A better day in Cedar Rapids

[stringer bell]

After witnessing a Kane County Cougars 15-1 beatdown of the Cedar Rapids Kernels, I awoke to gray skies and the promise of rain. But things got better! After showers in the morning, the rain diminished to sprinkles by game time and were pretty much gone by the middle innings. There were even a few peeks of sunshine later in the day.

 

On the field, Hudson Boyd started for the Kernels. He yielded a quick run in the first, struck out the side in the second (on ten pitches IIRC) and wobbled through the third and fourth. Boyd was out in the fifth after yielding a game-tying homer. The Kernels took the lead in the second with a four-run inning highlighted by catcher Michael Quesada 2-run gapper. With the score tied 4-4, the Kernels mounted another four-run burst culminated by Byron Buxton's gapper to left-center. Outstanding work by Steve Gruver netted the win for the Kernels.

 

I met both JO Berrios and Mason Melotakis of the Kernels. I spoke with SD Buhr (Jim Crikket) and a scout from the Mets. While the young men are a long way from the major leagues, there is a lot of talent and some of them will be playing for the Twins some day.

 

Even without Buxton, Cedar Rapids has a nice roster. Best wishes to the Kernels for making the playoffs and then making some noise in the playoffs.