Chiefs Walk Past Quad Cities, Snap Eight-Game Losing Skid

Davenport, IA – Three consecutive ninth inning walks pushed the Chiefs in front for good as they rallied past Quad Cities 6-5 on Friday. With the win, Peoria snapped an eight-game losing skid, one shy of their longest stretch of the year.

After probable starter Logan Gragg was promoted on Friday morning, Edgar Manzo filled in as a spot starter. The right-hander worked a scoreless first before surrendering a tally in the second. With runners on the corners and one out, Juan Carlos Negret lifted a fly ball to deep left to plate Herard Gonzalez and make it 1-0.

The Chiefs tied the game rather quickly on an awkward scoring play. With Noah Mendlinger standing at second, Tommy Jew struck out on a ball in the dirt. As Quad Cities catcher Kale Emshoff fired to first, Mendlinger dashed for third. The throw from first baseman Dillan Shrum went awry and trickled into left field to allow Mendlinger to score.

With the game tied at 1-1 in the fourth, Peoria broke through for their first lead of the night. With the bases loaded and a 3-2 count, Todd Lott doubled to the wall in left center. Carlos Soto, who was on the move with the pitch, scored all the way from first to make it 2-1.

An inning later, an on-base streak was extended in grand fashion. With a runner aboard at first, Tyler Reichenborn mashed a two-run homer to stretch the Chiefs lead to 4-1 and push his on-base streak to 25 games. The 25-game streak is the longest by a Peoria position player since 2019 when Delvin Perez reached 25 in a row.

With a three-run cushion Manzo went back to the mound in the fifth and worked around a second sac fly to get through the inning. The right-hander exited after five and allowed just four hits. He also punched out three.

Leonardo Taveras entered out of the bullpen with a 4-2 lead but quickly surrendered the Chiefs advantage. With a runner aboard, Morgan McCullough hit a two-run blast to right field to even the score, 4-4. For Taveras, it was just the fourth home run he’s allowed this season.

In the bottom of the eighth, it appeared that Quad Cities was poised for a crooked number. After the first two batters reached against Taveras, Gianluca Dalatri entered and promptly uncorked a wild pitch to put two men in scoring position with nobody out in the frame. A third sac fly, this one from Emshoff, put the River Bandits in front 5-4. Dalatri, however, got a fly out and a pop up to get out of the jam.

Trailing 5-4 entering the ninth, the Chiefs sent eight men to the plate as they passed the baton. After a Lott single opened the inning, a fielding error placed Ramon Mendoza at second. A sac bunt then moved runners to second and third for pinch-hitter Jacob Buchberger. In his return from the IL, Buchberger worked a seven-pitch walk to load the bases. Two more walks then followed, to Francisco Hernandez and Reichenborn to give Peoria a 6-5 lead they would not relinquish. Dalatri punched out a pair in the home half of the inning to secure the win. For the Chiefs, it was the first win of the year when they trailed entering the ninth.

Peoria will look to make it two in a row Saturday when they take on Quad Cities in game five of their six-game set. First pitch is set for 6:30.