GRAND CHUTE, WI – Kendry Chourio and Emmanuel Reyes combined on a no-hitter for the Quad Cities River Bandits in their 11-0 victory over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Sunday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field. The Bandits win combined with a win by the Beloit Sky Carp over the Cedar Rapids Kernels knocked Wisconsin out of first place in the second half West Division Standings for the first time since the half started on June 19.
DL Hall made the start for the Rattlers on a rehabilitation assignment from the Milwaukee Brewers. Hall pitched one scoreless inning, allowed one hit, and had one strikeout.
Quad Cities (44-42 overall, 14-9 second half) scored four times against the Rattlers in the top of the fourth inning. Three straight singles to start the frame ended on an RBI single by Luke Pelzer. A balk by Wisconsin reliever Josh Knoth moved two runners into scoring position. Jose Cirece knocked in the second run of the inning with a grounder to short.
Knoth and Derlin Figueroa battled through ten pitches to a full count with Figueroa fouling off four two-strike pitches after falling behind 1-2. Figueroa launched his eighteenth home run of the season on the eleven pitch of the at bat for a 4-0 lead.
The River Bandits added four more runs in the fifth inning. Blake Mitchel hit another two-run homer, his seventeenth home run of the season, with two outs to make it 6-0. Pelzer singled to keep the inning alive and end Knoth’s day.
Quinton Low took over on the mound and gave up a single to Cerice and a two-run triple to Figueroa before getting the final out of the frame.
Chourio, the #1 prospect in the Kansas City Royals system, retired the first thirteen batters he faced before walking Luis Castillo in the fifth. A two-out error was followed by a walk to load the bases for Wisconsin (48-37, 14-9). Chourio responded to the challenge by getting his tenth strikeout of the game.
Two errors on one play in the top of the sixth led to another run for Quad Cities. Pelzer and Cerice each added an RBI for the 11-0 score.
Emmanuel Reyes, who was supposed to start the canceled second game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Neuroscience Group Field, took over in the bottom of the sixth and was perfect. He retired all twelve Rattlers he faced with three strikeouts to earn the save, complete the three-game sweep, clinch the season series from Wisconsin, and close out the first River Bandits no-hitter since June 18, 2021.
That game was also the last time the Timber Rattlers were no-hit. Zach Haake pitched the first six innings with Dante Biasi tossing the final three of the River Bandits 9-0 win over the Rattlers at Modern Woodmen Park. That duo walked six and struck out eight.
Beloit’s 15-11 win at Cedar Rapids on Sunday moved them to 15-9 in the second half. The Sky Carp are one-half game in front of both Quad Cities and the Timber Rattlers. Quad Cities went 11-9 against Wisconsin this season and hold the tiebreaker over the Rattlers should they end the second half tied. There is still a long way to go before the season ends on September 6.
The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday. They return to action on Tuesday with game one of a series against the South Bend Cubs, the first half West Division Champions. Game time at Four Winds Field in South Bend, Indiana is scheduled for 6:05pm CDT. The radio broadcast on Newstalk 93.9 WOSH and internet audio has the radio broadcast starting with the Community Blood Center Pregame Show at 6:45pm. Bally Sports Live will have the game on their app, too.