Zavier Warren broke a 5-5 tie with a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to send the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to a 6-5 win over the Quad Cities River Bandits Sunday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The win was the fifth in a row for Wisconsin.
Kolten Wong gave the Timber Rattlers (39-29 overall, 3-0 second half)a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when he hit a lead-off home run. Wong went 1-for-2 with a walk on Sunday in his second rehab appearance for the Milwaukee Brewers. Wong played seven innings at second base in the game before leaving the game as planned.
Wisconsin added a run in the bottom of the second with a two-out rally. Ethan Murray tripled, and Ashton McGee drew a walk. Arbert Cipion singled to right to score Murray for a 2-0 lead.
Tyler Tolbert got the River Bandits (26-43, 0-3) back to even with a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the third.
Tristan Peters crushed a long home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to put the Rattlers back in front.
Quad Cities took their first lead with a two-out, two-run single by Peyton Wilson in the top of the fifth inning.
The Rattlers got the game back to even with a sacrifice fly by Joe Gray Jr in the bottom of the fifth.
Parker Bates hit a lead-off home run in the top of the seventh inning and the River Bandits retook the lead.
Cipion started the Wisconsin rally in the seventh with a single and steal of second base with one out. Jose Acosta, pinch-hitting for Wong, drew a walk. Then, the duo pulled off a double steal. Tyler Black drove in Cipion with the tying run with a sacrifice.
The game appeared to be heading to the ninth inning tied after Ruben Ramirez retired the first two Timber Rattlers he faced in the bottom of the eighth. Peters had other ideas as he lined a double off the wall in right to extend the inning. Warren fell behind 0-2 in the count but lined a single up the middle that glanced off the glove of Tolbert, the shortstop, trying to make a diving stop of the ball. Peters raced home and scored without a play for a 6-5 lead.
Cam Robinson pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to close out the win. Robinson leads Minor League Baseball in saves with seventeen. He picked up saves in three of Wisconsin’s five wins in the series.
It was a bullpen day for both teams. Wisconsin used six pitchers in the game while Quad Cities used five.
The Timber Rattlers are 15-3 against the River Bandits this season.
The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday. They return to action on Tuesday with game one of a six-game series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Zach Mort (3-2, 4.38) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. The Kernels have named Brent Headrick (7-2, 2.48) as their starter. Game time is 6:40pm.
