Star power pays at gate

Aramis Ramirez takes a rip during Friday’s game against the Kane County Cougars at Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva. Ramirez was making a rehab appearance with the Peoria Chiefs. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@kcchronicle.com)

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GENEVA – Aramis Ramirez narrowly missed hitting a home run on the fifth pitch he saw from Cougars starter Mathieu LeBlanc-Poirier on Friday night.

He smacked a double off the right field wall instead, an early exclamation mark on his five-inning rehab stint with the visiting Peoria Chiefs.

“I let it go pretty good a couple of times and I feel pretty good,” Ramirez said. “I don’t have to limit anything. If I have to limit anything I won’t be playing.”

Ramirez wowed an Elfstrom Stadium crowd of 14,872, a record for a Midwest League venue, in his first action since landing on the disabled list May 9 with a dislocated left shoulder. The Chiefs, Class A affiliate of the Cubs, also trotted out another North Sider in the Windy City’s backyard.

Batting leadoff while combating back spasms, center fielder Reed Johnson popped out, singled and was hit by a pitch. He scored one run in the Chiefs’ 7-1 victory while Ramirez – who also walked and lined out – scored twice.

Peoria rallied for five runs in the first three innings, making it easy for some Cougars fans to switch allegiances, if only for one night. St. Charles native Steve Wojciechowski, a 27-year old Menard’s employee who now lives in Plainfield, counted himself among them.

He sported a Ramirez replica jersey in the standing-room only seats behind home plate, smiling as he watched the Cubs’ All-Star third baseman.

“To see someone like this in a minor league park doesn’t happen every day,” Wojciechowski said, “so we figured this would be one of the games to go to.”

Cougars general manager Jeff Sedivy watched as fans began lining up outside the Elfstrom gates at 2 p.m., two hours before gates opened. He walked about the concourse and the parking lot for the bulk of the afternoon and evening making sure fans entered the stadium swiftly and safely.

Sedivy expected a big crowd for the team’s next-best thing to Fourth of July fireworks – this marks the first time the Cougars are away on Independence Day in 12 seasons – but the rehabbing Cubs sweetened the pot.

“Great night,” Sedivy said. “That’s what this place was built for.”

Added Ramirez: “They’ve got a packed house here ... When I was a minor leaguer, we wouldn’t get that many people in the stands.”

The record crowd broke the team’s old standard of 14,492 set Aug. 11, 2007.

Although Johnson might have given spectators a better show – an athletic over-the-shoulder catch by Kane County right fielder Jeremy Barfield forced him to dash quickly back to first base from in between second and third – the outfielder conceded much of the spotlight to Ramirez.

After popping up to Cougars shortstop Dusty Coleman leading off the game, he watched Ramirez approach the plate two batters later with the attentiveness of a fan.

“You look at a guy like him, you look at a guy like Manny Ramirez,” Johnson said. “The way they walk up to the plate with that confidence where you can look at them and they’ve just got that attitude that they’re going to do some damage that night.

“If that attitude can kind of leak into some of the other players on our team, I think that can really help out a lot.”

Both players will travel to Peoria for games today and Sunday before likely rejoining the Cubs in Chicago for Monday’s series opener against the Braves.

Cougars fan Jeff Lange of Elgin figures to see both players there soon – his dad has season tickets at Wrigley Field.

“Once they get back it shouldn’t be so easy, I’m thinking,” Lange said. “You can take all the BP and do all the minor league rehab you want, but nothing comes close to major league pitching.”

Cougars quick take
Big moment: Trailing 2-0, the Cougars loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning. They were only able to score once, however, on Steve Parker’s RBI fielder’s choice. Peoria lefty Jeffrey Beliveau struck out the next two batters to escape.

Sight seen: Oh, those crazy ZOOperstars. The popular sports-themed animal mascots gave Ozzie Cougar somewhat of a break between innings, entertaining the packed house.

Next: Cougars (Haviland, 6-3, 3.64 ERA) at Clinton (Pribanic (6-4, 2.49), 6 p.m., today