RAIN, SNAPPERS CAN'T STOP BANDITS' REIGN - Quad Cities earns 15th comeback win of the season to improve professional baseball's best record to 27-7
DAVENPORT, Iowa (May 14, 2015) - For the second straight day, the visiting Beloit Snappers took a lead before the Quad Cities River Bandits came to bat, but the home team rallied from a 2-0, first-inning deficit for a 6-3 win, with shortstop Kristian Trompiz's three-run home run standing as the difference in front of 1,204 on a rainy Thursday night at Modern Woodmen Park.
The River Bandits (27-7) maintained the best record in all of professional baseball and moved 20 games above .500 for the first time since ending the 2013 season 81-57. With second-place Cedar Rapids (21-12) suspended by rain in its game Friday, Quad Cities also increased its Midwest League Western Division lead to 5 ½ games entering a three-game weekend series with the Kernels in Cedar Rapids.
After building a 5-0, first-inning lead on Wednesday, Beloit (14-20) scored twice in the first inning Thursday off left-hander Chris Lee (3-2). Center fielder James Harris led off with a double down the third-base line, and first baseman Max Kuhn singled to right field to put runners at first and third bases. After shortstop Yairo Munoz struck out, designated hitter Sandber Pimentel lined a sacrifice fly to left fielder Derek Fisher, and left fielder Joe Bennie grounded an RBI double down the third-base line for a 2-0 Snappers lead. With Bennie at third base, Lee struck out second baseman Trent Gilbert to end the inning.
Snappers right-hander Kevin Johnson (1-3) retired the first four batters of the game, including three on strikeouts, before the River Bandits offense awoke with one out in the second inning. Second baseman Mott Hyde singled to right field, and third baseman Nick Tanielu placed a fly ball down the right-field line for a double. Designated hitter Jason Martin brought in one run with a groundout, and right fielder Ryan Bottger tied the game with a double into right field.
In the bottom of the third inning, the go-ahead rally began when River Bandits first baseman Jamie Ritchie and Fisher drew consecutive one-out walks, before Johnson hit catcher Jacob Nottingham with a pitch to load the bases. Hyde flied out to center field to score Ritchie for the go-ahead run. Johnson got Tanielu to fly out and end the inning but was removed after three innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
For a 14th consecutive game in which they took a lead, the River Bandits never lost it. Lee dodged the closest threat in the fourth inning, as Bennie drew a leadoff walk, second baseman Trent Gilbert singled, and catcher Jose Chavez grounded out to advance both runners. With the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, Lee struck out right fielder Shawn Duinkerk and third baseman Edwin Diaz to end the inning. Lee won his third straight start by going five innings, yielding two earned runs on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts.
Following Johnson, right-hander Carlos Navas tossed two scoreless innings, but Quad Cities widened its lead against left-hander Jose Torres in the sixth inning. With two outs and the bases empty, Martin and Bottger each fouled off multiple pitches to draw consecutive full-count walks. Trompiz then hit a 1-0 pitch to the Modern Woodmen Berm in left field for his third home run of the season and a 6-2 lead.
The Quad Cities bullpen held the lead for the final four innings, as left-hander Jordan Mills made his season debut by working around two hit batters and a single in two scoreless innings. Right-hander Eric Peterson began the eighth inning and issued three straight one-out walks to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate before striking out Duinkerk and pinch hitter Robert Martinez to end the inning.
In the ninth inning, Peterson allowed Kuhn's one-out single and new designated hitter Jose Brizuela's two-out RBI single before being removed for right-hander Ryan Thompson, who struck out Bennie with Brizuela at first base to end the game and earn his second save.
Winners of 14 of their last 15 games and 10 of 11 series this season, the River Bandits begin a seven-game road stretch at 6:35 p.m. Friday in Cedar Rapids. River Bandits right-hander Brandon McNitt (0-0) is scheduled to face Kernels right-hander Michael Cederoth (1-2).
UP NEXT: The River Bandits need your vote in two online contests. The team's logo is in Baseball America's Logo Mania, and the R.I.A. Federal Credit Union Lane Evans Patriot Seats are up for "Best Seat in the House" on MiLB.com. Links to vote are at riverbandits.com. 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.
BANDITS NOTCH LARGEST COMEBACK WIN SINCE 2011 - Trailing 7-0 in the second inning, Quad Cities scores 15 runs over a five-inning stretch to improve to 26-7
DAVENPORT, Iowa (May 13, 2015) - The Quad Cities River Bandits faced a 7-0 deficit in the second inning Wednesday, but they rallied for their largest comeback win in four seasons, scoring the final 12 runs of the game without an answer from the Beloit Snappers in a 15-8 victory for the home team to improve its record to a professional baseball-best 26-7 in front of 4,568 at Modern Woodmen Park.
Quad Cities erased a seven-run deficit and won for the first time since Aug. 17, 2011, when the team faced a 9-2 deficit in Clinton but came back for a 12-10 win. The team had erased an 8-1 deficit last July 12 at Wisconsin before losing, 9-8. On Wednesday, eight different River Bandits had hits and scored runs, while the two teams amassed 29 hits, 12 extra-base hits, and nine doubles - all season highs for Quad Cities and an opponent. The 23 runs were the most in any game featuring Quad Cities since its 17-6 win over Great Lakes April 30, 2013.
Before the River Bandits began their season-best offensive attack, the Snappers (14-19) jumped on Quad Cities right-hander Kevin Comer. The first four batters collected a hit, as center fielder James Harris doubled, second baseman Trent Gilbert singled, designated hitter Yairo Munoz hit an RBI double, and first baseman Sandber Pimentel added an RBI single. Left fielder Joe Bennie hit into an RBI fielder's choice for the first out and a 3-0 Beloit lead, before Comer walked third baseman Jose Brizuela. Right fielder Robert Martinez flied out to center field, and Comer was removed from the game after recording only two outs. Right-hander Jose Montero entered to get a ground ball by catcher Jose Chavez, but third baseman Nick Tanielu's wild throw to first base allowed two runs to score for a 5-0 deficit. As the ninth batter of the inning, shortstop Edwin Diaz grounded out to Tanielu. All five runs - three earned - were charged to Comer, who allowed four hits and one walk. The last Quad Cities starter who did not complete the first inning was Josh Hader in Clinton on Aug. 14, 2013.
As the River Bandits bullpen combined for the last 8 1/3 innings, Montero and left-hander Reymin Guduan (3-0) each had season-long outings. Montero allowed two runs in the second inning on an RBI single by Bennie and RBI double by Brizuela, but right fielder Bobby Boyd, first baseman Ryan Bottger and catcher Jacob Nottingham combined on a relay to throw out Bennie at home plate to end the inning. Harris' first home run of the season in the fourth inning off Montero was the only Beloit run in the final seven innings. Montero and Guduan each worked 2 2/3 innings, right-hander Keegan Yuhl went two innings, and right-hander Ryan Thompson pitched a perfect ninth.
Right-hander Jordan Schwartz began loosening Beloit's grip on the lead in the second inning, when Tanielu hit a leadoff double and scored on Bottger's RBI double. In the third inning, Boyd hit a leadoff double and scored when center fielder Derek Fisher extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI single to center field. Tanielu brought in Fisher with a double to make it 7-3 after three innings. With an 8-3 lead, Schwartz failed to retire any of the three batters he faced in the fourth inning. Left fielder Jason Martin hit a leadoff triple down the right field line, Bottger hit an RBI single, and second baseman Kristian Trompiz singled. Left-hander Jared Grundy (0-1) entered, and a passed ball by Chavez put Bottger and Trompiz in scoring position. Each later scored on sacrifice flies by Boyd and shortstop Mott Hyde. The first six runs - five earned - were charged to Schwartz, who allowed eight hits and one walk with three strikeouts. With two outs, Fisher grounded to Brizuela at third base, but his errant throw allowed Fisher to reach first base and extended the inning for Nottingham, who hit the first pitch from Grundy for a two-run, game-tying home run to the Built Ford Tough Deck in right field.
In the fifth inning, Quad Cities broke an 8-8 tie with six two-out runs off Grundy and right-hander Rob Huber. Martin hit a one-out single, Trompiz hit a two-out single, and Boyd walked to load the bases. Chavez's second passed ball scored the go-ahead run, and Hyde hit a two-run single. Fisher singled to chase Grundy, before Huber allowed Nottingham's two-run double to left field and Tanielu's RBI single for a 14-8 River Bandits lead. In the sixth inning, Huber allowed Martin's leadoff triple and Boyd's two-out RBI single for the final tally.
Winners in 13 of their last 14 games, the River Bandits conclude their series against Beloit at 7 p.m. Thursday, when River Bandits left-hander Chris Lee (2-2) is scheduled to face Snappers right-hander Kevin Johnson (1-2).
SNAPPERS END BANDITS' 12-GAME WINNING STREAK - Beloit tags Quad Cities pitchers for a season-high 10 runs; but River Bandits are still a pro baseball-best 25-7
DAVENPORT, Iowa (May 12, 2015) - The Beloit Snappers scored a pair of second-inning runs and never trailed for the rest of the game, posting three runs in the third inning and four in the sixth inning to build a 9-1 lead and live up to their nickname with a 10-4 victory Tuesday that snapped the Quad Cities River Bandits' 12-game winning streak in front of a season-high 4,988 at Modern Woodmen Park.
Before it ended on Tuesday, the River Bandits' 12-win streak had been the longest active winning streak in professional baseball. Begun April 29, it was also the longest winning streak in a single regular season for the Quad Cities Midwest League franchise since the 1979 Quad City Cubs finished the regular season with 13 straight wins. (After losing its playoff opener, the 1979 Cubs team went on to win the Midwest League Championship, and the 1980 team won its first four games of the regular season.) The 2015 River Bandits (25-7) still hold the best record in all of professional baseball for at least another day and have the best 32-game start for the franchise in at least 36 years.
Quad Cities put the first runner in scoring position in the game in the bottom of the first inning against Snappers right-hander Brett Graves (2-0). Left fielder Jason Martin hit a leadoff single to right field, and designated hitter Derek Fisher walked with one out. But Graves got third baseman Nick Tanielu to fly out to right field and struck out first baseman Bryan Muñiz to end the inning.
The Snappers (14-18) took the lead for good against right-hander Brock Dykxhoorn (2-2) in the second inning, as left fielder Joe Bennie hit a leadoff single and third baseman Jose Brizuela drew a walk. After right fielder Robert Martinez popped out, catcher Argenis Raga lined an RBI single to left field to score Bennie. With runners at first and second base, second baseman Edwin Diaz hit a one-out fly ball into the gusting wind, and center fielder Jason Martin dropped the ball for an error, though Diaz was credited with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 Beloit lead. In the bottom of the inning, River Bandits left fielder Sean McMullen doubled on a popup down the left-field line, went to third base on a groundout by second baseman Alex Hernandez and scored on right fielder Ryan Bottger's sacrifice fly. Graves did not allow a run for the rest of his start, going five innings and allowing one earned run on three hits and four walks with five strikeouts.
Snappers shortstop Yairo Munoz led all players with four hits - including two triples and two singles - and led off the third inning with a triple down the third-base line. With one out, Bennie brought home Munoz with a double to right-center field, and two batters later, Martinez hit his first Midwest League home run off the batter's eye above the center-field wall for a 5-1 lead. Dykxhoorn lasted four innings but allowed a season-high five earned runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Following Dykxhoorn, right-hander Joshua James worked a hitless fifth inning but ran into the Snappers' largest outburst in the sixth. Martinez led off with an infield single to the hole at shortstop, and James hit Raga with a pitch. Diaz hit an RBI double to left-center field, and center fielder James Harris had his first hit of the season on a two-run single into center field. Harris later scored after consecutive singles by Munoz and designated hitter Sandber Pimentel. After allowing four earned runs in the inning, James kept Beloit scoreless for the seventh and eighth innings to finish a four-inning relief appearance, allowing six hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
Quad Cities' comeback effort was limited to three runs in the seventh inning off left-hander Cody Stull. Bottger hit a leadoff double off the center-field wall, Martin reached on a run-scoring fielding error by first baseman Max Kuhn, and catcher Jamie Ritchie hit his second Midwest League home run to cut the Beloit lead to 9-4. But Stull finished the inning, and right-hander Corey Miller tossed two scoreless innings to snap Beloit's four-game losing streak. The final tally came on Brizuela's first Midwest League home run in the ninth inning off right-hander Ryan Thompson. After allowing 18 total runs in the 12-game winning streak, Quad Cities allowed a season-high 10 Tuesday.
After losing for the first time in exactly two weeks, the River Bandits continue their series against Beloit at 11 a.m. Wednesday, when River Bandits right-hander Kevin Comer (2-0) is scheduled to face Snappers right-hander Jordan Schwartz (0-4).
