Kernels, fans endure heat, tough 10-9 loss to Wisconsin

CEDAR RAPIDS – Jamie Burke is the smartest man in America.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels manager was ejected in the second inning of Wednesday's sweat-athon against Wisconsin at Veterans Memorial Stadium, his first career dump.

There's air conditioning in the Kernels clubhouse, so the skipper didn't have to be out in the 98-degree heat, let alone watch his club blow a late lead and lose, 10-9.

“I just felt like the strike zone was a little low,” explained Burke, who watched part of the game from the tunnel behind home plate. “It wasn't like I said anything rude. That's the first time I've ever been tossed out, and it wasn't something I was looking forward to. I was just protecting my players.”

Burke theorized the umpiring crew of Mike Huus and Luke Engen may have been carrying a grudge from last week, when the Kernels were in Quad Cities and had issues with some key calls that went against them. Everyone's fuse is a little shorter in weather like this.

“I'm kind of used to it, being from North Carolina,” shrugged Kernels catcher Zach Wright. “In the summers, the temperature on the field back home would get up to like 120 degrees. I mean, it's hot out there, for sure. But I feel like it's a dry heat.”

Wright said he figures he lost “maybe three or four pounds” in water weight behind the plate. He had to change undershirts during the game.

Kernels trainer Omar Uribe always makes sure there is plenty of Gatorade and water for his players in the dugout. Dipping faces in ammonia towels also is very popular and refreshing.

“On our end, it's just really (reminding them) in passing ‘Hey, get some water in you,'” he said. “We've got a bunch of guys here that are pretty responsible with stuff like that. A lot of guys are from areas that are like this already … A lot of our guys are a little older. We don't have a bunch of high-school kids that you might have to worry about.”

Kernels management dispersed 5,000 pounds of ice to fans Wednesday, scooping it into paper cups. Ice lines were long, as you'd imagine.

Despite the hottest day of the year, the attendance was 4,114.

“Ice was our best seller today,” Kernels General Manager Doug Nelson joked. “We ran out here and had to run across the street to the Ice Arena to get some more.”

Cedar Rapids (35-48) dropped to 3-10 in the second half with another punch-in-the-stomach loss. The Kernels led after six innings, 6-3, but relief pitcher R.J. Alvarez was torched for two home runs and six runs in the seventh.

Chadwin Stang hit a grand slam to put the Timber Rattlers (51-37 overall) up for good. Nick Ramirez added a mammoth two-run shot to right.

The parent Angels' top draft pick in June (114

^th

overall), Alvarez has impressed with his mid-90s heat (pun intended) and had allowed just three hits and no runs over seven innings coming into the game. It's been that kind of a second half thus far for the Kernels.

“He's not going to have outings like that,” Burke said. “He's not going to have many of them, I'll tell you that. Today was just his day.”

Wright's two-run homer with two outs in the ninth brought Cedar Rapids within a run, but Zach Borenstein popped to third to end it.

Here is the game boxscore:

Scoreboard _ Midwest League Scoreboard