Blake Aita Delivers Five Scoreless Innings in Tough Peoria Loss

Cardinal Chronicle
Minor League Pitcher of the Day
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Blake Aita Delivers Five Scoreless Innings in Tough Peoria Loss

The final score did not do Blake Aita any favors, but the work on the mound deserves its own recognition.

Aita is the Cardinal Chronicle Minor League Pitcher of the Day after giving Peoria five scoreless innings Sunday in the Chiefs’ 9-7, 10-inning loss to Beloit.

The right-hander gave the Chiefs exactly what they needed. He allowed just three hits and one walk while keeping Beloit off the board through five innings. Peoria carried a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but the bullpen could not protect it, and Beloit eventually won the game on Cody Schrier’s three-run homer in the 10th.

That late collapse should not erase Aita’s outing.

Five scoreless innings on the road is winning baseball. It gives a club room to breathe, lets the offense build a lead and puts the bullpen in position to close the door. Aita did his part. Sometimes the game gets away after a starter leaves, but that does not change the value of the start itself.

Peoria’s offense had a loud day with four home runs, but Aita’s steady work was the reason the Chiefs were in position to control the game in the first place.

For a young pitcher, that matters. Not every strong outing ends with a win attached to the name in the box score. Sometimes the real story is found a few innings before the final swing.

Old School Take: Aita pitched well enough to win. Five scoreless innings, three hits and one walk is a day any club should be glad to take. The bullpen lost the lead, but Aita earned the recognition.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.