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Chiefs starter Wilfredo Pereira twirled six shutout innings and held the Whitecaps to just three hits to lead Peoria to a 6-1 win over West Michigan Friday night. In two appearances against the Whitecaps this season, Pereira has tossed 11 scoreless innings, scattered just three hits and whiffed 15 batters.
Two batters into the contest, the Chiefs gave Periera an early lead. After Masyn Winn reached on a throwing error, he swiped second and was promptly driven home on a Jordan Walker single to make it 1-0. Walker reached four times Friday, which included an intentional walk in the seventh inning.
Pereira was on cruise control after he needed just eight pitches to stroll through the first inning. In his six scoreless frames, he did not allow a baserunner to reach past second base.
The Chiefs used the middle innings to create separation. In the sixth, Todd Lott doubled with one out in the inning. Jacob Buchberger then followed with a ground-rule double to stretch the lead to 2-0. An inning later, timely hits from Lott and Pedro Pages extended the advantage to 5-0.
The Whitecaps snapped the shutout in the eighth but were never able to mount a serious rally in the last innings, as Sean Kealey and Enmanuel Solano teamed up to record the final nine outs.
In the top of the ninth, the Whitecaps ran out of pitchers and were forced to use utility infielder Jose King to gather the final three outs. After recording a pair of outs, Buchberger doubled to the gap in left center to create the final margin. Buchberger, who grew up in nearby Montague, Michigan, accumulated three hits on the night and drove in three.
The Chiefs will look to make it back-to-back games today. Michael YaSenka is the scheduled starter for the Chiefs. First pitch is slated for 6:05 CST.
