Joe Gray Jr. hit a pair of two-run homers and Felix Valerio added one as the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers beat the Quad Cities River Bandits 8-4 in game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader at Modern Woodmen Park.

Valerio and Gray both struck in the first inning for the Timber Rattlers (47-50) to get to an early lead.

Carlos Rodríguez started the game with a single.  Valerio followed with a homer to the berm seating beyond the fence in left.  Joey Wiemer doubled off the wall in center with one out.  Then, Gray cracked a homer beyond the berm seating beyond the fence in left and Wisconsin was up 4-0.

Quad Cities (63-33) rallied with two outs in the bottom of the second inning to get on the scoreboard.  Logan Porter had singled with one out.  Wisconsin starter Brandon Knarr issued a walk with two outs and an error on Zavier Warren loaded the bases.  Tucker Bradley singled to left to score two runs.  Knarr escaped the inning with a strikeout to keep the Rattlers up 4-2.
 

Gray got both of those runs back when he cracked another two-run homer in the top of the third.  He hit this one to right field after an Ashton McGee single to start the inning.

Kekai Rios added to the lead in the inning with an RBI single, his second hit of the game.
 

Knarr worked through five innings, allowed five hits, walked three, and struck out four while only allowing those unearned runs in the bottom of the second inning.

Wisconsin added to their lead in the top of the sixth inning when Wiemer singled to drive Rios home from second base and the score was 8-2 in favor of the Rattlers.

Cam Robinson entered from the Wisconsin bullpen with a scoreless sixth. He gave up a two-run single to Logan Porter in the bottom of the seventh but closed out the game with no further damage.