DRAGONS DENY BANDITS A RECORD-TYING WIN STREAK
Dayton snaps Quad Cities' 12-game winning streak - one win from tying the franchise record
DAVENPORT, Iowa (August 9, 2015) - The Quad Cities River Bandits scored a first-inning run against Dayton Dragons right-hander Tejay Antone, but he lasted seven innings without allowing another run in Dayton's 3-1 win, snapping Quad Cities' second 12-game winning streak this season - again one game shy of the franchise record - in front of 2,701 at Modern Woodmen Park Sunday afternoon.
In the finale of a season-long nine-game, 10-day homestand, the River Bandits (29-14 second half, 74-37 overall) had their second chance in three months to tie the Quad Cities franchise-record 13-game winning streak by the Quad City Cubs to close the 1979 season. On Sunday, the River Bandits suffered their first loss since July 25 and first at home since July 18. Quad Cities maintained the best record in professional baseball through Sunday, while Dayton (19-24, 58-55) won for the third time in its last 18 road games.
Unlike the game that snapped their first 12-game winning streak - a 10-4 home loss to Beloit on May 12 - the River Bandits held a lead in Sunday's game. Left fielder Jason Martin hit a leadoff single in the first inning against Antone (6-9), who overthrew first base on a pickoff attempt, allowing Martin to reach third base. After designated hitter Bobby Boyd walked, second baseman Nick Tanielu grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Martin for a 1-0 lead.
Quad Cities missed its best opportunity to add to the lead after loading the bases with no outs in the fourth inning. Tanielu had an infield single, right fielder Drew Ferguson had a bunt single, and center fielder Ramon Laureano reached on a sacrifice bunt that catcher Chadwick Tromp threw late to third base. But Antone got River Bandits catcher Trent Woodward to ground to first baseman Avain Rachal to start a double play - the third the Dragons turned in the first four innings - and Antone struck out first baseman Ryan Bottger to end the inning.
River Bandits right-hander Brock Dykxhoorn (6-4), who also started and lost the River Bandits' streak-snapping game May 12, began Sunday by scattering three hits and a walk without allowing a run for the first four innings. The Dragons nearly scored the tying run in the fourth inning when left fielder Jimmy Pickens hit a two-out single to right field, but Ferguson threw out third baseman Gavin LaValley at home plate. In the fifth inning, however, center fielder Narciso Crook led off with a first-pitch home run to the Modern Woodmen Berm - the first against a Quad Cities pitcher since July 25 - that tied the game, 1-1.
The Dragons took the lead in the sixth inning, as right fielder Aristides Aquino doubled on a ground ball down the third-base line, stole third base and scored on Dykxhoorn's wild pitch. Dykxhoorn retired the final five batters to finish seven innings - matching a career high set July 2 - and was charged with two earned runs on six hits and one walk with eight strikeouts.
With a 2-1 Dayton lead, Boyd led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a single to center field and stole second base with no outs. After Antone got Tanielu to fly out to right field, Tromp threw out Boyd trying to steal third base for the second out, and the River Bandits had only one baserunner after that, as Antone and left-hander Mike Sullivan combined to retire the last eight batters. Sullivan earned his first Midwest League save, after Dragons second baseman Cory Thompson added an insurance run on a solo home run to the Modern Woodmen Berm beginning the eighth inning against left-hander Zach Davis to make it 3-1. Davis then retired the last six Dragons batters of the game.
After a Midwest League-wide off day Monday, the River Bandits visit the Fort Wayne TinCaps for the first time in two years at Parkview Field for a three-game series. Quad Cities right-hander Justin Ferrell (3-2) is scheduled to start Tuesday's series opener at 6:05 p.m. Central.
UP NEXT: The River Bandits have two specialty jerseys in MiLB.com's Jersey Joust contest to decide the best specialty jersey in Minor League Baseball. Visit
riverbandits.com for a link to vote until Aug. 25 for the 2014 Autism Awareness Jersey and 2015 Boy Scout Jersey. 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 ACHIEVE 2ND 12-GAME WINNING STREAK
Quad Cities whitewashes Dayton, 10-0, for fourth shutout in seven games, moves to baseball-best 74-36
DAVENPORT, Iowa (August 8, 2015) - Quad Cities River Bandits right hander Joshua James matched a career high with seven strikeouts in six shutout innings, and his teammates scored nine runs in the sixth through eighth innings to seal a 10-0 victory over the Dayton Dragons, tying the River Bandits' season high of 12 straight wins in front of 5,211 at Modern Woodmen Park Saturday night.
Pitching their fourth shutout in seven games and 14th of the season - their most since 2001 - the River Bandits (29-13 second half, 74-36 overall) tied their longest winning streak of the season, set April 29-May 11, when their 12 straight wins were the most for a Quad Cities Midwest League team since a franchise-record 13-game winning streak by the Quad City Cubs to close the 1979 season. The River Bandits also won their 10th straight home game since July 19, tying a 2013 home winning streak that was the club's longest since at least 2001.
Dayton right-hander Wyatt Strahan (6-9) did not allow a hit until two outs in the fifth inning, but Quad Cities took the lead without the help of a hit in the third inning. Third baseman Luis Reynoso led off the third by reaching second base when Strahan fielded a ground ball and overthrew first base. Shortstop Kristian Trompiz sacrificed Reynoso to third base, before left fielder Jason Martin drew a walk. Center fielder Bobby Boyd then hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Reynoso for a 1-0 lead.
While James (5-2) held Dayton (18-24, 57-55) to one runner in scoring position in the first six innings, the River Bandits added another run against Strahan in the bottom of the sixth inning. Leading off the inning, Boyd extended his eight-game hitting streak with an infield single to shortstop Luis Gonzalez. Strahan's wild pitch moved Boyd to second base, and second baseman Nick Tanielu chopped an infield single to second baseman Cory Thompson. With runners at first and third bases, designated hitter Bryan Muñiz grounded into a double play that scored Boyd. Strahan finished six innings, allowing two runs - one earned - on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
With a 2-0 lead starting the seventh inning, James allowed a leadoff double to Dragons third baseman Gavin LaValley and single by left fielder Argenis Aldazoro to put runners at first and third bases with no outs. Right-hander Eric Peterson relieved James by walking center fielder Narciso Crook to load the bases. With the tying runs in scoring position, Peterson struck out catcher Garrett Boulware looking and got Gonzalez to ground to Tanielu, who threw to Trompiz to begin an inning-ending double play that preserved the shutout. After Peterson worked two hitless innings with one walk and two strikeouts, left-hander Steve Naemark walked one and struck out one in the ninth inning.
After escaping a bases-loaded jam defensively in the top of the seventh inning, the River Bandits capitalized offensively with loaded bases in the bottom of the inning against left-hander Jacob Moody. Catcher Garrett Stubbs drew a leadoff walk, Reynoso reached on a one-out infield single, and Moody issued three straight two-out walks to Martin, Boyd and Tanielu, forcing in two runs for a 4-0 Quad Cities lead.
Dragons right-hander Jake Ehret recorded the final out in the seventh inning but allowed the largest inning of the night in the bottom of the eighth. He began by hitting right fielder Ramon Laureano with a pitch and walking Stubbs and Bottger to load the bases, before Reynoso's RBI single to left field. Trompiz brought in another run by grounding into a fielder's choice, but Gonzalez's throwing error scored another run and put Trompiz at second base. Boyd hit a two-out RBI single to right field for his sixth straight multi-hit game, and Tanielu capped the six-run inning with his fifth home run of the year on a two-run blast to the Modern Woodmen Berm for a 10-0 River Bandits advantage.
BANDITS EXPLOIT DRAGONS FOR 11TH STRAIGHT WIN
Quad Cities takes advantage of 5 Dayton errors to roll to 7-1 win in series opener
DAVENPORT, Iowa (August 7, 2015) - Quad Cities River Bandits center fielder Bobby Boyd was 3-for-4 with a double and a run, and River Bandits pitchers combined to allow hold the Dayton Dragons scoreless after a first-inning run in a 7-1 victory and Quad Cities' 11th straight win in front of 5,003 at Modern Woodmen Park Friday night.
Capitalizing on five Dayton errors to score five unearned runs, the River Bandits (28-13 second half, 73-36) extended their current winning streak to within one of matching their season high of 12 straight wins they posted April 29-May 11. Quad Cities also won its ninth straight home game, although when Dayton scored in the first inning Friday, the River Bandits trailed at home game for the first time since July 18.
Dayton (18-23, 57-54) began the first inning with back-to-back baserunners, as shortstop Cory Thompson was hit by a pitch and second baseman Shed Long singled to center field, advancing Thompson to third base. River Bandits starting pitcher Elieser Hernandez (2-1) got first baseman Paul Kronenfeld to ground out to third, which sent Long to second base. With right fielder Aristides Aquino batting, Hernandez threw a wild pitch allowing Thompson to score for the Dragons. The run was the first allowed in the last 41 1/3 innings by a Quad Cities starting pitcher since Beloit scored twice against Justin Ferrell in the fifth inning July 29.
Hernandez responded by retiring 11 batters in order and going on to pitch five innings, allowing three hits and no walks with five strikeouts. Right-hander Brandon McNitt pitched three shutout innings, and right-hander Jorge Perez pitched a scoreless final frame.
Quad Cities went in order in the first two innings without hitting the ball out of the infield against Dayton starter Tyler Mahle (11-6). However, in the third inning, second baseman Jose Fernandez hit a ground ball that was dropped by Thompson at shortstop, giving Quad Cities its first base runner. The River Bandits wasted no time taking the lead on a first-pitch double by catcher Garrett Stubbs and a first-pitch, two-run single by shortstop Kristian Trompiz, putting Quad Cities ahead, 2-1.
The third-inning rally continued with left fielder Jason Martin's single to right field, where Aquino misplayed the ball, allowing Trompiz to score and Martin to advance to second base on the second Dragons error of the inning. Boyd then collected the first and softest of his three hits - a bunt single up the third-base line that spun past Gavin LaValley and stayed fair, moving Martin to third base. Third baseman Nick Tanielu then flied out to deep left field, deep enough to score Martin from third, making it 4-1, with two of the four runs unearned.
The River Bandits scored in the same innings Dayton committed errors Friday. In the fifth inning, Boyd and Tanielu hit consecutive two-out singles and then executed a double steal attempt, on which Long missed a throw to second base by catcher Garrett Boulware, and Boyd scored an unearned run for a 5-1 Quad Cities lead. Mahle was charged with five runs - two earned - on seven hits and one walk with two strikeouts in six innings, and he lost for the first time in the second half of the season.
In the seventh inning, a rally started with Martin's bunt that Kronenfeld was unable to field at first base, and was the fourth error charged to Dayton. Martin made it to third base on Boyd's double, and scored on a balk by reliever Ty Sterner, making it a 6-1 River Bandits lead.
The last run came in the bottom of the eighth inning, as second baseman Jose Fernandez tripled with two outs and scored on Stubbs' ground ball that went through the LaValley's legs at third base - the fifth and final error on the Dragons - to make it 7-1.
