Offensive futility again for Kernels

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar Rapids Kernels presented Tommy Watkins with a pair of birthday cakes and a rendition of 'Happy Birthday” in the middle of Thursday night's game at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

It was a nice touch by the club for the hitting coach, one of the nicest and most gregarious guys you'll meet in professional baseball. And it was significantly better than what his team gave him, which was nothing offensively.

The Kernels' continued their struggles at tbe plate, managing but five singles in a 2-0, 11-inning loss to Burlington before 4,173 fans.

'Our offensive woes continue,” said Kernels Manager Jake Mauer. 'We just can't put anything together.”

Cedar Rapids (40-27) won two of three games in the series thanks to superior pitching, which has been the theme of the first half. It rallied for two eighth-inning runs to win the opener Tuesday, 2-1, and scored twice in the first inning Wednesday for a 2-0 win.

But, other than that, it was bupkis. Hits are hard to come by for this team right now, especially with runners in scoring position.

Mauer thinks it's all about approach at the plate, and he's getting sick of what he's seeing.

'There are guys that are starting to get on the program, and there are guys that just keep doing the same things and keep getting the same results,” he said. 'We're going to have to get creative and figure out a way to reach them, or we're going to have to get new guys. It's one of the two. It sounds harsh, but that's the nature of the beast.

'It's the definition of insanity, right? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If they don't want to change, it's going to be very difficult for them.”

It was a shame starting pitcher Keaton Steele couldn't get a win. He threw nine innings of shutout baseball, giving up six hits and striking out seven.

Burlington (34-32) got a runner past first base only once, and that was in the ninth inning. Steele got Zach Houchins to fly to left to end that first-and-third threat.

'He deserved way better,” Mauer said.

The Bees scored the game's only runs in the 11th against losing reliever Michael Theofanopoulos (1-2). The Kernels loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning, but Alex real popped out and Brett Doe grounded out to end it.

Quad Cities clinched the Midwest League's Western Division first-half title with the Kernels' loss, though Cedar Rapids has clinched second place and the other first-half playoff berth. It's three games at Clinton to end the first 70 games of the season.

'It's nice that we clinched and everything,” Mauer said. 'But if we don't get this offense clicking, (the playoffs) are going to be quick for us.”

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