Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball

Kernels' offense sputters in 4-0 loss

For a team sitting atop most of the Midwest League’s hitting categories, it wasn’t the kind of offensive performance the Kernels hoped to put on before the season’s largest crowd at Veterans Memorial Stadium. They fell to the Kane County Cougars, 4-0, in front of 4,582 fans.

It was the first time the Kernels (28-13) were shutout this season.

The team on the field may have lost the game, but the Kernels have had 30,031 fans come through the turnstiles through the first 18 home dates this season. It is only the second time since the ballpark opened in 2002 that the team has drawn more than 30,000 fans through the first 18 home dates. That’s about a 48 percent increase in attendance over last season’s first 18 home dates.

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Harrison's hit delivers Kernels in 12th

Another night, another walk-off win for the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

Although it wasn't nearly as dramatic at Byron Buxton's walk-off grand slam to rally the Kernels to a 7-6 win on Thursday over Burlington, Travis Harrison's one-out single in the bottom of the 12th on Friday night produced the same result.

His grounder just inside third base brought home Jorge Polanco from second, giving Cedar Rapids a 4-3 win over Kane County in the opener of a four-game series before 2,151 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

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Buxton's slam send Kernels past Bees

For the first two hours and 40 minutes of their game with the visiting Burlington Bees Thursday night, the Cedar Rapids Kernels were having one of their worst nights of the season. And then Byron Buxton happened - again.

With his team trailing the Bees 6-3, Buxton came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the Kernels half of the ninth inning. The Twins' super-prospect got an inside fastball that he liked and launched another one of his signature high, deep home runs to left field for a walk-off grand slam and a 7-6 Kernels victory.

Through the first 8 1/2 innings of the game, not a lot went right for the Kernels, particularly in the field. Five of Burlington's six runs were unearned, largely due to four Kernels errors spread across just the sixth and seventh innings.

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Pineda joins Kernels track team

There's a new candidate for "Fastest Kernel" on the Cedar Rapids ballclub these days.

His name is Jeremias Pineda, a 22-year-old outfielder from the Dominican Republic who has speed to burn.

Pineda joined the Kernels Tuesday from extended spring training and made his presence felt Wednesday night as Cedar Rapids split a Midwest League doubleheader with the Burlington Bees before 1,603 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

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Walker's slam lifts Kernels by Bees

Adam Brett Walker's father played football in the NFL and his mother was a national high jump champion in college, so the odds were pretty good he'd turn out to be a quality athlete himself.

The Minnesota Twins and Cedar Rapids Kernels are glad he chose baseball.

Walker blasted a grand slam that cleared the batter's eye in center field and traveled about 450 feet Tuesday to help the Kernels trim the Burlington Bees, 5-4, before 2,265 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

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Quesada eager for 'clean slate' with Kernels

New Cedar Rapids Kernels catcher Michael Quesada made a mistake last year when he used a banned substance and paid a steep price with a 50-game suspension.

He takes full responsibility for what happened and is grateful to the Minnesota Twins organization for standing behind him and giving him a second chance.

Quesada, 23, arrived in Cedar Rapids Monday and was placed on the Kernels' 25-man roster for Tuesday night's game against the Burlington Bees at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Quesada said he used a nasal decongestant to treat a cold, not knowing the decongestant contained a substance called methylhexaneamine, which has been banned by baseball for being an illegal substance.

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Kernels make 4 roster moves

The Cedar Rapids Kernels made four roster moves Tuesday.

Three players are joining the Kernels from Extended Spring Training in Fort Myers, Fla. They are catcher Michael Quesada, outfielder Jeremias Pineda and righthanded pitcher Josue Montanez.

Outfielder Romy Jimenez has been assigned to Extended Spring Training, putting the roster at the 25-man limit. The Kernels had been playing with just 23 men on the roster in recent games.

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Fluke hit sinks Kernels at Beloit

BELOIT, Wis. - Chad Lewis singled home Ryan Matthews in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Beloit Snappers a 3-2 win over the Kernels Monday night before 449 fans at Pohlman Field.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Lewis hit a grounder toward the middle and it hit the second base bag to elude the Kernels middle infielders.

Either shortstop Niko Goodrum or second baseman Jorge Polanco were likely to glove the ball had it not hit the base. A potential force-out at second base would have kept the score tied and sent the game to extra innings.

The second walk-off hit for Lewis in the series gave Beloit the series, 2-1, as the Kernels lost for the first time in a series finale.

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Walker named MWL Player of Week again

For the second time this season, Cedar Rapids Kernels outfielder Adam Brett Walker has been named the Midwest League Player of the Week, this time for the period of May 6-12.

During that period, Walker hit .444 (12-27) with four doubles, two triples, three home runs, 13 RBI and a 1.074 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS).

Walker was selected by the Twins in the third round of the 2012 First Year Player draft out of Jacksonville University and spent last season with the Elizabethton Twins. Walker also was named the MWL Player of the Week for the period April 22-28.

Pitcher Taylor Guerrieri of Bowling Green was named the MWL Pitcher of the Week.