DAVENPORT, Iowa – The River Bandits lost 10-5 to the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Tuesday night at Modern Woodmen Park. Yordan Alvarez hit his sixth home run of the season for Quad Cities. Sean Poppen earned the win for Cedar Rapids.
The Kernels (37-28) capitalized on an error to score three runs in the second inning. After Bandits’ (33-30) shortstop Jonathan Arauz’s miscue, Christian Cavaness laced a two-run triple to left to make it 2-0 Cedar Rapids. Aaron Whitefield added a sacrifice fly to round out the three-run second. Quad Cities rallied to tie the game in the third after Daz Cameron doubled, stole third and scored on a wild pick off throw from Sean Poppen. Yordan Alvarez’s two-run homer tied the game. Cedar Rapids responded with a three-run fourth, including a two-RBI double from Ben Rortvedt and an RBI triple from Travis Blankenhorn. Leading 6-3, the Kernels plated two runs in the sixth after Arauz’s second error of the night. The Bandits inched within three runs with an RBI single from Arauz and a sacrifice fly from Cameron in the eighth, but Jermaine Palacios put it out of reach with a two-run shot in the ninth for Cedar Rapids.
Poppen (5-1) pitched 5.2 innings, allowed three runs, three hits and struck out four. Hector Lujan came on in the eighth with one out and the tying run at the plate and picked up a five-out save. Carson LaRue took the loss for the Bandits. LaRue (7-2) last 3.2 innings in his start, surrendering six runs on six hits.
Game two of the three game series is Wednesday night at 6:35 p.m. The Bandits send LHP Cionel Perez (3-3, 5.05) to the mound against LHP Domenick Carlini IV (3-4, 5.10). If you can’t make it to the game, Jake Levy and Connor Onion have pregame coverage beginning at 6:20 p.m. on riverbandits.com and 1170 AM KBOB.
