PEORIA, ILLINOIS (May 17, 2019) — A pitcher’s duel turned one-sided in a hurry on Friday night at Dozer Park where the Peoria Chiefs evened their series against the Quad Cities River Bandits with a convincing 8-0 victory. The game was scoreless entering the bottom of the sixth inning, but Peoria put up eight runs in the frame to take control.
Much of the damage in the fateful sixth inning came against reliever Jose Rivera who was making his River Bandits debut. Before an out was recorded, Peoria loaded the bases with a single, a walk, and a hit by pitch. The next batter, Brady Whalen, beat the shift with a slow-roller through the left side that put the Chiefs on the board. Rivera exited the game two batters later in favor of Riley Cabral. Cabral walked Brandon Riley to load the bases once more, and this time, Jhon Torres slapped an RBI single through the infield to increase the lead to 3-0. Wadye Infante followed with a sacrifice-fly, and after the bases became full-open, Nolan Gorman dropped a two-RBI single into shallow center. The final run in the frame was plated by Ivan Herrera’s single and widened the gap to 8-0.
One night after scoring 21 runs, the Bandits mustered just five hits. Peoria starter Colin Schmid worked 6.0 scoreless frames in his first appearance with the Chiefs to pick up the win. Mike Brettell and Edgar Escobar finished off the shutout out of the bullpen. The Bandits did manage to put a runner in scoring position in five different innings.
On the mound, another pitcher making his debut with Quad Cities fared well. Jose Bravo tossed 5.0 scoreless frames while scattering five hits. Bravo has now made at least one appearance with every full-season affiliate of the Houston Astros this season. Rivera took the loss after surrendering five runs on two hits and two walks. He recorded only one out.
The River Bandits and Chiefs continue this weekend series on Saturday night at 6:35 p.m. The River Bandits will turn to RHP R.J. Freure (1-1, 3.74) as their starting pitcher. RHP Kyle Leahy (1-3, 3.74) will get the baseball for the Chiefs.
Quad Cities (R-H-E): 0-5-2
Peoria (R-H-E): 8-11-2
Win: Schmid (1-0)
Loss: Rivera (0-1)
Save: None
HR: Quad Cities: None
HR: Peoria: None
All River Bandits games are broadcast on 1170 K-BOB and TuneIn Radio. Home games are also available with video on MiLB.TV.
