Game One: Justin Bullock did something no Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitcher has done in almost four years and he got plenty of offensive support in a 6-2 win over the Peoria Chiefs at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium on Sunday afternoon in game one of a doubleheader. The right-hander out of North Carolina tossed a complete game to earn his third win of the season.
Brady Whalen started the scoring in game one for the Chiefs with a lead-off home run to open the top of the second inning. Whalen has hit six of his nine home runs this season against the Timber Rattlers. Bullock retired the next nine batters in a row.
Wisconsin responded with a two-out rally in the bottom of the second. Chad McClanahan drew a walk and Nick Kahle singled to get McClanahan to third and extend the inning. Yeison Coca lined a single to left to score McClanahan with the tying run.
The Timber Rattlers took the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Garrett Mitchell reached on an infield single with one out. He stole second and wound up at third on the same play after the ball got away from the catcher. Thomas Dillard, the Rattlers leader in RBI, added another to his total with a single to right to score Mitchell for the 2-1 lead.
Korry Howell padded the Wisconsin lead with a long, two-run home run to center in the bottom of the fourth inning. The homer was Howell’s eighth of the season.
Leandro Cedeno cut into the lead in the top of the fourth. Chandler Redmond started the inning with a single. Cedeno followed with a double to left to drive in Redmond. That left the Chiefs with a runner at second with no outs. Bullock stranded Cedeno at second by retiring the next three batters and carried that over to set down the Chiefs in order in the top of the sixth.
Wisconsin added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. LG Castillo drove in a pair of runs with a two-out single for the 6-2 advantage.
Bullock went back out for the top of the seventh inning and allowed a single to Whalen to start the inning. He retired the next hitter and closed out the complete game by getting Cedeno to ground into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play. Bullock used just 76 pitches, walked none, and struck out two in the game. He was 2-0 in two starts against the Chiefs in this series.
Game Two: The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers completed the doubleheader sweep of the Peoria Chiefs on Sunday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium with a 6-5 victory. Thomas Dillard homered twice in the game, including a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth to break a 4-4 tie.
Peoria (19-28) jumped to an early lead when Jhon Torres hit a home run on the second pitch of the game. The Chiefs added to their edge with a two-out, RBI single by Zade Richardson.
Wisconsin (21-25) tied the game in the bottom of the first inning when Dillard hit a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the first.
The Chiefs went back in front in the top of the second inning with a two-out, two-run home run by Malcom Nunez.
The Timber Rattlers tied the game again in the bottom of the third inning. David Hamilton singled to start the inning. Korry Howell was next and he blasted a triple high off the wall in center to score Hamilton. Dillard was at the plate with one out, Howell at third, and the Peoria infielders playing in to cut down the run at the plate. Dillard sent a grounder to second baseman Chandler Redmond, who came home with the throw. Howell got a great jump on contact, the throw was a bit off target, and Howell was able to slide home ahead of the tag to score the tying run.
In the top of the fifth inning, Nunez reached on an error with one out. Whalen was next and hit a line drive that hit a foot from the top of the wall in right field. Carlos Rodríguez got the ball in quickly to second baseman Hayden Cantrelle, the cutoff man in short right. Cantrelle took a brief look to second before firing a one-hop strike to the plate. Dillard fielded the ball and tagged Nunez, who did not slide in an attempt to avoid the tag.
The defense wasn’t done in the inning. Garrett Mitchell made a diving catch on a fly ball to shallow center off the bat of Chandler Redmond. If the ball dropped in for a hit, Whalen would have scored the go-ahead run.
Dillard gave Wisconsin the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with a lead-off home run against Leonardo Taveras. The drive cleared the fence in right-center and traveled 438 feet for a 5-4 lead. Dillard had four RBI in the nightcap and five RBI total in the doubleheader on Sunday.
Rodríguez and Cantrelle didn’t just save a run in the game. They also teamed up to add an insurance run in the sixth. Cantrelle drew a four-pitch walk against Taveras. Rodríguez knocked in Cantrelle with an RBI triple to right against Paul Schwendel, the fourth Peoria pitcher of the game, and Wisconsin was up 6-4.
Carlos Luna, who entered the game for Wisconsin in the fourth inning, got the first two outs in the top of the seventh and had two strikes on Torres before Torres doubled. Nunez had a 3-2 count against him and singled home Torres to make it a one-run game.
Taylor Floyd was summoned from the Wisconsin bullpen to face Whalen and the Wisconsin right-hander got Whalen to strikeout to end the game for his fourth save of the season and give the Rattlers the doubleheader sweep.
Wisconsin and Peoria have split the eighteen games they have played against each other this season. They still have six games left in the season series.
The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday. They return to action on Tuesday to start a series at Pohlman Field against the Beloit Snappers. Justin Jarvis (0-5, 6.62) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Zach McCambley (2-2, 2.88) has been named the starting pitcher for the Snappers. Game time is 6:35pm.
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