The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers held the Beloit Sky Carp to 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position while delivering some key hits of their own to earn a 5-0 win over their in-state rivals Tuesday night at ABC Supply Stadium. Nate Peterson won his second straight start with five scoreless frames to lead the Rattlers to their third win in a row.
Beloit (51-69 overall, 25-30 second half) had a great chance to score in the bottom of the first inning as they had runners at second and third with no outs after a single, a fielder’s choice, and a wild pitch. Peterson bounced back to keep the game scoreless with a popup, a strikeout, and a flyout.
Hendry Mendez jumped on the first pitch in the top of the second inning and lined a home run over the wall in right to put Wisconsin up 1-0. The homer was the third of the year for Mendez.
The Timber Rattlers (53-66, 27-28) added to their lead with a three-run rally in the fourth inning. Mendez and Robert Moore singled with one out. Beloit starting pitcher Jared Poland got the second out and go ahead of Ben Metzinger, his college teammate at the University of Louisville, with two quick strikes. Metzinger worked the count to 2-2 before sending a single to right to allow Mendez to score. Eduarqui Fernández followed with a triple to right-center and the Rattlers had a 4-0 lead.
Peterson worked through five scoreless innings with one walk and two strikeouts. He would allow four hits and set himself up for his second straight win, but it wasn’t easy. Zach Zubia doubled to start the fourth inning before Peterson retired the next three batters to leave Zubia at second. In the fifth, Peterson got the first two outs but gave up singles to Javier Sanoja and Joe Mack before getting the final out on a grounder to third. Peterson tossed 89 pitches in Tuesday’s start.
Nick Merkel was up next to the mound for Wisconsin, and he pitched three scoreless innings. After an uneventful sixth inning, the first two Beloit hitters reached in the bottom of the seventh. Merkel retired the next three batters to strand both runners. In the eighth, Merkel hit the lead-off batter but got a double play and knocked down a hard liner back to the mound to send the game with the ninth with the Rattlers up 4-0.
Robert Moore manufactured a run in the top of the ninth with a walk and two stolen bases to get to third. A wild pitch allowed Moore to score.
Shane Smith, Wisconsin’s third pitcher of the night, closed out the game with two strikeouts in a perfect ninth inning.
The win allowed them to gain ground on the Peoria Chiefs in the second half West Division playoff race. The Chiefs lost 7-5 in ten innings at Quad Cities after they rallied from a 5-3 deficit with two runs in the top of the ninth. Juan Carlos Negret won the game for Quad Cities with a two-run, walkoff homer in the bottom of the tenth. Wisconsin now trails Peoria by four games with eleven games left in the regular season.
Game two of the series with the Sky Carp is Wednesday night at ABC Supply Stadium. Cameron Wagoner (5-11, 6.27) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Beloit has named Ike Buxton (2-0, 3.70) as their starting pitcher. Game time is 6:35pm.
