River Bandits GameDay for April 19

River Bandits GameDay
Thursday, April 19, 2018 l Game #9
Modern Woodmen Park l Davenport, Iowa l 6:35 p.m.
 Radio: 1170 AM K-BOB
Peoria Chiefs (5-5) at Quad Cities River Bandits (2-6)
RHP Jake Walsh (1-0, 2.61) vs. LHP Parker Mushinski (0-0, 0.00)

Click Here for the full game notes.
Today's Game: The Quad Cities River Bandits (affiliate of the Houston Astros) battle the Peoria Chiefs (affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) at Modern Woodmen Park in the finale of a three-game series. The second game was postponed due to wintry weather. River Bandits-Chiefs Season Series in 2018: Overall: Chiefs 1, River Bandits 0. Modern Woodmen Park: Chiefs 1, River Bandits 0
Last Time Out: The River Bandits pitching staff cruised through seven shutout innings on Tuesday night before falling apart in the eighth on the way to a 6-2 loss at the hands of the Peoria Chiefs. A double steal in the first inning gave the Bandits an early 1-0 lead. That advantage doubled when Adrian Tovalin was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the third inning. Entering the eighth with a 2-0 lead still intact, the Chiefs, who had one hit up until that point, exploded for six runs on four hits. The River Bandits committed three errors in the inning as half of the run were unearned. The Bandits could not muster any sort of rally and dropped the opener of the set 6-2.
Mother Nature in the Midwest: The River Bandits have seen five of their first 13 games postponed due to weather. As a result, they have five doubleheaders scheduled before the end of May. They will play two games in Burlington on both Saturday and Sunday, a twin bill at home against Cedar Rapids on April 28, a day/night doubleheader at Cedar Rapids on May 16, and a doubleheader against Peoria in late May on a date to be announced. The Bandits will play 13 games in the next 10 days and 30 games in the next 28 days.
Somethings Gotta Give: This series features a pair of teams that have been on the other side of the scale from one another in both pitching and hitting so far in 2018. Quad Cities has the lowest team batting average in the Midwest League at .184, but has a pitching staff ranked second in the circuit with a miniscule 2.14 earned run average. Peoria, on the other hand, has the best batting average in the league at .292, but a 5.34 team ERA that is 14th out of 16 clubs. In game one, the pitching staff of the River Bandits controlled the game early, but Peoria eventually busted through with one big inning to earn the win. The bats of the Bandits mustered only five hits and both runs scored without a ball being put in play.
Starting Off on the Right Foot: The work of the starting pitchers early in the 2018 season has been outstanding. Using a seven-man rotation that features tandem starts mixed in with solo outings, the first pitcher to take the mound in a game has always been up to the challenge. Through eight games, the starting pitchers for the River Bandits have posted a 1.60 earned run average and recorded 43 strikeouts against just 18 walks. The most runs allowed by a starter this season is two.
Low-Scoring Losses: In their six losses this season the River Bandits have mustered a combined eight runs. They have been shutout on two occasions this year and held to one run another time. In the two wins, they have scored 16 runs. The River Bandits have note collected more than six hits in a game since April 9.