Cougars win third straight

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - In each contest of their three-game winning streak, the Kane County Cougars (4-2) have used three-run innings, to power themselves ahead. The Cedar Rapids Kernels (1-5) became the newest victim Tuesday night, despite the Kernels multiple offensive chances.

Jackson Goddard (1-0) and Luis Rijo (0-1) quickly battled into a pitcher's duel, allowing no runs through the first four innings. Rijo was working on five strikeouts in his Midwest League debut, before the Cougars took advantage of some Cedar Rapids mistakes in the fifth inning. To leadoff the inning, Ben Rodriguez botched a grounder off the bat of Jose Herrera to begin the frame. Alex King was then hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Two batters later, David Garza drove both runners in with a double off of the left field wall. Garza scored two batters later on an RBI single from Geraldo Perdomo.

Goddard allowed one run to Cedar Rapids in the bottom half of the fifth, but it was the only offense they sniffed all night.

Both teams' bullpens battled in the latter innings, with righty Tyler Palm tossing three scoreless. Erin Baldwin (1) stranded a runner on in the sixth and seventh innings, before manager Vince Harrison went to a pitching change in the eighth with two runners on. Andy Toelken escaped the threat inducing a groundball off the bat of Andrew Bechtold.

The Cougars finally manufactured a run against Palm in the ninth, when Garza drove in his third run of the night with an RBI groundout.

Cedar Rapids built momentum when they put the tying runners on the bases, but Toelken struck out Yunior Severino to earn his first save of the year.