Wisconsin Beats Bandits 6-3 to Win Series
DAVENPORT, IA – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers got six scoreless innings from Edwin Jimenez and two homers from Ramόn Rodríguez to beat the Quad Cities River Bandits 6-3 on Sunday afternoon at Modern Woodmen Park. The win allows the Timber Rattlers to come home from their six-game trip to Iowa
DAVENPORT, IA – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers got six scoreless innings from Edwin Jimenez and two homers from Ramόn Rodríguez to beat the Quad Cities River Bandits 6-3 on Sunday afternoon at Modern Woodmen Park. The win allows the Timber Rattlers to come home from their six-game trip to Iowa in first place in the West Division of the Midwest League.
Click here for the scoring plays
Quad Cities (19-14) had the first scoring opportunity in the game. Dustin Dickerson reached on an error by shortstop Jadher Areinamo with one out in the bottom of the second. The error was the first for Wisconsin since May 1 and snapped a streak of nine consecutive errorless games. Justin Johnson followed with a single and a wild pitch by Jiminez to put runners at second and third.
Areinamo redeemed himself by making a tough pick with the infield on a grounder to him off the bat of Omar Hernandez. Dickerson held at third, but Johnson committed too far to third base. The out was eventually recorded as Dickerson was retired after a brief rundown between third and home. Jimenez got the final out of the inning with a strikeout to keep the game scoreless.
Wisconsin (21-12) jumped to the lead with three runs in the top of the third. Terence Doston beat out an infield single with one out. Rodríguez followed with a long home run to left and the Rattlers were up 2-0. The homer was the first of the season for Rodríguez.
Luis Lara and Dylan O’Rae followed with singles to put runners on the corners. A passed ball allowed Lara to score for the 3-0 lead.
The Timber Rattlers added to their lead in the sixth inning with the longball. Eduarqui Fernández homered to start the inning. Rodríguez followed one out later with his second homer of the game for a 5-0 lead. Rodríguez is the first Rattler to hit two homers in a game this season.
Jimenez worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth inning to close his ledger for the day. The right-hander allowed three hits, walked none, and struck out seven over six scoreless innings. He put himself in line to move his record to 5-0 as the bullpen needed to cover the final nine outs.
Edwin Jimenez strikes out seven over six scoreless innings for his fifth win of the season! https://t.co/1BXWzPloZu via @milb
— Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (@TimberRattlers) May 12, 2024
Aaron Rund pitched a scoreless seventh for the Rattlers. Tyler Wehrle retired the first two batters he faced in the eighth before giving up a solo home run to Carson Roccaforte for the first run of the game for the River Bandits.
There were two outs in the top of the ninth and Jeremy Vargas extended the inning with a single. The inning appeared to be over when Fernández send a routine grounder to short. However, the ball went under the glove of Dickerson into left field. Vargas, who was running on the pitch, never stopped running and scored a run to put the Rattlers up 6-1.
Yerlin Rodriguez was called in to finish the game in a non-save situation. Things would turn tense after he walked two of the first three batters he faced and gave up a single to load the bases.
Rodriguez got the second out on a strikeout and was 2-2 to Jack Pineda, who hit a grand slam on Friday night against the Rattlers. Pineda smacked a single to center to score two runs and bring Roccaforte to the plate as the potential tying run.
Roccaforte made things very interesting with a deep fly ball to left-center field on a 2-1 pitch. Fortunately for Wisconsin, Lara raced over from center and made the catch on the warning track to end the game.
The Timber Rattlers took four of the six games from the River Bandits to win the series. Wisconsin’s win on Sunday gives them the best record in the Midwest League after 33 games this season. Sunday’s game also marked the halfway point of the first half of the season.
The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday. They return to action on Tuesday with a game against the Beloit Sky Carp at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Patricio Aquino (1-2, 6.53) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. The Sky Carp have announced Jacob Miller (1-2, 2.01) as their starter. Game time is 6:40pm.
Tuesday is an NEW Manufacturing Alliance Bang for Your Buck Night. All fans may enjoy Cher-Make hotdogs and 16-ounce Pepsi Products for $2. Those of legal drinking age may purchase 16-ounce domestic beers for $2.
If you can’t make it out to the ballpark on Tuesday, there are several ways to catch the action. The game will be televised on tv-32 starting at 6:30pm. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Community Blood Center Pregame Show at 6:20pm. Fans can also listen to the audio on the internet or watch the game on the Bally Live App.