MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Bandits prevent Bees from clinching division at home

Published on August 28, 2008 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


Richard Castillo twirled eight shutout innings in his final start of the 2008 season on Thursday night, leading the Quad Cities River Bandits to a 1-0 win over the Burlington Bees at Community Field.

Quad Cities (33-33, 66-64) salvaged the series split with the win and will head back to Modern Woodmen Park on Friday for Prize-A-Palooza, a season-ending four-game homestand against Wisconsin that features exciting giveaways every day. The loss by first-place Burlington (41-24, 71-63) prevented them from clinching the second-half Western Division crown on their home field, as they finish out the regular season with four games in Beloit.

The ballgame was dominated by Castillo (8-4), an 18-year-old righty from Venezuela who was magnificent in his final start of the 2008 season. He needed 99 pitches to throw eight shutout innings, holding the Bees to four hits while fanning two and walking one. The youngster retired the final 10 batters he faced in order to finish his 2008 campaign with an 8-4 record and a 2.62 ERA, just one season removed from his days in the Venezuelan Summer League.

The only run of the game crossed the plate in the top of the fourth, when Curt Smith grounded a breaking ball up the middle for a single to start a River Bandits rally. One out later Carlos Pupo lined a double to right that got past right fielder Nick Van Stratten and put men on second and third. The infield was in when Nick Peoples hit a bouncer to second, but with Smith breaking home on contact Johnny Giavotella could not glove the ball cleanly. The second baseman dropped the bouncer and was able to recover in time to throw out the runner at first, but the miscue allowed Smith to score for a 1-0 lead.

That margin held up thanks to Castillo's gem, while Jared Bradford (1) added a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his first save of the year.

The win marked the 179th career victory for Steve Dillard as a River Bandits manager, moving him into a third-place tie on the all-time franchise list with former Quad Cities Angels skipper Eddie Rodriguez (1987-89). Dillard also guided the River Bandits in 1993 and 1994 when they were a Houston Astros affiliate before his long career in the baseball brought him back to Davenport with the St. Louis Cardinals organization. One more win will earn the former big-league infielder sole possession of third place on the franchise wins list, a spot that he already occupies on the list for games managed, leaving him on track to lead Quad Cities for the 400th time in his managerial career on Saturday.

Danny Gutierrez (4-4) suffered the tough-luck loss for Burlington despite an impressive start. The 21-year-old right-hander struck out eight while allowing just one run over 5.2 innings. He gave up five hits and walked one, recording at least one strikeout in every inning he pitched.

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Midwest League Stories from August 28, 2008


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