Wisconsin Makes It Five Wins in a Row with Near No-Hitter
August 31, 2023 - Midwest League (MWL)
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers News Release
BELOIT, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are trying to make a memorable dash to the finish of the 2023 Midwest League. On Thursday night at ABC Supply Stadium, Wisconsin carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning as they shut out the Beloit Sky Carp 5-0 to claim their fifth win in a row. Joseph Hernandez, Stiven Cruz, and Tanner Shears combined to keep the Sky Carp off the scoreboard for the second time in the series.
The Timber Rattlers (55-66 overall, 29-28 second half) took the lead in the first inning. Robert Moore and Brock Wilken had back-to-back singles with one out. Then, the duo pulled a double steal to get into scoring position. Hendry Mendez drove in Moore with a chopper over the mound that went for a 6-3 putout.
The first two Timber Rattlers walked in the top of the second inning but were still on first and second with two outs. Eric Brown Jr didn't waste the opportunity as he lined a single to center to drive in a run and give Wisconsin a 2-0 advantage.
Brown came to the plate again with two outs in the fourth inning, this time with runners at second and third. He got another run home with an infield single. Moore followed with another two-out, RBI single for a 4-0 lead.
Hernandez hit the lead-off batter in the top of the fourth and got the next batter on a flyout to right. That ended his night as he is still working his pitch count back to where it was before he went on the Wisconsin injured list in May. Hernandez walked two, hit one, and struck out four on 51 pitches.
Cruz took over for Hernandez and got Ynmanol Marinez to ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. In the fifth, Cruz retired the first two batters, walked the next two batters, and retired the final batter on a foul popup to end a ten pitch at bat.
Eduarqui Fernández walked, stole second, and stole third in the Wisconsin sixth inning. He scored by beating a throw to the plate after a Moore grounder to first for a 5-0 lead.
The Sky Carp (51-71, 24-33) had two on with one out in the sixth inning after Cruz had walked two more batters. Then, Cruz got Marinez to ground into another inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play.
Cruz pitched a perfect seventh inning to take the no-hit bid into the eighth inning. Cristhian Rodriguez, the lead-off batter in the eighth, sent a sharp grounder up the middle. Brown ranged over from short to make a sliding stop but lost the ball on the transfer to this throwing hand and Rodriguez reached on Beloit's first hit of the night. Cruz retired the next three hitters to keep the shutout intact. The right-hander from Nicaragua earned his sixth win of the season as he allowed one hit, walked four, and struck out two over 4-2/3 innings.
Shears was called in from the Wisconsin bullpen for the ninth inning and he gave up a lead-off double to Zach Zubia. The Sky Carp would load the bases with two outs. Shears ended the game with a strikeout and the Rattlers got to celebrate their first five-game winning streak of the season.
The Timber Rattlers did not pick up ground on the Peoria Chiefs in the West Division second half playoff race. The Chiefs won 4-2 at Quad Cities on Thursday night to stay four games ahead of Wisconsin in the battle to face Cedar Rapids in the first round of the postseason. Peoria lowered their magic number to five with nine games remaining in the regular season.
Game four of the series is Friday night at ABC Supply Stadium. Alexander Cornielle (0-3, 5.09) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. The Sky Carp have named Cade Gibson (3-7, 5.80) as their starter. Game time is 6:35pm. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Community Blood Center Pregame show at 6:15pm. Fans can listen on the radio, on the First Pitch app, or at this link.
R H E
WIS 110 201 000 - 5 11 0
BEL 000 000 000 - 0 2 0
Click here for the boxscore
WP: Stiven Cruz (6-6)
LP: Gabe Bierman (4-4)
TIME: 3:02
ATTN: 1,207
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