Much better performance for Kernels in 11-3 clobbering of Burlington

CEDAR RAPIDS — Tommy Watkins let hitting coach Brian Dinkelman coach third base Thursday night because he wanted to be on the bench to make sure the energy of his Cedar Rapids Kernels remained high the entire game.

That's been an issue for the club, especially lately, though not here. Not at all.

With the exception of one poor inning defensively, the Kernels were very good overall in an 11-3 win over Burlington before 2,705 fans Thursday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The dominant performance ended a three-game losing streak, salvaging the final game of this four-game series.

'It was awesome,' Watkins said. 'I talked to them a couple times early about how you guys have an opportunity to realize your dream and have fun. Put on the uniform and come to work every day. Not a lot of people get that opportunity. You've got to enjoy that, embrace it, have fun doing it. I think that's what it's all about. A lot better today. Now we've got to keep it up.'

Watkins held a closed-door meeting with his team Wednesday afternoon after a loss in which it scored only two runs despite having six hits and drawing 10 walks. He essentially aired out the clubhouse.

'He yelled a lot,' smiled Kernels designated hitter/first baseman Amaurys Minier. 'That helped a lot tonight. We were focused, and the chemistry in the clubhouse was good.'

Cedar Rapids (42-36, 3-5 in the second half) received seven strong innings from starting pitcher Sean Poppen (6-2), who struck out a career-high nine. It also pounded out 15 hits, with five guys producing multi-hit games.

Gorge Munoz led the way with a 4-for-5 game and five RBIs. The shortstop was one of four players sent here from Minnesota Twins extended spring training late last week and has been feeling his way around this new level.

He hit a 400-foot, three-run home run to left-center in the fifth inning and capped his night with a two-run double to the right-center gap in the eighth.

'I'm doing better,' he said, through translator Minier. 'The way they pitch here is so different and hard.'

'For him, it's about toning it down and getting pitches in the zone,' Watkins said. 'You can still be aggressive, but be aggressive in the zone. That was encouraging, good to see for him.'

The Kernels hit the road for four games at Clinton, beginning Friday night. The club announced starting pitcher Tyler Wells has been placed on the disabled list with a shoulder strain and replaced on the active roster by infielder Andre Jernigan, from Rookie-level Elizabethton.

This is the second DL stint this season because of a shoulder issue for Wells, who is 4-2 with a 2.21 earned run average in 11 starts. He has allowed just 45 hits and struck out 82 in 61 innings.

Jernigan was 0-for-10 at E-town this season, after hitting .243 there last season. He was a 14th-round draft pick of the Twins last year out of Xavier University in Cincinnati.

Wells' absence means the Kernels are down to four starting pitchers, meaning you'd have to believe one will be added to the roster sooner than later.

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