Crimmel Criminally Good As Slammers Blank Grizzlies

Kevin Crimmel threw six shutout innings and struck out a franchise record 10 batters as the Joliet Slammers blanked the Gateway Grizzlies by a score of 5-0 Thursday night.

With the win the Slammers sweep the season series from the Grizzlies and maintain their 4.5 game lead in the East Division.

Crimmel set the tone for his great performance in the first inning. The first two batters reached but Crimmel struck out the side against the middle of the order to get out of the jam.

He allowed two more to reach in the second but struck out the final two hitters to survive that inning unscathed as well. A lead-off walk in the third was no problem as he struck out another two Grizzlies to run his total to seven through three frames.

After striking out one more in the fourth, the Slammers finally provided some run support. Hector Pellot was hit by a pitch to start the frame. Two outs later, back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Trey Manz. The catcher came up huge as he singled through the right side to score two runs and give Joliet a 2-0 lead.

Meanwhile Crimmel continued to pile up the strike outs as he struck out two more in the fifth, including Charlie Lisk to leave a runner stranded in scoring position. 

A Josh Flores two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth extended the Slammers lead to 4-0.

Crimmel did not have a single 1-2-3 inning but he worked around a two-out single in the sixth to complete his night unscathed. He went six innings, giving up five hits, no runs, walking three, and striking out 10. It took him 104 pitches so manager Bart Zeller went to Chris Pack in the seventh. Pack had no trouble as he worked a 1-2-3 inning. 

Chuck Lukanen finished off the Slammers fourth shutout of the season.