TinCaps Baseball: Quad Cities Shuts Out Fort Wayne, One Game From Title
FORT WAYNE – TinCaps shortstop Gabriel Arias had three extra-base hits, but Fort Wayne lost to the Quad Cities River Bandits (Houston Astros), 5-0, on Thursday night at Parkview Field in Game 2 of the best-of-five Midwest League Championship Series.
A loud and electric crowd of 3,880 fans were on hand, raising the TinCaps’ franchise record-setting attendance number in 2017 to 419,128 over the course of 70 regular season games and four playoff games.
Quad Cities scored in the top of the first inning for the second straight night. With runners on first and second base and one out, Abraham Toro singled to score Major League rehabber Colin Moran from second for a 1-0 Quad Cities lead.
The River Bandits added to their lead in the sixth. A Wander Franco double and a Kristian Trompiz single put runners on second and third with no outs. Chas McCormick followed with a single to left field, scoring Franco to make it a 2-0 ballgame. Two batters later, Troy Sieber singled, allowing Trompiz to score from second for a 3-0 River Bandits lead.
Quad Cities extended its lead in the eighth. With Trompiz at second base, Moran singled to score Trompiz and push the Quad Cities advantage to 4-0.
The River Bandits tacked on an insurance run in the ninth. With Cody Bohanek at first base and two outs, J.J. Matijevic doubled to right-center field, scoring Bohanek to give Quad Cities a 5-0 edge.
Fort Wayne put runners on base but didn’t pick up timely hits. The TinCaps went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base.
Quad Cities starting pitcher Patrick Sandoval (W) threw six scoreless innings. The left-hander pitched to contact, striking out just two batters while walking one, and the River Bandits defense was error free in the game. Reliever Salvador Montano (S) closed the game out with three scoreless innings on the mound while striking out four batters.
TinCaps starting pitcher Lake Bachar (L) grinded through 3 1/3 innings. The right-hander gave up four hits and walked four batters but allowed just one run. The Fort Wayne bullpen had gone 20 consecutive innings in the playoffs without allowing an earned run, but that streak ended Thursday with four runs scoring after Bachar left the game.
Arias was a bright spot offensively for Fort Wayne. The 17-year-old tripled once, doubled twice, and walked. First baseman Kyle Overstreet singled in his final at bat of the night, extending his on-base streak to 20 games while in Fort Wayne.