Quad Cities Shut Out; Drops Fourth-Straight
Cedar Rapids, Iowa – The Quad Cities River Bandits mustered just three hits and were shut out for the third time this season, as they fell to the Cedar Rapids Kernels 3-0 on Wednesday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The loss marks the River Bandits’ fourth in-a-row, the club’s longest
Cedar Rapids, Iowa – The Quad Cities River Bandits mustered just three hits and were shut out for the third time this season, as they fell to the Cedar Rapids Kernels 3-0 on Wednesday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The loss marks the River Bandits’ fourth in-a-row, the club’s longest losing streak of the season.
Despite the losing effort, Quad Cities’ right-hander and Royals No. 3 prospect (MLB Pipeline) Ben Kudrna tossed his season’s third quality. The former second-round draft pick struck out five, but gave up all three Kernels runs, with Misael Urbina singling in a pair in the third and Luke Keaschall driving in Dillon Tatum with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly.
With Kudrna working 6.0 innings, A.J. Block was the only arm needed out of Brooks Conrad’s bullpen. The southpaw kept Quad Cities’ deficit at three over the late innings, tossing a perfect seventh and eighth, while collecting three strikeouts.
Cedar Rapids’ starter Andrew Morris baffled the Bandits’ bats from the get-go, retiring 10-straight to open the game before allowing a fourth-inning single to Carson Roccaforte. The knock would be the only base runner allowed in the game by Morris and Quad Cities’ lone until the eighth inning.
Morris tossed a career-high 7.0 innings and struck out six before Ricardo Velez took over in the eighth. After Trevor Werner struck out to open the frame, Jared Dickey and Dustin Dickerson reached on a double and a walk respectively to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs, but Velez would strike out both Omar Hernandez and Deivis Nadal to end the threat.
Velez worked around a Jack Pineda single in the ninth with the help of his fourth and final strikeout to seal the 3-0 Bandits’ loss and his league-leading sixth save of the season.
Quad Cities will look to snap its skid in game three of the six-game series tomorrow night behind starter Steven Zobac (2-1, 3.21). The right-hander will work opposite Cedar Rapids’ Darren Bowen (2-2, 4.43). First pitch at Veterans Memorial Stadium is set for 6:35 p.m.