By WJBC Staff
PEORIA – The Peoria Chiefs lost the final game of the three-game homestand to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 3-1 on Thursday night. With the loss the Chiefs fall to 28-25 as they head on the road for a three-game series with the first-place Cedar Rapids Kernels.
Wisconsin broke a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh inning against Chiefs starting pitcher Brennan Leitao. The first batter of the inning, Blake Allemand homered to right field to give the Timber Rattlers a 1-0 lead.
The Chiefs answered with one out in the seventh against Wisconsin reliever Jordan Yamamoto. Vaughn Bryan singled, stole second and scored on a single by Dylan Becker to tie the game 1-1. Yamamoto, in relief of starter Devin Williams, escaped the inning with the game tied as he retired Craig Aikin and Magneuris Sierra with Becker stranded at first.
The Timber Rattlers regained the lead for good in the eighth as the ended Leitao’s night. Max McDowell led off with a single and moved into scoring position on a sac bunt. Carlos Belonis singled to center to score McDowell and advanced to second on an error by Sierra. With the Chiefs down 2-1, Tyler Bray entered the game and allowed back-to-back two-out singles to Allemand and Isan Diaz for a 3-1 Wisconsin lead.
The Chiefs got a one-out single from Eli Alvarez in the bottom of the eighth to bring the tying run to the plate. Yamamoto got a groundout and a strikeout to end the inning and retired the Chiefs in order in the ninth for the 3-1 Wisconsin lead.
Leitao (3-5) took the loss allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits while striking out four and walking one in 7 1/3 innings of work. Bray allowed two hits and struck out one while not allowing a run of his own over 2/3 of an inning. Steven De La Cruz pitched the ninth and allowed no runs and one hit.
