The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers dropped a 6-3 decision to the South Bend Cubs on Wednesday afternoon at Four Winds Field. Jose Escobar had four hits, three RBI, and two runs scored to lead the Cubs over Wisconsin.
Game Recap
The Timber Rattlers took the lead in the top of the third inning. Braylon Payne doubled off the top of the wall in left to drive in the first run of the game. Daniel Dickinson knocked in Payne with a two-out single for a 2-0 lead.
South Bend came right back to tie the game in the bottom of the third. Wisconsin starting pitcher Wande Torres, who escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first inning without allowing a run, walked the first two batters of the third with an error loading the bases with no outs. Kade Snell drove in the first Cubs run with a single. Michael Halquist knocked in the tying run with a sacrifice fly.
The Cubs kept the pressure on reliever Tanner Perry in the bottom of the fourth. Justin Stransky singled and Kane Kepley walked to start the inning. Perry got the first out on a flyball to center that moved Stransky to third base. Then, Kepley stole second, his 45th stolen base of the season. Escobar followed with a single to right to score both runners for a 4-2 lead.
Luis Castillo pulled the Timber Rattlers to within a run on a two-out, RBI double in the top of the sixth. Daniel Guilarte beat out an infield single to keep the inning alive. However, Castillo got caught rounding third base too far to be tagged out after a brief rundown.
Jason Woodward, the fourth Wisconsin pitcher of the day, retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the eighth. He walked Josiah Hartshorn to bring Escobar back to the plate. Escobar doubled off the wall in right to score Hartshorn with an insurance run.
Yerlin Rodriguez replaced Woodward on the mound and gave up an RBI single to Angel Cepeda to put the Rattlers down 6-3.
Grayson Moore took over for the Cubs in the top of the ninth and closed out the game with a 1-2-3 frame for his fourth save of the season.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
