Jimenez Pitches Rattlers Past Dayton
GRAND CHUTE, WI – Edwin Jimenez performed an encore on Sunday in Wisconsin’s 3-1 win over the Dayton Dragons at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Jimenez allowed one run on four hits with a walk and five strikeouts over 7-1/3 innings to earn his fourth win of the
GRAND CHUTE, WI – Edwin Jimenez performed an encore on Sunday in Wisconsin’s 3-1 win over the Dayton Dragons at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Jimenez allowed one run on four hits with a walk and five strikeouts over 7-1/3 innings to earn his fourth win of the season.
Click here for the postgame podcast with comments from Joe Ayrault
Wisconsin (21-21 second half, 47-59 overall) grabbed the early lead with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Alex Hall drove in the first run with a double. Joe Gray Jr. made it 2-0 with an RBI grounder. Hendry Mendez had a two-out, RBI single to account for the final run of the inning and to knock Dayton starting pitcher Carson Rudd out of the game.
The Timber Rattlers scored in the first inning in five of the six games of the series with Dayton. Sunday also marked the second time in the series that Wisconsin knocked the Dayton starting pitcher out of the game in the first inning. Kevin Abel was sent to the showers in the first inning in game one of the series on August 8.
Jimenez tossed another Sunday gem at home as the Wisconsin starting pitcher. Two weeks ago, Jimenez took a no-hitter into the eighth inning as he pitched 7-1/3 shutout innings with ten strikeouts and one walk against the Cedar Rapid Kernels for a victory. On this Sunday, he had a shutout and allowed three hits through seven innings before going back for the eighth inning.
Jimenez got the first out of the eighth on a grounder back to the mound before allowing a double to Mat Nelson, who had three of the four hits off Jimenez, to end his day. The crowd of 5,372 showed their appreciation for Jimenez’s efforts with another nice ovation as he walked the first base dugout.
Dayton (23-19, 56-62) got on the scoreboard on an RBI single by Carlos Jorge against reliever Shane Smith, who had stranded the first six runners he had inherited since joining the Rattlers. Smith got the second out of the eighth with a strikeout. Then, with the tying run at the plate, Jorge tried to steal second only to be thrown out by catcher Darrien Miller to end the frame.
Smith went back out for the top of the ninth and got the first two outs before hitting Ruben Ibarra to bring Austin Hendrick to the plate. Hendrick, who had homered off Smith earlier in the series, sent a line drive down the first base line that was speared by Hall for the final out to get Smith his third save of the season and a split in the series with the Dragons.
Brock Wilken led the Wisconsin offense with two hits, a walk, and a run scored.
In the playoff chase, the Peoria Chiefs beat the Beloit Sky Carp 4-3 on Sunday afternoon to stay four games ahead of the Timber Rattlers for the second half playoff spot in the West division. The deficit is really five games because Peoria holds the tiebreaker on the Rattlers. The way the race stands at this point Wisconsin will need to finish ahead of Peoria to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. There are 24 games remaining in the 2023 regular season.
The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday. They return to action on Tuesday with the first game of a series at PG Cares Field against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Nathan Peterson (0-1, 5.91) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Game time is 6:35pm. The radio broadcast on AM1280, WNAM starts with the Community Blood Center Pregame Show at 6:15pm. Fans can listen on the radio, on the First Pitch app, or at this link.