The Peoria Chiefs scored two early runs without hitting the ball out of the infield and let their ace go to work in a 2-1 win over the Dayton Dragons Tuesday night to start a six-game roadtrip. With the win, starting pitcher Austin Gomber ties Baseball Hall of Famer Greg Maddux for ninth on the Chiefs single-season wins list with 13. The win moves the Chiefs to 62-50 on the season and 29-15 in the second half.
The game was tied into the third inning as the Chiefs brought home two runs against starter Jake Paulsen. Andrew Sohn led off with a single and moved to second on a groundout. Dayton tried unsuccessfully to get Sohn at third base on a grounder by Oscar Mercado, giving the Chiefs two on with one out. Mercado stole second base before Paul DeJong grounded out. The Chiefs took the lead on an infield single by Alex DeLeon and added a second run on a RBI infield single from Brian O’Keefe.
Dayton cut the Chiefs lead in half in the fourth inning against Gomber. Avain Rachel drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. With two down, Jonathan Reynoso singled to right to get the Dragons on the board before Gomber escaped the inning.
Gomber allowed one run on five hits over seven innings while walking one and striking out nine. Nick Frey allowed a single in his one shutout inning of work. Dixon Llorens allowed a two-out single in the ninth before getting a groundout for his second save of the season.
