Mateo, Rhee lead Chiefs to victory

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Mateo, Rhee lead Chiefs to victory
04/14/2008 11:02 PM ET
By Danny Wild

A dominating performance on the mound was exactly what the Peoria Chiefs needed to put a rough weekend behind them.
Chiefs starter Dae-Eun Rhee held the West Michigan Whitecaps to three hits over six shutout innings before Marcos Mateo struck out eight of the 10 batters he faced for his first save in Peoria's 4-0 home win.
The four-hit shutout followed three straight losses to Kane County over the weekend, the final coming late Sunday in a five-hour, 17-inning marathon.
Frustration began to boil up throughout the weekend. Peoria took a 10-3 loss Friday and endured a rainout Saturday before manager Ryne Sandberg lost his cool and was ejected in the second half of Sunday's doubleheader.
But Monday, Rhee (3-0) took the mound and lowered his ERA to 0.56 with a nearly flawless performance. The South Korean right-hander struck out three and walked three for his third straight win.
Mateo dominated in his three innings of work. The 23-year-old Dominican, four days shy of his birthday, fanned two of the three batters he faced in the seventh and struck out the side in the final two frames. The former Reds farmhand was a Midwest League All-Star last season, when he struck out 63 batters in 72 innings for Class A Dayton.
The righty had allowed an earned run in two of his previous three appearances this season. He has collected 14 strikeouts and allowed three hits allowed in eight frames.
Peoria hadn't scored a run in 15 consecutive innings before Cliff Anderson singled home Jovan Rosa in the third for a 1-0 lead. Nate Samson lined an RBI double in the fifth, Kyler Burke homered to lead off the seventh and Anderson scored on a sacrifice bunt from Samson one out later for a four-run advantage.
Burke went 3-for-3 and scored twice to raise his average to .267.
West Michigan starter Ramon Garcia (1-2) was hit up for four runs -- three earned -- on nine hits and a walk in 6 1/3 innings. The 23-year-old southpaw struck out eight.
Chris Carlson extended his hitting streak to four games with a single and was one of six Whitecaps to reach base.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.