Jones Twirls, Mitchell Homers; Quad Cities Wins Second-Straight in Peoria

Peoria, Illinois – River Bandits’ starter Tanner Jones did not allow an earned run and Blake Mitchell homered for the third time in two games Wednesday, as Quad Cities (51-49, 21-16) defeated the Peoria Chiefs (51-52, 19-18) for the second game in-a-row, 7-2 at Dozer Park.

Just as they did Tuesday, the Bandits took the lead via the long ball. Mitchell’s solo shot off Chiefs’ starter Ty Van Dyke in the first inning marked the catcher’s third of the series and his 20th of the year. The Royals No. five prospect is just the ninth River Bandit in franchise history to hit at least 20 home runs in a single season.

Set up by a Tyriq Kemp error earlier in the frame, Peoria tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the first on Michael Dattalo’s RBI-single. The unearned run proved the lone blemish on the night for Jones, who completed a start of 5.0 or more innings for the 10th time in his last 12 starts and struck out six without issuing a walk.

Kemp made up for his defensive miscue in the very next half inning, putting the River Bandits back in front 2-1 with a sacrifice fly in the second.

Van Dyke rebounded with a scoreless third, but then fell victim to Kemp again in the fourth, as the second baseman smacked a home run, his 10th of the season, for a 3-1 Quad Cities lead.

The River Bandits threatened to score in the fifth and forced a Peoria pitching change after 4.2 innings from Van Dyke. Dylan Driessen helped his teammate escape that frame unscathed before being tagged for four runs of his own in the sixth.

Quad Cities recorded just one hit in the inning, a two-run double off the bat of Hyungchan Um, but took a 7-1 lead thanks to a Drissen throwing error and wild pitch.

Peoria cut its deficit five to with a run in the seventh on a Tommy Molsky balk before Yimi Presinal and LP Langevin each struck out a batter in a scoreless frame of work to close out the Bandits’ victory.

Jones (4-6) earned his first win as a starter for Quad Cities, while Van Dyke (3-4) suffered the loss for the Chiefs, allowing three runs on seven hits, two walks, and four strikeouts.

Left fielder Zion Rose, the Royals’ first pick in the 2026 MLB Draft and shortstop Ben North made their professional debuts for the Bandits, but both failed to record a hit. North reached base in the sixth via walk.

Quad Cities return to Dozer Park for game three of the six-game set tomorrow night and sends Blake Wolters (2-7, 9.45) to the hill opposite Peoria’s Jack Martinez (1-1, 7.20). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.