DAVENPORT, Iowa - Quad Cities pitching combined for a three-hit shutout Thursday night, blanking Cedar Rapids for the second time this season, 2-0.
After leading wire-to-wire in the game on Wednesday, the River Bandits got on the board first again on Thursday. To lead off the second, Ramon Ramierez lifted a home run to left to make it 1-0.
Quad Cities added a run in the third. Angel Acosta reached on a one-out single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, Blake Mitchell ripped an RBI double to double the lead to 2-0.
And that was the end of the scoring on the night. Quad Cities lefty Justin Lampkin got the start and did not allow a run on just two hits across five innings of work. Behind him, the River Bandits bullpen spun four scoreless innings, holding the Kernels to 0-8 with runners in scoring position while leaving 11 Cedar Rapids runners on base to post the 2-0 shutout win.
The Kernels pitching staff was a bright spot in the defeat. Jason Doktorczyk allowed two runs, one earned, and struck out a season-high five across a season-long five innings of work. Sam Rochard was the first out of the Cedar Rapids bullpen and tossed a scoreless inning. After him, Adam Falinski struck out four in two innings in his high-A debut.
The loss drops the Kernels to 15-15 on the season and to 1-2 to begin the series against Quad Cities. The six-game set continues with game four on Friday at 6:30. Ivran Romero gets the start for Cedar Rapids opposite Josh Hansell.