Peoria’s Mike O’Reilly spins 1-hitter at Kernels

CEDAR RAPIDS — He didn't even break spring training with a team.

Pitcher Mike O'Reilly of the Peoria Chiefs was held back in extended spring training by the St. Louis Cardinals until being assigned to the Midwest League in late April. His first three appearances were out of the bullpen, too.

But since being elevated to Peoria's starting rotation, the kid has been something. Monday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium, he was really something, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning and finishing with a one-hit, 3-0 shutout of the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

'He's been pitching like that his last four or five outings,' said Peoria pitching coach Dernier Orozco. 'He's doing a good job attacking batters, getting ahead in the count, mixing his pitches, elevating his fastball when he needs it, using the corners well.'

This was a masterpiece. The 22-year-old right-hander from Division II Flagler College in Florida has a fastball that's consistently and 'only' about 88 miles per hour, but he located it beautifully here.

He threw his slider and changeup for strikes as well, a sure-fire recipe for success anywhere, especially the low-Class A level. O'Reilly threw 104 pitches, 80 for strikes.

'He was throwing all three of his pitches for strikes consistently,' said Kernels outfielder Christian Cavaness. 'I think he threw less than 25 balls the whole game. He was just pounding the zone with every pitch. We couldn't just key on maybe one pitch because one of them wasn't working.'

Cavaness had C.R.'s only hit, a legit double to the gap in right-center field leading off the seventh. He was the tying run in a 1-0 game at the time, though O'Reilly got a popout, lineup and foul popout to strand him.

Caleb Hamilton reached with two outs in the eighth on a shortstop throwing error. He was the only other Kernels baserunner.

'It's always in the back of your head the whole game how many hits you've given up,' said O'Reilly, who struck out a career-high 12. 'You try not to let it dictate the game, especially with it being a 1-0 game most of the way. I just wanted to keep attacking hitters and get them out.'

O'Reilly is now 8-2 with a 1.56 ERA and a league-leading two complete-game shutouts. Eduardo Del Rosario (7-5) was a rotten-luck losing pitcher, giving up just a run in six innings.

That run came courtesy of Stefan Trosclair, who, as the second batter of the game, drove a ball to left-center that center fielder Cavaness couldn't get to, then watched deflect off the fence away from him far enough for Trosclair to come all the way around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. Peoria scored two insurance runs in the ninth.

The Kernels (49-40, 10-9) have Tuesday off, then embark on a six-game road trip east to West Michigan and South Bend.

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