GRAND CHUTE, WI – This win was worth the wait. The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and Fort Wayne TinCaps waited out a rain delay of nearly an hour at Neuroscience Group Field on Tuesday night. The Timber Rattlers let a 2-0 lead get away from them, but a pair of two-out rallies late in the game with Gregory Barrios providing the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth sent the Rattlers to a 4-3 win and back into first place in the West Division.
Dylan O’Rae walked to open the Wisconsin first inning. He stole second, his 23rd steal of the season. Fort Wayne starting pitcher Enmanuel Pinales threw a wild pitch to move O’Rae to third with no outs. Pinales threw another wild pitch with one out to allow O’Rae to score for a 1-0 lead.
The Rattlers (29-17) added to their lead in the third inning. Jadher Areinamo drew a walk with two outs and stole second. Luke Adams drove in Areinamo with a single to right for a 2-0 advantage.
Fort Wayne (21-25) struggled through the first four innings against Wisconsin starter Patricio Aquino. The right-hander allowed one hit and walked one with three strikeouts while tossing just 46 pitches in the first four frames. That changed in the top of the fifth.
The first two TinCaps singled. Then, Tyler Robertson bunted to reach on a third straight single to load the bases. Aquino hit the next batter to force in a run. Nerwilian Cedeño was down 0-2 in the count before he lined a double down the line in right to score two runs and put Fort Wayne up 3-2.
Craig Yoho relieved Aquino at that point and kept the TinCaps from scoring any additional runs. Yoho got a strikeout for the first out but walked the next batter to reload the bases. The right-handed reliever escaped the jam with a force play at the plate and a flyout to right.
Reliever Joan Gonzalez took over for the TinCaps in the bottom of the fifth inning and shut down the Rattlers offense. He walked one, allowed one hit, and struck out four over three scoreless innings.
Mark Manfredi, Wisconsin’s third pitcher, worked in and out of trouble over four innings. He walked four and allowed two hits, but a pair of Fort Wayne base runners were caught stealing and Manfredi had six strikeouts to keep the Rattlers close.
Mitch Miller took over for Gonzalez in the bottom of the eighth inning to protect the TinCaps one-run lead. Miller retired the first two Rattlers he faced before walking Adams on a 3-2 pitch. Matt Wood fell behind 0-2 before he lined a double off the top of the wall in right field to drive in Adams with the tying run.
In the bottom of the ninth, Miller walked Jesús Chirinos on four straight pitches with one out. Jheremy Vargas pinch ran for Chirinos and was representing the tying run.
Miller got the second out and thought he had sent the game to extra innings with a strikeout of O’Rae. The pitch was called a ball and O’Rae eventually walked to get Vargas into scoring position.
Barrios was 0-for-4 in the game heading into his at bat in the ninth. Miller got ahead of Barrios with two quick strikes. Then, Barrios blooped a ball into right-center field. Homer Bush Jr raced in from center, but the ball dropped in to allow Vargas to race home with the winning run before joining his teammates in chasing down Barrios to celebrate the victory.
Wisconsin entered Tuesday’s game one-half game behind the Cedar Rapids Kernels in the first-half West Division playoff race. The Kernels lost 8-2 at home to the Lake County Captains on Tuesday. Cedar Rapids dropped their record to 28-17 with the Rattlers moving one-half game up on Cedar Rapids. There are twenty games remaining in the first half of the season.
Game two of the series is Wednesday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field. Tate Kuehner (2-1, 2,75) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Jagger Haynes (1-3, 5.67) is set to start for the TinCaps. Game time is 12:10pm.
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