Snappers' Pino baffles Chiefs

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Snappers' Pino baffles Chiefs
09/07/2006 2:04 AM ET
By Christopher Heine / Special to MLB.com

Yohan Pino pitched a four-hitter Wednesday night as the Beloit Snappers blanked the Peoria Chiefs, 2-0, in the opener of their best-of-3 Midwest League playoff series.
Pino (1-0) struck out six, hit one batter and did not issue a walk. The 22-year-old right-hander, who went 14-2 with a 1.91 ERA in the regular season, faced the minimum through four innings and threw only 99 pitches.
The Snappers broke a scoreless tie in the sixth when William Luque led off with a single and scored on Eli Tintor's two-out home run.
"I was guessing fastball and got him," said Tintor, who hit a walk-off homer to beat Peoria on Sept. 2. "Right now, everyone has that playoff attitude and I was just trying to do my best like everyone else."
The blast was all Pino needed.
"Yohan was hitting his spots all night," said Tintor, a 21-year-old right-fielder. "He was unbelievable. The innings were 1-2-3, next batter, 1-2-3, next batter, 1-2-3, and then we'd be back in the dugout trying to get our bats going. Unfortunately, most of the time (his quick work) didn't do us a lot of good on offense because of (Peoria's) pitching."
Chiefs starter Mitch Atkins (0-1) gave up two runs on four hits over six innings, striking out three and walking two. The 20-year-old right-hander, who went 13-4 with a 2.41 ERA during the season, stranded three runners in scoring position before serving up the decisive homer.
Atkins had held Tintor to a double and a single in 10 at-bats this season before watching a 3-1 pitch get cranked over the left-field wall.
"It was huge for us to get this win because you want to jump out and get the early lead in a short series," said Tintor. "We just have to keep on going and keep on winning."
Peoria reliever Justin Rayborn fanned one and walked one over two scoreless frames.
The series continues in Peoria on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET. Game 3, if necessary, also will be at O'Brien Field on Friday at 8:30 p.m.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.