GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers tried to stage another comeback, but they couldn't rally from a 5-0 deficit against the Peoria Chiefs on Thursday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Chiefs held on for a 6-5 win in the final game of the
GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers tried to stage another comeback, but they couldn't rally from a 5-0 deficit against the Peoria Chiefs on Thursday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Chiefs held on for a 6-5 win in the final game of the five-game series.
The first five Peoria hitters to bat in the inning reached base and four of those scored for a quick 4-0 lead.
Wisconsin starting pitcher Reese Olson walked the first batter of the inning and gave up a single to the next hitter. Nolan Gorman was next and he singled to right to score the first run of the game. The throw to third missed the cutoff man and that allowed Gorman to move to second base.
Ivan Herrera was next and he sent a grounder up the middle for a single. Second baseman Yeison Coca made a diving stop of the grounder in short center and threw to first. However, the throw was wild and two runs scored on the play while Herrera went to second. Josh Shaw followed with an RBI double to plate Herrera.
The Chiefs (20-26) made the score 5-0 with an unearned run in the second inning. Delvin Perez bunted with two outs in the inning and reached on a high throw by Olson. Perez was running on a pitch to Gorman and scored all the way from first on a single down the line in right.
The Rattlers (21-24) chipped away at that deficit with three-run fourth inning. Coca started the inning with a triple. David Fry singled to right to score Coca and move his own hitting streak to fourteen games. An error and fielder's choice put runners at the corners for LG Castillo, who drove a double to center to score both runners and the Rattlers were within 5-3. Castillo had three hits in the game for Wisconsin.
However, Peoria added a run in the top of the fifth to pad their lead. Gorman was hit by a pitch from reliever Wilfred Salaman and a balk moved him to second base. Herrera doubled and Gorman scored for the 6-3 lead. That was the run that turned out to be too much for Wisconsin to overcome.
The Rattlers had a chance in the bottom of the seventh. Korry Howell reached on an error and Brice Turang drew a walk against reliever Cole Aker to bring the tying run to the plate. However, Aker struck out the next two batters to end the threat.
Edgar Escobar entered the game for the Chiefs in the bottom of the eighth and retired the Rattlers in order. He went back out for the ninth and got the first out with a strikeout. Gabriel García drew a walk, but Howell was robbed of a hit as Brandon Riley made a diving catch. Turang extended the game - and his hitting streak to twelve games - with a blooper down the line in left just out of the reach of another diving attempt by Riley. The double by Turang put runners on second and third.
The game looked like it would end on flyball to shallow left off the bat of Coca, but Riley dropped the ball after a long run to allow both runners to score and the Rattlers were within a run.
The last-ditch rally ended when Escobar got Fry to pop out to first.
Turang's on-base streak reached 18 games with his performance on Thursday. This is the longest active on-base streak in the Midwest League.
Fry's 14-game hitting streak is the longest of the 2019 season by a Timber Rattler. His hitting streak has also tied Xavier Edward of Fort Wayne for the longest hitting streak in the Midwest League this season.
Wisconsin took the series from the Chiefs by winning three of the five games.
The Timber Rattlers hit the road for Memorial Day weekend. They will be at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa for a four-game series against the Quad Cities River Bandits. Game one is Friday night with Scott Sunitsch (2-4, 3.92) as the scheduled starting pitcher for the Rattlers. RJ Freure (2-1, 3.38) is set to start for the River Bandits. Game time is 6:35pm. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM and the TuneIn Radio app starting with the Papa John's Pizza Pregame Show at 6:15pm. MiLB.tv subscribers can watch the game over the internet.
