BANDITS BLAST THEIR WAY TO 9-4 WIN
Quad Cities (3-2, 33-42) was sparked by Morales, who homered for the fourth time in six games, while Castellanos went 2-for-4 with a three-run bomb and a stolen base after being activated from the Disabled List earlier in the day. Burlington (2-3, 31-44) briefly took a lead with a four-run rally in the top of the sixth, but a six-run rally in the bottom half restored the momentum to the home team.
At the outset, the name of the game was starting pitching as Quad Cities' Brett Zawacki and Burlington's Sam Runion matched zeroes early on.
The scoreless tie lasted until the bottom of the fourth, when Morales showed off his power stroke and put the River Bandits on the board. With a man at first and nobody out, the slugging Dominican first baseman blasted his 10th home run of the year over the fence in left-center for a 2-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Zawacki carried a two-hit shutout into the sixth inning before the Bees stung him for a one-out rally. After a bunt-single by Nick Van Stratten, Eric Hosmer smoked a double to the gap in right-center. Another single left men at the corners, putting Jason Taylor in a position to bounce a game-tying hit through the left side. After a pitching change, David Wood yanked a double inside the right field line that scored both runners and catapulted Burlington to a 4-2 advantage.
But the lead did not last long, as Quad Cities sent 10 men to the plate and scored six times during a game-changing rally in the bottom of the sixth.
Runion was chased from the game with one out after issuing his second walk of the inning, and Jon Edwards loaded the bases with a base hit to right against reliever Derrick Saito. Roberto Espinoza promptly cleared the bases, clubbing a three-run double off the base of the wall in left to lift the River Bandits to a 5-4 lead. After a groundout and a walk, Castellanos took a 2-0 pitch and blasted it out of the park to left, capping the six-run rally and stretching the lead to 8-4.
In the eighth, Jarred Bogany singled home Jose Garcia to reach the 9-4 final.
Delgado (5-2) earned the win out of the River Bandits bullpen, bouncing back after allowing a pair of inherited runners to score and tossing 2.2 scoreless frames. He struck out four without issuing a walk and gave up just two hits.
Saito (2-6) suffered the loss out of the bullpen for Burlington, roughed up for four runs on three hits and two walks while recording just two outs.
UP NEXT: July rolls in on Wednesday with a Rhythm City Casino Guaranteed Prize WINS-day and Faith Night. The Quad Cities' first Independence Day party will take place on July 2 at Modern Woodmen Park on a Thirst-day Thursday which will include $2 draft beer and fountain Pepsi products before an extravagant post-game fireworks show. The homestand concludes on July 3 as the City of Davenport's Red, White and Boom fireworks show kicks off at Modern Woodmen Park after the game for another huge Fourth of July party!
ABOUT THE BANDITS: The Quad Cities River Bandits drew more than 103,000 fans in the first half of the season for only the third time in team history. Ticket sales, concessions, merchandise sales, sponsorships and even Kids' Zone revenues are all up over last season, which was one of the team's best in history! Banditwear, mini-plans, and individual game tickets are on sale for the 2009 season by calling (563) 3-BANDIT or heading to www.RiverBandits.com. But hurry - good seats are going fast!