Torrez, Cougars fall 5-2

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — In his Midwest League debut, Daury Torrez was effective for the Kane County Cougars but made one mistake that cost him and the club in a 5-2 loss to the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Thursday night at Perfect Game Field. Torrez (0-1) coughed up a run in the bottom of the second after blazing through a perfect first inning.

Travis Harrison singled with one out before moving to third on a well-executed hit-and-run off the bat of Bo Altobelli. Joel Licon’s sacrifice fly brought home Harrison to put Cedar Rapids (85-49, 45-21) on top.

Two innings later, the Kernels added to their advantage against Torrez. Tyler Grimes singled and stole second before Mike Gonzales lofted a deep flyball that carried out over the fence in left-center field for a 2-run homer to give Cedar Rapids a 3-0 cushion.

Brett Lee (8-4) didn’t need much support from his offense. Lee limited the Cougars (53-78, 23-42) to just 3 singles over his 6 innings of work while walking just one and fanning five.

Hudson Boyd kept the Cougars off the board in the seventh and the eighth before Madison Boer allowed 2 runs in the ninth.

Jeimer Candelario singled and came home on a Rock Shoulders double to deep right. Shoulders scored on a basehit from Marco Hernandez.

Cedar Rapids had added to its lead by then as the Kernels grabbed a pair in the bottom of the seventh against Brian Smith with Michael Quesada doubling home a run and scoring on a single from Jonathan Murphy.

The Cougars and Kernels finish their three-game series Friday at Perfect Game Field at 6:35 p.m. Right-hander Starling Peralta (2-2) will start for the Cougars in their final road game of the year against lefty Josue Montanez (6-5).

The Cougars return to Fifth Third Bank Ballpark on Saturday to take on the Peoria Chiefs at 6:30 p.m.