaching staff have had a rather tempestuous relationship this season that doesn't appear to be getting any better.

He'll be the home-plate umpire for Friday night's deciding Game 3 here.

'You guys saw it. It's unbelievable to me,” Mauer said. 'It's been that way all year (with him). I just don't get it. I don't know if the moment got to him, if he got too excited, or whatever. It was a pretty simple, elementary call. At that point of the game, to impact the game like that, that's just not right. That's not right.”

But enough of the negative. Wade's pulled blast to right field was his first homer of the season batting left-handed.

The switch-hitter from Australia has seven of them from the right side. This timely first came on the second pitch from Burlington reliever Ben Carlson.

'I haven't been feeling the best (lefty),” Wade said. 'Sometimes I'll feel better right, then other times, like last season, I'll feel better left. That one, I guess, I was just trying to be aggressive with a fastball. I wasn't trying to hit a home run, I was just trying to hit it up the middle. Good things happen if you keep your head in the game.”

Which closer Jake Reed was able to do in the ninth despite giving up back-to-back leadoff singles. That put Bees on the corners and appeared to be the end of an impressive 22.2-inning scoreless streak.

But Reed struck out Zach Houchins on a foul tip and got ahead of pinch hitter Ismael Dionicio two strikes. Dionicio slapped a ball toward the shortstop hole that Engelb Vielma made a deft backhand grab of, flipped quickly to second baseman Ryan Walker, whose turn was fast and true.

A game-ending double play.

'I was glad a righty came up there (first). I knew I had to get a big strikeout there,” Reed said. 'Actually, the strikeout pitch was a bad pitch. I hung a slider, and he missed it. They pinch hit the lefty, and I left a couple of pitches out over the plate to him, too. I just wasn't very sharp tonight. But, luckily, he hit it to our best (defensive) player on the infield … When it came off the bat, he hit it pretty hard, but I didn't think we had any chance to turn it.”

Mauer heard the dramatics on the radio in the visitor's clubhouse.

'There was a delay on the radio, too, so it was kind of stressful,” Mauer said.

Starting lefty pitchers Mat Batts (Kernels) and Sean Newcomb (Burlington) were brilliant, though in different ways.

Newcomb (a first-round draft pick of the parent Angels in June) allowed four hits and a run in five innings with a fastball that must have been low to mid-90s. Batts, a 17th-round pick of the parent Twins in June, allowed only three hits and a run in 5.2 incredibly efficient innings (53 pitches) thanks to a deceptive delivery and good location.

Brian Gilbert gave Cedar Rapids 2.1 scoreless relief innings to claim the victory. Tonight's pitching matchup is lefty Stephen Gonsalves for the Kernels and righty Harrison Cooney for Burlington.

'Let's go get ‘em,” said Burlington Manager Bill Richardson. 'I'm confident in this team's ability to play with their backs against the wall.

'We hung in there,” Mauer said. 'Logan Wade hasn't been having the best at-bats, but he hits a big home run.”

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