Bees pitchers strike out 12 batters without allowing a walk to Quad Cities
BURLINGTON, Iowa (JULY 25, 2013) - Burlington Bees left-hander Tyler DeLoach finished a seven-inning, nine-strikeout performance by retiring the final 12 Quad Cities River Bandits he faced, and a fifth-inning, go-ahead, two-run triple by shortstop Wendell Soto gave the home team a 5-2 win Thursday night at Community Field.
DeLoach (5-2) retired Quad Cities (17-14 second half, 55-45 overall) in order in the first inning, and his teammates gave him a lead in the bottom half. River Bandits right-hander Mark Appel walked the first two Bees hitters before getting a ground-ball fielder's choice for the first out. Designated hitter Michael Bolaski lifted a fly ball to the right-field corner that drove in third baseman Sherman Johnson for a 1-0 Burlington edge. Appel finished the inning with two strikeouts, although the batter reached on a wild pitch on the first one.
For a second straight night, the River Bandits answered by taking the lead in the second inning. Designated hitter Luis Alvarez was hit by a pitch and moved to second base on a single by right fielder Terrell Joyce. Two batters later, third baseman Brian Blasik brought in both runners with a two-out double over left fielder Exicardo Cayones.
With a 2-1 lead, Appel started the second inning with a walk and single by center fielder Riley Good. He retired the next two batters before another walk loaded the bases. He struck out Bees first baseman Wade Hinkle to end the threat. Appel did not take the mound for the third inning, having allowed one earned run on one hit and four walks with four strikeouts. The Bees (13-19, 39-58) left nine runners on base in the first four innings and 11 in the game.
DeLoach settled in after allowing doubles by shortstop Carlos Correa and Alvarez in the third and fourth innings, respectively. Following Alvarez's leadoff double in the fourth, he set down a dozen straight hitters - striking out seven in that stretch. The Bees gave DeLoach the support he needed in the fifth inning against right-hander Daniel Minor (7-2). With two outs and the bases empty, right fielder Chevy Clarke singled to left field, and Good drew a walk. Soto then drove a ball to the right-center field gap and slid into third with a go-ahead triple and a 3-2 Bees lead. Minor finished 2 2/3 innings, and left-hander Mitchell Lambson followed with 3 1/3 innings from the bullpen.
Quad Cities had its best chance to pull even in the eighth inning, when left fielder Jordan Scott snapped a 14-out string with an infield single against left-hander Christopher O'Grady. Correa followed with a single, and right-hander Cam Bedrosian hit first baseman Jesse Wierzbicki with a pitch to load the bases. Bedrosian then struck out Alvarez looking to keep the lead, which Hinkle extended with a two-run home run off Lambson in the bottom of the inning. Bedrosian fanned three of the final four batters for his fourth save.
The River Bandits and Bees will play the rubber match of their series at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Quad Cities right-hander Vincent Velasquez (6-4) is scheduled to face Burlington left-hander Ryan Crowley (8-4).
