Cougars lose 5-3 to Peoria

PEORIA - The Peoria Chiefs (1-0, 34-35) grabbed 5 runs off of the Kane County Cougars (0-1, 36-33) in the first two innings and cruised to 5-3 victory at Dozer Park on Thursday.

Just hours after Taiwanese right-hander Wei-Chieh Huang (3-1) received word he had been named to the World Team's roster of the Futures Game, the pitcher took the mound to begin the second half of the 2015 regular season. Unfortunately Peoria quickly pounced on the starter, piecing together a 4-run opening frame. Huang served up more runs in the first inning than he did his entire previous five ballgames. Two batters after Danny Diekroeger's RBI single, Nick Thompson lifted a 3-run home run over the right field wall.

Huang's wild pitch in the second put the Cougars in a 5-0 hole, but was also the starting pitcher's last mistake of the game. He went on to retire the next 11 batters that he faced, before he was pulled after the fifth inning.

The Cougars scratched across runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings, but had plenty of more chances to do damage. Colin Bray's 2-out RBI single provided the Cougars' first run, while Cody Regis grounded out to score Joe Munoz an inning later. Chuck Taylor made it home on a wild pitch to bring the Cougars within 2 runs, but they did not see the scoreboard again. The Cougars stranded 9 base runners.

Solid relief came out of the Cougars' bullpen as Nick Baker tossed two scoreless frames and Jose Martinez threw a scoreless eighth in his Cougar debut.

Jack Flaherty (3-1) picked up the win with five innings of 3-run baseball. Blake McKnight earned a hold with three scoreless relief innings. Kyle Grana notched his eighth save stranding a runner in the ninth.

The Cougars continue their series at Dozer Park on Friday. Ryan Doran will make his Cougar debut against Peoria's Matt Pearce (3-7, 3.98). First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.