GRAND CHUTE, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers had opportunities for a memorable comeback against the Quad Cities River Bandits on Wednesday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field. Each time the Rattlers made the situation sticky, the Bandits wiggled through with minimal or no damage. Quad Cities took an early lead and carried it all the way to the last out for a 3-1 victory, a crucial win for them in their push for the playoffs.
The River Bandits (60-61 overall, 30-26 second half) scored twice in the top of the third. Jac Caglianone stepped up with runners at the corners and one out. His high pop down the left field line landed just fair for a double to score the first run of the game. Trevor Werner made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly later in the inning.
The Timber Rattlers (74-47, 32-23) cut into the deficit in the bottom of the fifth inning but left themselves wondering what could have been. Jesus Chirinos and Hedbert Pérez singled to start the inning against reliever Ben Hernandez. The next batter grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to move Chirinos to third base. Felix Valerio singled to center to drive in Chirinos. He would also steal second before Hernandez got the final out of the inning to keep Quad Cities up 2-1.
The first two Bandits hitters reached in the top of the fifth against Wisconsin starting pitcher Stiven Cruz. Reliever Yerlin Rodriguez took over and kept the score where it was at with a pair of strikeouts and a flyout to center.
However, Rodriguez was not as fortunate in the top of the sixth. He hit the lead-off batter and threw a wild pitch to move an insurance run into scoring position. Dustin Dickerson singled to cash in that insurance run for a 3-1 advantage.
Wisconsin threatened with a lead-off single by Luis Lara in the sixth and a lead-off double by Chirinos in the seventh. Both were left stranded.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Rattlers put together one more opportunity. Lara walked with one out and Eduardo Garcia singled to put the tying runs aboard versus reliever Andrew Morones and Jadher Areinamo coming to the plate. Areinamo worked the count full. Then, he hit a sharp grounder to short that was converted into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Ben Sears pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth to close out the Rattlers and pick up his thirteenth save of the season.
Both teams have won a game in this six-game series.
Quad Cities is now briefly 1-1/2 games clear of the Peoria Chiefs for the second half West Division playoff spot. Peoria is at Beloit later tonight. The River Bandits have ten games remaining in the second half.
Game three of the series is Thursday night. Tyler Wehrle (2-2, 4.32) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. The River Bandits have named Ethan Bosacker (6-1, 1.56) as their starter. Game time is 6:40pm CDT.
Thursday night is the first night of Bratoberfest presented by Jones Dairy Farm. There is a Bratoberfest Ticket Offer for those 21 and older that includes a box seat ticket, a Beer Bat, and a free fill up of your new Beer Bat. That ticket package is available here. Plus, the team is wearing their one-of-a-kind Wisconsin Brats jerseys. Those jerseys are available for you to bid on in an online auction here.
The first 1,000 fans to attend this game will receive a Brats baseball cap from 4imprint. The Milwaukee Bucks Deer Crossing Statewide Tour will be stopping by the stadium with appearances by Bango, Pointer, the Rim Rockers, DJ Quadi, and more! Fans who are of legal drinking age may purchase any 16-ounce craft beer for $3 at this game, and all fans can purchase a Cher-Make brat for $3 thanks to Fox River Brewing Company
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