Randy LeBlanc deals 1 last time for Cedar Rapids Kernels

CEDAR RAPIDS — His last supper was a buffalo chicken breast and salad. His last start was another beauty.

One for the home folks to remember him by.

'I'm pumped up, fired up,' Randy LeBlanc said, after he received word postgame Monday that he'd finally been promoted.

There wasn't anything left for the ex-Cedar Rapids Kernels starting pitcher to prove in the Midwest League. He was good last season and absolutely extraordinary this season.

That included eight shutout innings in his team's 3-2 walk-off win over Wisconsin before 1,869 Memorial Day fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Sean Miller scored on a wild pitch to end it.

LeBlanc heads to high-Class A Fort Myers after posting some incredible numbers here, perhaps the most incredible a 0.74 earned run average in nine starts.

'I've got 180 innings in this league, or whatever it is,' he said, in between hitting the clubhouse postgame spread and getting congratulatory hugs from teammates. 'Honestly, yes, it was hard to wait for (the promotion), but there was nothing I could do about it. Like (Manager) Jake (Mauer) said at the beginning of the season, a couple of us probably didn't belong here. But you can't pout about it or sit around. Just go out there and grind, get people out. That's what I tried to do.'

That's what he did.

LeBlanc ended his Kernels tenure by giving up one lone run in his final 43 innings, a string of 34 consecutive scoreless frames ended in his previous start. Overall, the 24-year-old right-hander from Tulane allowed six runs (five earned) in 61 innings, posted a WHIP (walks and hits to innings pitched) of 0.82 and held opponents to a .189 batting average.

There's conquering a level, then there's obliterating it.

'A little bit of luck, our defense playing well. our catcher calling a great game, throwing strikes. That's basically all it is,' LeBlanc said, modestly.

Never overpowering (which makes some scouts skeptical), his usual mix of low-90s sinkers and biting sliders sent him out the proper way. Wisconsin had runners on the corners with one away in the sixth, but LeBlanc struck out Mitch Ghelfi and David Denson swinging to end the threat.

Carlos Belonis reached on an infield leadoff single in the eighth, but LeBlanc retired Blake Allemand (who had three previous hits) on a fly to center and Luis Aviles on a fly to the warning track in center. That and 100 pitches in the books brought Mauer out for a brief conference.

It appeared the manager was going to call to the bullpen, but he allowed LeBlanc one final hitter, which was retired on a harmless grounder. Monte Harrison hit a two-out, two-run home run onto the short porch in left against reliever Michael Cederoth to tie the game.

Miller singled to center leading off the bottom of the ninth, went to second on a wild pitch, alertly to third on an attempted catcher's pickoff throw behind him and scored when losing T-Rats reliever David Lucroy (brother of Brewers catcher Matt) bounced a breaking pitch.

'Eight more scoreless today, pitched around six hits,' Mauer said. 'Was nice to see him strike some guys out (six). That's going to be key for him. You've got to strike people out. If you can do that, then you've got a chance.'

'When Jake walked out, I thought I was pulled. I did,' LeBlanc said. 'If you watched me, I ducked my head. But he left me in, just said 'Do you want this guy?' I said 'Yeah, I got him.' He said to throw a slider first pitch, try and get a groundball after that. Just do what I do. He left me in, and it worked out.'

Like it has worked out for him all season.

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