Quad Cities Shut Out by Rattlers on Opening Night

Davenport, Iowa – Quad Cities’ pitching combined for 14 strikeouts in their season-opener against Wisconsin, however the River Bandits’ bats failed to break into the run column, as the Timber Rattlers shut out Quad Cities 6-0 on Tuesday night at Modern Woodmen Park.

River Bandits’ starter and Royals’ No. 4 prospect (MLB Pipeline) David Shields racked up five of his team’s total over just 2.0 innings of work, but a pair of two-out walks to Josiah Ragsdale and Juan Baez in the second ultimately led to a Wisconsin lead, when Braylon Payne and Luis Pena notched back-to-back RBI-singles to give the Rattlers a 2-0 lead.

Kamden Edge pitched a perfect third inning in relief of Shields and struck out the side in his High-A debut, before turning the ball over to Mason Miller. The left-hander completed a scoreless effort in the fourth and in fifth, but saw Wisconsin add to the lead in the sixth after Eric Bitonti plated Marcos Dingus’s leadoff single with an RBI-single. Wisconsin then added another run on an error by Quad Cities’ first baseman Jose Cerice that pushed the Rattlers ahead 4-0.

Quad Cities hitters put at least one man on base in all but two innings Tuesday, including five men into scoring position within the game’s first five frames, but finished the night 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and combined for 17 strikeouts—seven of which belonged to Wisconsin starter Yorman Galindez (2.0 IP, 4 SO) and Bjorn Johnson (1.0 IP, 3 SO).

Braylon Owens highlighted the Rattlers’ effort on the mound, taking over in the fourth inning and completing 4.1-scoreless innings in his High-A debut, including a game-high eight strikeouts.

The Timber Rattlers claimed their 6-0 advantage in the seventh against Nick Conte, adding a pair of runs on an RBI-single off the bat of Andrew Fischer.

River Bandits’ right-hander L.P. Langevin struck out the side in a one-two-three top of the ninth, but it was Jesus Flores closing out the win on the mound for Wisconsin, not allowing a hit while striking out three over 1.2 innings to complete the shutout effort.

Royals’ No. 17 prospect, Asbel Gonzalez, was a bright spot at the plate for Quad Cities, recording a pair of singles and stealing a pair of bases in his High-A debut.

Owens (1-0) earned the win in the series-opener, while Shields (0-1) was saddled with the loss in his High-A debut.

The River Bandits return to Modern Woodmen Park for game two of the six-game set tomorrow night and are slated to send left-hander Justin Lamkin (0-0, 0.00) to the mound for his first professional start opposite Timber Rattlers’ right-hander Jacob Woodward (0-0, 0.00). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.