Outfielder notches career-highs with four hits and three runs scored as Quad Cities moves into tie with Burlington for Wild Card
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (June 10, 2014) - Jandel Gustave and Michael Feliz each worked four innings, striking out a combined nine hitters, and Brett Phillips recorded career-highs with four hits and three runs scored in Quad Cities' 6-2 victory Tuesday over the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The win pushed the River Bandits into a tie with Burlington for the Western Division Wild Card with five games to play in the first half of the season.
River Bandits pitchers did not walk a batter, while their offense lumped enough hits together to score in four different innings, despite being sent down in order in four other frames. Quad Cities starter Jandel Gustave worked the first four innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits with five strikeouts. Michael Feliz (2-1) earned the win in relief, firing four frames with four punchouts while scattering two hits. Chris Cotton worked a perfect ninth for Quad Cities.
Quad Cities struck first, with Phillips leading off the game with a base hit. Chan-Jong Moon then hit a slow groundball to the right side of the mound that Cedar Rapids starting pitcher Aaron Slegers fielded and threw away, allowing Phillips to score from first and Moon to reach third. After Brian Holberton flew out to center field, Chase McDonald, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, singled home Moon to make it 2-0 River Bandits.
With Quad Cities leading 2-1, Tyler White and Jon Kemmer each singled to put runners on first and second with two outs in the fourth. Brett Booth then hit a line drive to center that Jason Kanzler misjudged, overrunning the ball and having it roll all the way to the wall. Both White and Kemmer scored and Booth ended up at third with his first triple of the year to increase the River Bandits lead to 4-1.
After Cedar Rapids scored to make it 4-2 Bandits, Brett Phillips lined a triple of his own into right-center field to lead off the fifth, his 10th three-bagger of the year. Slegers got Moon to ground out to first, but walked Holberton to put runners on the corners. McDonald then laced a single to right to plate Phillips and give the Bandits a 5-2 lead.
Phillips again helped create a run in the seventh. He singled to right and then moved to second on Moon's infield single. On a pitch to Holberton, the River Bandits tried a double steal. Cedar Rapids catcher Michael Quesada fired the ball into left field, allowing Phillips to score from third and put Quad Cities ahead 6-2.
Slegers (5-3) took the loss, surrendering five runs, three earned, on seven hits. He walked one and struck out three. The defeat sent Cedar Rapids to 28-37, while the River Bandits improved to 34-30. Quad Cities will send Evan Grills (2-1, 3.23 ERA) to the mound against Cedar Rapids' Fernando Romero (0-0, 3.60).
UP NEXT: The annual Father's Day Cookout at Modern Woodmen Park is open for reservations until Wednesday, June 11. The package includes a game ticket and all-you-can-eat menu in the Budweiser Champions Club Sunday, June 15. To order any of the River Bandits 2014 ticket plans - with new lower prices - call the River Bandits box office at 563-324-3000. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $40. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.
