Cedar Rapids Kernels fall to West Michigan as offense continues to struggle

CEDAR RAPIDS — This was not a day you expected a team that’s been struggling offensively to stop struggling offensively.

And the Cedar Rapids Kernels did indeed continue to struggle offensively Sunday. Pitching wise, too, as it turned out, in a 13-1 loss to West Michigan at cold and windy Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The teams split their six games, which was a good thing for the Kernels. What wasn’t particularly good and what hasn’t been particularly good the first month of the Midwest League season is hitting.

Cedar Rapids ranks last in the 12-team MWL in on-base percentage (.299) and OPS (.617). It is second to last in batting average (.204) and slugging percentage (.318).

It got shut out twice in this series and very nearly three times. A run in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday prevented that and ended a 17-inning scoreless streak.

“Some days are OK, other days it seems like we get away from our plan,” said Kernels Manager Brian Dinkelman. “We bury ourselves in two-strike counts, and it makes it tough to hit when you’re falling behind all the time. We try to be aggressive early in counts and get a good pitch to hit, so you’re not always battling two strikes. But we had 15 strikeouts today. When you put yourself in tough (counts), it makes it hard to hit.”

Oh, yeah, the strikeouts.

As Dinkelman referenced, Kernels batters accumulated a bunch Sunday. They struck out 11 times Saturday in a loss, with 29 of the 36 hitters in that game having two-strike counts.

Cedar Rapids has the second most Ks in the Midwest League so far this season.

“The numbers prove it. It’s tough to hit when you get to two strikes,” Dinkelman said. “We try to provide them with information on pitchers, how they are going to attack, and you hope the guys can execute the plan. Or at least go up there with a game plan. We’re through April now, so hopefully we can start making some adjustments and have some better ABs.”

The confounding part of this deal is that there are a number of high draft picks and well thought of prospects in the lineup. The caveat there, though, is a number of those guys are young for high-Class A.

Certainly the hope is as they continue to get adjusted to the level and the weather warms up, Kernels hitters will improve, as will the results.

“Yeah, they are young guys, but at some point when you get to the season and get further along, you start having more at-bats, you hope the adjustments come,” Dinkelman said. “You start gathering information and put better ABs together.”

This team won its first five games of the season, thanks in part to some late-inning rallies. That happened a couple of times in this series.

Cedar Rapids (9-11) hits the road for two weeks beginning Tuesday: six games at South Bend and six at Quad Cities. Sunday’s game got out of hand thanks to a seven-run fifth inning for West Michigan (12-9).

Kernels starting pitcher Jaylen Nowlin struck out six through the first three innings, but caught a bit of bad luck in the fourth, giving up an opposite-field three-run home run to right field that essentially was a routine flyball that got carried out of the ballpark behind a 30-mile-per-hour wind blowing that direction.

“He was good for the first three innings there,” Dinkelman said. “They got a couple of guys on and took advantage of the conditions. But those were the same conditions both ways. Unfortunate luck there, but that’s the way it goes.”

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