BANDITS SILENCE SNAPPERS FOR 12TH STRAIGHT WIN
Quad Cities extends pro baseball's longest active winning streak and moves baseball's best record to 25-6
DAVENPORT, Iowa (May 11, 2015) - Designated hitter Sean McMullen came within a single of the cycle, and right-hander Daniel Mengden ran his personal scoreless streak to 21 innings with six shutout frames, as the Quad Cities River Bandits won their 12th straight game - to extend what is believed to be the franchise's longest winning streak in 36 seasons - with an 8-0 triumph over the Beloit Snappers in front of 1,833 at Modern Woodmen Park Monday night.
The River Bandits (25-6) continued their hold on the best record in professional baseball this season with their third shutout - all of which have come during the team's 12-game winning streak that is believed to be the longest for the Midwest League franchise since the Quad City Cubs won their final 13 regular season games in 1979. Mengden has started all three shutouts and has the longest individual scoreless streak by a River Bandits pitcher since Dean Kiekhefer was not charged with a run in his final 24 1/3 innings of the 2011 regular season.
Mengden (3-1) started the game by retiring the first six Beloit batters, and Quad Cities gave him a lead in the second inning against right-hander Daniel Gossett (1-4). Second baseman Mott Hyde hit a one-out single to down the first-base line and scored when McMullen hit a line drive to right field that skipped past a diving Shawn Duinkerk for an RBI triple.
With a 1-0 lead, Mengden allowed his first baserunners in the third inning, as Snappers left fielder Max Kuhn drew a leadoff walk, and center fielder James Harris drew a two-out walk. Second baseman Trent Gilbert hit a sharp line drive down the third-base line, where third baseman Nick Tanielu's dive stopped the ball from reaching the outfield and kept Kuhn at third base. With the bases loaded, Mengden got shortstop Yairo Munoz to ground into an inning-ending fielder's choice.
Beloit (13-18) never put the tying run in scoring position for the rest of the game, as Kuhn was caught stealing at second base following a leadoff single in the fifth, and Harris was erased on a double play after a leadoff walk in the sixth. Mengden pitched six shutout innings for a second straight start, yielded two hits and a career-high three walks, and struck out three batters.
The River Bandits widened their lead and chased Gossett in the fifth inning. McMullen hit a leadoff double to left-center field and reached third base on a sacrifice bunt by left fielder Jason Martin. Gossett fielded the bunt and threw toward first base, but the ball struck Martin's back, and the latter reached first base safely, while McMullen scored. Martin then stole second base, before shortstop Thomas Lindauer walked, and right fielder Bobby Boyd sacrificed both runners into scoring position. With the infield in and an 0-2 count, first baseman Jamie Ritchie lined a two-run single to right-center field to make it 4-0. Gossett then walked center fielder Derek Fisher and was removed after 4 1/3 innings, in which he allowed four runs - three earned - on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
Relieving Gossett, right-hander Carlos Navas worked 1 2/3 innings with four strikeouts but allowed McMullen's home run to the Built Ford Tough Deck in the sixth inning that made it 5-0. Quad Cities added its final three runs in the seventh inning against left-hander Mike Fagan. Ritchie drew a leadoff walk, and Fisher extended his team season-high 10-game hitting streak with an RBI double to left-center field. Hyde hit one-out double past a stumbling Duinkerk in right field, and Tanielu singled to left field to bring in Hyde for an 8-0 lead.
Following Mengden, right-hander Keegan Yuhl struck out five batters in two scoreless innings, and right-hander Jose Montero worked around two walks and a dropped popup for a scoreless ninth inning. The two Beloit hits Monday were the fewest Quad Cities pitchers had allowed in a game since yielding two to Kane County in Game 1 of a doubleheader April 5, 2014.
The River Bandits continue their series against Beloit at 11 a.m. Tuesday, when River Bandits right-hander Brock Dykxhoorn (2-1) is scheduled to face Snappers right-hander Brett Graves (1-0).
UP NEXT: Book Buddies reading program participants will get to see the 11 a.m. game on a Dew-for-Twosday presented by Pepsi, WOC, and Q106.5. Regular individual tickets are buy-one-get-one free, and anyone who brings an empty Mountain Dew can to the box office can exchange it for a free 16 oz. Mountain Dew voucher. Individual tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office and online at riverbandits.com. Ticket plans of 12 to 70 games - which include free parking, reserved seats, merchandise discounts, and guaranteed giveaways - are available by calling 563-324-3000.
NOTTINGHAM BLASTS BANDITS TO 11TH STRAIGHT WIN
The longest active winning streak in baseball is believed to be the Midwest League franchise's best since 1979
DAVENPORT, Iowa (May 9, 2015) - Quad Cities River Bandits catcher Jacob Nottingham hit a three-run home run and a two-run triple Saturday night to help his team to a 6-3 win over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers for Quad Cities' 11th straight victory - the longest active streak in professional baseball and believed to be the longest for the franchise since 1979 - in front of 4,229 at Modern Woodmen Park.
With the best start for the franchise in more than 30 years, the 24-6 River Bandits have the best record in affiliated professional baseball through Saturday, and won six games in nine days against Wisconsin (8-22), which has dropped its last nine games overall.
River Bandits right-hander Austin Chrismon (4-1), who earned the win April 29 in the first game of Quad Cities' current streak, won for the third time in 11 days, after allowing one earned run on five hits and no walks with five strikeouts. However, he allowed Wisconsin to take the game's first lead in the second inning, as designated hitter David Denson hit a two-out double to the center field warning track, and right fielder Elvis Rubio hit an RBI double to the left-center field gap for a 1-0 Timber Rattlers lead. Chrismon then worked around three hits in the next three innings to pitch five innings for a fourth consecutive start.
Against Wisconsin right-hander Milton Gomez (1-2), the River Bandits had two hits but no runs through two innings, but they took the lead for good in the third inning. Right fielder Bobby Boyd hit a one-out chopper over the pitcher's mound for an infield single and went to third base on a two-out single to center field by center fielder Derek Fisher. Nottingham then hit the very next pitch from Gomez to the Miller Lite Party Deck in right-center field for a 3-1 lead on his team's first home run in nine May games and his fifth home run of the season.
Chrismon kept the 3-1 lead until left-hander Reymin Guduan began the top of the sixth inning. Guduan worked around a hit batter in the sixth inning, but Wisconsin did tally a run in the seventh. Denson led off with a double to right field and went to third base on a groundout by Rubio before a two-out wild pitch on a strikeout of left fielder Mitch Meyer allowed Denson to score, trimming the River Bandits' lead to 3-2. With the tying run at first base, Guduan got second baseman Francisco Castillo to fly out to left field. Guduan was charged with one earned run on one hit and no walks with two strikeouts in two innings.
For Wisconsin, Gomez lasted 5 2/3 innings, and left-hander Tyler Linehan recorded the final out in the sixth inning, before left-hander Luis Ortega began the bottom of the seventh with a 3-2 deficit. The first four batters of the inning all bunted. Left fielder Jason Martin placed a bunt single down the first-base line, and shortstop Kristian Trompiz sacrificed him to second base. Boyd then put a bunt single to the third-base side of the grass in front of home plate. With runners at first and third bases, second baseman Mott Hyde bunted to the first-base side of the pitcher's mound and beat the through from Ortega for an RBI single. With runners at first and second bases, Fisher struck out, but Nottingham launched his first triple since last July 14 to right-center field to score Boyd and Hyde for a 6-2 River Bandits lead. Ortega went on to finish two innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Nottingham matched a career high with five RBIs and was the first River Bandit with a five-RBI game since Brian Holberton had five RBIs at Kane County on May 18, 2014.
River Bandits right-hander Ryan Thompson began the eighth inning with a four-run lead and worked around a one-out walk and single for a scoreless eighth inning. In the ninth, Timber Rattlers shortstop Gregory Munoz grounded a one-out double down the third-base line, went to third base on a groundout and scored on Castillo's RBI infield single toward second base. But Thompson struck out center fielder Brandon Diaz for the final out of the team's third straight series sweep.
Following a Midwest League-wide off day Sunday, the River Bandits open their first scheduled four-game series against the Beloit Snappers (13-17) at 7 p.m. Monday at Modern Woodmen Park Monday. River Bandits right-hander Daniel Mengden (2-1) is scheduled to face Snappers right-hander Daniel Gossett (1-3).
BATS BACK BOSTICK; BANDITS' WIN STREAK IS 10
Quad Cities scores a season-high 11 runs and improves to 23-6 to keep the best record in baseball
DAVENPORT, Iowa (May 8, 2015) - The Quad Cities River Bandits scored four first-inning runs, and right-hander Akeem Bostick tossed five innings of one-hit, shutout baseball in his Midwest League debut to help his team to its 10th straight win with an 11-6 victory over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in front of a season-high 4,673 at Modern Woodmen Park Friday night.
The River Bandits (23-6) maintained their hold of the best record in affiliated professional baseball this season and increased their Midwest League Western Division to 5 ½ games while posting their longest winning streak since 10 straight games April 26-May 7, 2002. Five of the wins in their current streak have come against Wisconsin (8-21), which has lost eight consecutive games.
After Bostick (1-0) began his first start for a Houston Astros minor league affiliate with a perfect top of the first inning, Quad Cities got started against Timber Rattlers right-hander David Burkhalter (0-3). Right fielder Bobby Boyd blooped a single into right-center field for his first of a game-high three hits, stole second base on the next pitch and went to third base on a flyout by catcher Jamie Ritchie. Center fielder Derek Fisher drew a walk, and third baseman Nick Tanielu flied out to right field. With runners at first and third bases, two outs and an 0-2 count, first baseman Bryan Muñiz lined a single into center field to score Boyd for the game's first run. Second baseman Alex Hernandez then drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. Burkhalter worked to an 0-2 count against designated hitter Ryan Bottger, who then drove a double to the right-center field warning track to score Fisher, Muñiz and Hernandez for a 4-0 Quad Cities lead.
Bostick worked around a hit batter in the second inning to retire 10 of the first 11 batters he faced. Timber Rattlers second baseman Francisco Castillo got his team's first hit with a fourth-inning, one-out single to left-center field. Two batters later, Bostick hit designated hitter Dustin DeMuth for a second straight plate appearance before retiring the next four batters to finish five innings with one strikeout and no walks. It was the first time Bostick had not allowed a run in a game since pitching five shutout innings for a victory as a Hickory Crawdad in the Texas Rangers organization last July 3 at West Virginia in the Class-A South Atlantic League.
Burkhalter set down 10 consecutive River Bandits batters in one stretch before shortstop Kristian Trompiz led off the fifth inning with a double to left-center field. Boyd then placed a bunt single to third baseman Tucker Neuhaus, who overthrew first base to allow Trompiz to score and Boyd to reach second base. Ritchie's groundout and Fisher's RBI single scored Boyd to make it 6-0. Burkhalter was charged with six earned runs on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.
Following Bostick, right-hander Brandon McNitt made his Midwest League debut to begin the sixth inning. He kept the shutout until one out in the eighth inning, when Timber Rattlers center fielder Brandon Diaz hit a solo home run to the Modern Woodmen Berm in left field for the first Wisconsin run since Diaz homered in the first inning Thursday. With two outs, Neuhaus reached on a bunt single, and DeMuth hit a two-run home run to right-center field to cut the Quad Cities lead to 6-3.
Quad Cities added to its lead in the bottom of the eighth inning against left-hander Kodi Medeiros. Muñiz and Hernandez began the inning with consecutive walks, and after a wild pitch, both scored on a one-out single by left fielder Jason Martin. Trompiz and Boyd each singled, with the latter plating Martin to make it 9-3. Ritchie walked to load the bases, and Fisher reached on an error by first baseman David Denson to score Trompiz. Tanielu hit a sacrifice fly against right-ahnder Luke Curtis to cap the five-run inning.
With an 11-3 lead, right-hander Jose Montero started the ninth inning. Shortstop Gregory Munoz hit a leadoff double, Montero walked two batters, and errors by Hernandez and Trompiz helped score three unearned runs before Montero fanned Neuhaus to end the game.
The River Bandits seek their third straight series sweep when they host the Timber Rattlers for the series finale at 6 p.m. Saturday, when Quad Cities right-hander Austin Chrismon (3-1) is scheduled to face Wisconsin right-hander Milton Gomez (1-1).
