Pitchers taking center stage in Midwest League

Appearances and statistics can be deceiving, especially in the case of the two starting pitchers with a combined ERA of nearly 17 that took the mound last night when the Kernels hosted Kane County.

Any one of the 2,841 in attendance at Memorial Stadium could attest to that, as Kane County pitcher Mathieu Leblanc-Poirier - he of a 5.33 ERA and 2-4 record coming in - and Cedar Rapids hurler Buddy Boshers - a 10.60 ERA after one game in the Midwest League - had strong performances in a 4-0 Kernels win.

Boshers (1-0, 4.50 ERA now) struck out the first two batters and rode an early lead thanks to a Gabe Jacobo solo homer - a 416-foot blast to left for his sixth of the year - in the bottom of the first. He pitched seven innings, allowing just three hits while striking out four and walking one. Of his 84 pitches, 60 were strikes.

“Today he did a great job of pitching inside,” Kernels Manager Bill Mosiello said. ”He was outstanding.”

Mosiello said Boshers cruised through four innings of his July 23 MWL debut but had one tough inning. The manager knew what he was getting in the lefty because “this organization (Angels) does a great job of developing pitchers.” Boshers was leading the league in ERA while in Orem and had been set to start the season in Cedar Rapids until a personal matter kept him with the Owlz.

“He's doing a few things better than we anticipated,” Mosiello said. “Once in a while a guy gets called up and stops doing the things he was doing. I'm glad (Bosher) is doing them.”

Leblanc-Poirier (2-5, 4.96 ERA) scattered six hits over his 5.2 innings, allowing two runs while striking out three and walking none (although he hit two batters) for the Cougars (56-46, 15-17 second half).

The Kernels (58-43, 18-13) got some insurance runs after Leblanc-Poirier left the game. Alexi Amarista picked up his third hit in the eighth - his second single to go with a double - and scored when Jacobo followed with a triple. Designated hitter Beau Brooks knocked in Jacobo on a grounder to second that went as a fielder's choice to make it 4-0.

Andrew Taylor picked up his fourth save, relieving Boshers in the eighth. He struck out four, bringing his total to 63 strikeouts in 38 innings with a 1.18 ERA.