Quad Cities has magic number to clinch a playoff spot reduced to seven by Burlington loss Thursday
COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. (June 5, 2015) - The Quad Cities River Bandits held a 2-0 lead until the bottom of the sixth inning Thursday, when the West Michigan Whitecaps rallied to tie the game on a solo home run by designated hitter Mike Gerber, and Whitecaps third baseman Zach Shepherd hit a go-ahead home run leading off the seventh inning of his team's 3-2 win at Fifth Third Ballpark.
Despite the loss, Quad Cities (37-17) kept the best record in professional baseball and a two-game lead in the Midwest League Western Division over second-place Cedar Rapids (35-19). With a loss by third-place Burlington (27-27) on Thursday, the River Bandits' magic number (combination of Quad Cities wins and losses by the Western Division's third-place team) to clinch a first-half playoff spot is seven.
The River Bandits opened the scoring in the second inning against Whitecaps right-hander Fernando Perez. Catcher Jacob Nottingham and third baseman Nick Tanielu - both named starters for the Western Division All-Star team Thursday - hit consecutive singles to right and left-center field, respectively. Second baseman Kristian Trompiz lifted a single into shallow center field, scoring Nottingham for a 1-0 River Bandits lead. Perez ended the inning by getting designated hitter Sean McMullen to ground into a double play and right fielder Ramon Laureano to ground out.
In the fourth inning, Nottingham again singled to right field against Perez with one out. Tanielu promptly singled to right field, and Trompiz walked to load the bases. McMullen hit a sacrifice fly to center fielder Derek Hill on the warning track to score Nottingham for a 2-0 lead. Perez only allowed one hit - a single by center fielder Bobby Boyd, who was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double - in the rest of his outing, and faced the minimum in four of his six innings pitched. He was charged with two earned runs on six hits and one walk with five strikeouts for West Michigan (27-27).
River Bandits right-hander Brock Dykxhoorn worked around back-to-back first-inning, two-out out singles by Gerber and second baseman Joey Pankake by striking out first baseman Will Kengor. Dykxhoorn then went on to face one over the minimum in the second through fifth innings, allowing one walk and another base runner on an error by shortstop Mott Hyde.
Dykxhoorn began the sixth inning with a 2-0 lead, but Hill led off with a triple down the right-field line and scored on a sacrifice fly by right fielder Ross Kivett. Gerber then drove his team-high fifth home run down the right-field line to tie the game, 2-2. It ended Dykxhoorn's outing after allowing two earned runs on four hits and one walk with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
Right-hander Eric Peterson (2-1) recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning, but he allowed Shepherd's third home run of the season to lead off the seventh inning and give West Michigan the lead for the first time in the series. Peterson completed 1 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on two hits with two strikeouts. River Bandits right-hander Ryan Thompson pitched a scoreless eighth inning with one strikeout.
The Whitecaps bullpen kept the lead to the end of the game. Right-hander Gage Smith (1-1) worked 1 2/3 innings, beginning with a perfect seventh. He allowed a leadoff single to Boyd in the eighth inning for the only Quad Cities base runner after the fifth inning. Boyd reached third base after a sacrifice by left fielder Jason Martin and groundout by first baseman Jamie Ritchie, but right-hander Joe Jimenez struck out Hyde to end the inning. In the ninth inning, Jimenez struck out Nottingham, got Tanielu to pop out at home plate and retired Trompiz on a flyout to left field for his fourth save. A day after matching a season high with eight extra-base hits, Quad Cities managed singles for all seven hits against West Michigan pitchers on Thursday.
The River Bandits conclude their series in West Michigan with a rubber match at 6 p.m. Central on Friday. River Bandits right-hander Joshua James (1-1) is scheduled to face Whitecaps right-hander Spenser Watkins (0-0) in the series finale.
