Perez pitches Kane County Cougars to win

BELOIT, Wis. — Leondy Perez pitched 6⅔ strong innings Wednesday night to notch his team-best 14th quality start and lead the Kane County Cougars to a 6-1 victory over the Beloit Snappers at Pohlman Field.

Perez won consecutive starts for the first time this season, helping the Cougars open a 4-game lead over Clinton for the top second-half playoff spot in the Western Division with 32 games remaining. Beloit is 2 games back for the wild-card spot and trails the Cougars by 6 games. The Cougars are 9-3 against the Snappers this season, 6-0 at Pohlman Field.

Perez (4-11) allowed an unearned run in the second. He gave up 6 hits and walked two, his final two hitters, with 7 strikeouts. Perez now has logged 122⅓ innings this season and walked just 23, lowest among starting pitchers in the Midwest League. Alex Rivers, who joined the team Tuesday, worked the final 2 ⅓ innings to get a save in his Cougars debut.

The Cougars took the lead in the third when Cheslor Cuthbert delivered an RBI double. He and Brian Fletcher scored on a two-out throwing error. Brett Eibner smashed a 2-run double in the seventh.