MiLB Pitcher of the Day: Leonel Sequera
The Cardinal Chronicle
Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day: Leonel Sequera Limits Damage in Peoria Rout
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
On a night when the Peoria offense stole the headlines, Leonel Sequera still did enough on the mound to earn his share of the spotlight.
Sequera is the Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day after working 3.2 innings in Peoria’s 16-3 win over West Michigan at Dozer Park.
His final line:
3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
That line tells two stories.
The first one is encouraging. Sequera did not allow an earned run, gave up only two hits, struck out five and helped keep West Michigan from turning early traffic into a bigger problem.
The second one is the development piece. The four walks are still there, and that is the part he will need to clean up. At High-A, free passes can turn into trouble quickly, especially when a pitcher is working with traffic on the bases.
But Tuesday night, Sequera competed through it.
West Michigan scored twice in the first inning, but both runs were unearned. Instead of letting the game get sideways, Sequera settled in, missed bats, and gave the Chiefs a chance to take control. Peoria answered with two runs in the bottom of the first, then blew the game open with a six-run third.
By the time Sequera left the game, the Chiefs had seized momentum, and the offense was getting ready to turn the night into a full-scale demolition.
He threw 66 pitches, 40 for strikes, faced 17 batters, and produced five strikeouts. The strikeout total matters because it shows the stuff was good enough to miss bats even when the command was not perfect.
That is often the story with developing arms. You are looking for the flashes while waiting for the polish. Sequera gave Peoria both enough swing-and-miss and enough damage control to build a win around.
The bullpen was not spotless from a command standpoint either, as Peoria pitchers combined to walk 10 batters. But the staff held West Michigan to three runs, only one earned, and the Chiefs’ offense handled the rest.
Of course, the bats made it easier. Jack Gurevitch hit three home runs. Tai Peete hit two more. Peoria scored 16 runs on 17 hits. That kind of support can make any pitcher breathe a little easier.
Still, Sequera’s outing should not get lost in the fireworks.
He gave Peoria nearly four innings without an earned run, limited hits, struck out five, and kept the game pointed in the right direction until the offense took over.
It was not perfect.
It was effective.
And on Tuesday night, that was enough.
Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day:
Leonel Sequera, RHP, Peoria Chiefs
Final Line: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Leonel Sequera, RHP, Peoria Chiefs | MiLB