Quad Cities comes from behind to win fifth straight, 5-3 against Chiefs
After Quad Cities third baseman Neal Pritchard reached on an infield single to open the eighth, Matt Williams tripled off the center field fence to tie the game, 3-3. Nick Martini walked to put men on the corners for Quad Cities. Colin Walsh lined a single up the middle to score Williams from third, and collect his league-leading 57th RBI. Following the go-ahead single, Rosario (6-6) was pulled in favor of reliever Luis Liria, who worked out of the inning after Martini was caught off third base by a Sergio Burruel snap throw and first baseman David Medina was retired on a pop-up to end the frame.
Rosario tied a season-high for Peoria, working 7 1/3 innings. The right-hander allowed four earned runs on six hits, while striking out three and walking two.
The River Bandits (1-0 second half, 36-34 overall) broke onto the hit column in the fourth inning against Rosario, plating two runs. After Walsh drew a two-out walk, Anthony Garcia hit his 21st double of the season to give Quad Cities runners on the corners and two away. Medina then added a double of his own, scoring both Walsh and Garcia to give the River Bandits a 2-0 lead.
Peoria (0-1, 35-35) answered back in the bottom of the inning with two runs, courtesy of Paul Hoilman's seventh home run of the season that scored Dustin Geiger, who doubled in the preceding at-bat off Quad Cities right-hander Sam Gaviglio. Yasiel Balaguert then drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI double to right field that scored Javier Baez, who singled and stole second earlier in the previous at-bat.
Gaviglio set a season-high with nine strikeouts - six of which came in his first time through the Peoria lineup. The right-hander went five innings and allowed five hits, including the Hoilman home run, and did not walk a batter.
The Quad Cities bullpen pitched four shutout innings, allowing no hits and just one walk in relief of Gaviglio. Travis Miller (3-0) picked up the win, Danny Miranda and Ethan Cole each earned a hold and Heath Wyatt closed the game out for his team-leading tenth save of the year. Luis Mateo hit a solo shot, his eighth home run of the season, in the ninth inning off Liria for the final River Bandits' run. This five-game winning streak ties the season-high for Quad Cities, which occurred from April 15-19.
Quad Cities and Peoria continue their series Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. Left-hander Hector Hernandez (4-4) will start for the River Bandits and right-hander Michael Jensen (7-3) is scheduled to start for Peoria.
UP NEXT: Hacksaw Jim Duggan will be at Modern Woodmen Park for Pro Wrestling Night with the River Bandits Thursday, June 28, when the River Bandits host the Cedar Rapids Kernels at 7 p.m. Single-game tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office at Modern Woodmen Park, by phone at (563) 3-BANDIT and online at www.riverbandits.com. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $50. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: After four years of ballpark improvements, the River Bandits and the City of Davenport last summer unveiled some of the most impressive enhancements to Modern Woodmen Park yet. A brand new, state of the art, high definition 20' x 35' video board went live on June 7, and the newly enclosed glass Sky Deck on the suite level of Modern Woodmen Park was completed last August. Those improvements, in addition to new flood protection, a new front plaza, and a new parking lot directly across the street from the ballpark, are quickly making Modern Woodmen Park one of the premier facilities in all of Minor League Baseball. More improvements are scheduled for this coming season.