Miqueas Mercedes started Wednesday’s game against the Beloit Sky Carp to make his Wisconsin Timber Rattlers debut. His first Midwest League game was memorable for the right-hander as he tossed 5-2/3 scoreless innings to earn the win as the Rattlers held on for a 4-3 victory at ABC Supply Stadium.
Luis Castillo put the Timber Rattlers (67-56 overall, 33-28 second half) up 1-0 with a two-out, RBI single in the top of the first. Sawyer Strosnider made it 2-0 with an RBI grounder in the second inning.
Both starting pitchers kept the score right there. Brayan Mendoza only allowed three hits – and none after the second inning – as he went six innings and struck out seven for the Sky Carp. Mercedes walked four, struck out four, and allowed three hits over his 5-2/3 shutout inning. Mercedes did need some assistance to keep the zeros in his run column.
Beloit chased Mercedes from the game with a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth. He retired the first two batters he faced before allowing a single and a walk to end his night. Yerlin Rodriguez threw a wild pitch and issued a walk to load the bases before getting the final out of the sixth to protect the 2-0 advantage.
Rodriguez followed that up with a perfect bottom of the seventh.
Eric Bitonti hit a towering home run to right to start the Wisconsin eighth inning. The homer was the twenty-fifth of the season for the Timber Rattlers single-season home run record holder. Only three players in the history of Professional Baseball in Appleton have hit more homers in a season: Daryl Boston hit 26 with the 1972 Appleton Foxes, Carlos Pascual had 27 with the 1958 Fox Cities Foxes, and Pat Seerey had 31 with the 1941 Appleton Papermakers.
Later in the eighth, Luiyin Alastre made the score 4-0 with a sacrifice fly. That turned out to be a very important run.
Rodriguez walked the lead-off batter in the bottom of the eighth inning but got Carter Johnson to send a grounder to Tayden Hall at first. Hall threw to second for the force play but Juan Ortuño’s return throw to Rodriguez to complete to double play could not be handled. Victor Ortega followed with a double. Then, Chase Jaworsky hit 1-2 pitch from Rodriguez to right for a three-run homer to cut Wisconsin’s lead to one run.
Michael Fowler entered the game from the Wisconsin bullpen and got the final two outs of the eighth. In the ninth, he issued a two-out walk before getting a strikeout to close out the game and earn his fifth save of the season.
The Timber Rattlers have won three consecutive games.
Game three of the series is Thursday night at ABC Supply Stadium. Jayden Dubanewicz (3-5, 5.13) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Nate Payne (5-7, 3.89) is set to start for the Sky Carp. Game time is 6:05pm.
