Rattlers Rally to Beat Bees 9-2
GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers scored five runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth to defeat the Burlington Bees 9-2 Thursday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The win tightened a close pennant race heading into the final 30 games of the season. The win was the fourth straight for Wisconsin.
Wisconsin (55-55 overall, 21-19 second half) took the early advantage. Troy Stokes, Jr. doubled with one out in the bottom of the first inning and went to third on a single by Isan Diaz. Lucas Erceg grounded into a force play at second and Stokes scored to give the Rattlers a 1-0 lead.
The Bees (53-57, 21-19) came back to tie the game in the top of the fourth. Jordan Serena walked with one out. Brendon Sanger followed with a triple to right to knock in Serena.
Burlington took the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Wisconsin reliever Alex Farina got the first two outs, but gave up a single, a walk, and an infield single to load the bases. A wild pitch by Farina allowed the go-ahead run to score.
Bees starting pitcher Jaime Barria kept the Timber Rattlers in check. He allowed nothing after the first inning and struck out four without a walk. He was in line for his ninth win of the season when he left after five innings. It was not to be.
Wisconsin started their big seventh inning with a single by Jonathan Oquendo. Luis Aviles followed with a walk against Burlington reliever Andrew Vinson. Alan Sharkey was next and he was asked to sacrifice the runners. Sharkey got the bunt down, but the throw to first was wild to allow Oquendo to score the tying run. Aviles wound up on third and Sharkey was on second. Vinson got the first out with a strikeout out before leaving in favor of lefty reliever Tyler Watson.
Left-handed Trent Clark drew a walk against Watson to load the bases. Then, Stokes put the Rattlers up 3-2 with a sacrifice fly to center. The left-handed Diaz was next and he lined a double inside the line in right to plate both runners and the Rattlers were up 5-2. Later in the inning, Diaz scored on a wild pitch for a 6-2 advantage.
Scott Grist tossed three scoreless innings out of the Wisconsin bullpen. He allowed three hits, hit a batter, and struck out three to put himself in line for his sixth win.
The Timber Rattlers offense added three more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Max McDowell reached on an error to start the inning. He would score after Oquendo singled and got caught in a rundown between first and second. Aviles followed with a single and Sharkey tripled in Aviles. Clark knocked in the final run of the game with a two-out single.
Nate Griep closed out the Bees with a 1-2-3 top of the ninth inning.
Wisconsin's win over the Bees - coupled with Quad Cities' 4-3 win at Peoria in 13 innings - means that the Rattlers, Burlington, and Quad Cities are in a three-way tie for the second half Western Division Wild Card. All three teams are 21-19 with thirty games left in the season.
The final game of the series is scheduled for Friday night. Jordan Yamamoto (5-7, 4.37) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Burlington has named Jesus Castillo as their starter. Castillo will make his Midwest League debut on Friday. Game time is 7:05pm.
Big Papi is a Big Bobblehead! The first 1,000 fans to attend Friday's game will receive a David Ortiz bobblehead from Country Financial to celebrate the former Rattlers 500thMajor League home run. Stop by the Special Memories Petting Zoo display outside the stadium on the way into the ballpark.
Arty's Old Fashioned drinks will be available to fans 21 and over for $3 as part of Arty's Old Fashioned Friday presented by WIXX. Children 14 and under may participate in Kids Run the Bases thanks to Molina Healthcare after the postgame FOX 11 fireworks display. The Cardigan Brothers will perform a concert in the Fox Communities Credit Union Fox Club after the fireworks, too.
If you can't make it out to the ballpark, there are several ways to catch the action. MyNEW 32's Sports Showdown will televise the game starting at 7:00pm. The radio broadcast is on 1280 AM, WNAM starting with the pregame show at 6:45pm. The game is also available on the internet through IHeartRadio, TuneIn, and MiLB.TV.