In Quad Cities debuts, Elieser Hernandez goes 3 1/3 shutout innings, Drew Ferguson has winning hit
GRAND CHUTE, Wis. (July 15, 2015) - Quad Cities River Bandits designated hitter Sean McMullen and left fielder Drew Ferguson each went 2-for-4, with the former hitting a one-out triple in the top of the 10th inning and scoring on the latter's first Midwest League RBI for a 2-1 win over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium Wednesday night.
Despite being outhit, 11-6, the River Bandits (12-8 second half, 57-31 overall) improved to 30-13 on the road, including a 6-3 record in road extra-inning games. They have won their first seven games with Wisconsin (6-13, 29-60) and are 8-6 in 14 extra-inning games - their most since 2010.
Center fielder Bobby Boyd stole three bases Friday, marking the first time since Chan-Jong Moon stole four bases May 28, 2014, that a River Bandit stole three bases in a game. He led off the game against left-hander Kodi Medeiros with a single to left field, and after All-Star catcher Jamie Ritchie flied out to center field, Boyd stole second and third bases in a three-pitch span with shortstop Alex Bregman batting. Bregman grounded out to second base to score Boyd, as Quad Cities scored in the first inning for a sixth straight game.
Taking the mound with a 1-0 lead, right-hander Joshua James worked around singles in each of the first two innings, but Wisconsin tied the game in the third inning. Left fielder Mitch Meyer began the rally with a leadoff walk. After center fielder Brandon Diaz flied out, Meyer stole second base and went to third base on a single by shortstop Blake Allemand. Designated hitter Dustin DeMuth then hit a game-tying single to right field but was thrown out in a rundown, and James stranded the go-ahead run at third base with an inning-ending strikeout.
James allowed seven hits but lasted 4 2/3 innings, holding Wisconsin to one earned run while walking one and striking out two batters. His 2.43 ERA and .220 opponents' batting average through Wednesday both rank third in the Midwest League. After DeMuth hit a two-out double in the fifth inning, right-hander Elieser Hernandez made his Midwest League debut by relieving James and retiring All-Star catcher Carlos Leal on a flyout to preserve the 1-1 tie. Hernandez retired the first six batters he faced, including four in a row on strikeouts before back-to-back, two-out singles by Diaz and Allemand in the sixth inning. He then fanned DeMuth to end the frame.
After Medeiros went three innings for Wisconsin, right-hander Jon Perrin went two scoreless innings, and right-hander Angel Ventura (3-4) set down 12 of the first 13 batters he faced. McMullen's seventh-inning single marked the visitors' only baserunner in the sixth through ninth innings, and McMullen and Ferguson were the only two River Bandits to reach base after the third inning, with each doing so twice.
Hernandez scattered three hits and no walks with five strikeouts in 3 1/3 scoreless innings, before right-hander Ryan Thompson (3-2) pitched the ninth inning. Timber Rattlers second baseman Tucker Neuhaus hit a leadoff single, but pinch runner Gregory Munoz was caught stealing by Ritchie throwing to Bregman to end the ninth inning. Thompson pitched a perfect 10th inning to finish the win.
After pitching four scoreless innings, Ventura allowed the deciding rally with one out in the 10th inning. McMullen hit a drive into the right-center field gap that made him the team's first baserunner at third base since the first inning. With the infield in, Ferguson lined a go-ahead single past Ventura into center field. Ferguson became the second River Bandits left fielder this season to collect the game-winning RBI in his Midwest League debut for a 2-1, series-opening win at Wisconsin. Jason Martin accomplished the same feat May 1.
