APPLETON, WI – The West Michigan Whitecaps enjoyed a dominant pitching performance by starter Beau Brieske, who helped one-hit the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in a 4-1 victory Thursday night at Fox Cities Stadium.
The one-hitter from Brieske and relievers Sam Kessler, Yaya Chentouf, and Ruben Garcia marks the first time the Whitecaps have accomplished the feat in a nine-inning game since Brad Bass and Johan Belisario combined to one-hit Bowling Green on August 10, 2018.
Wisconsin opened the scoring in the first inning when Thomas Dillard stroked an RBI-triple to give the Timber Rattlers a 1-0 advantage and their first lead at any point of the first three games of the series. Dillard’s triple ended up being the only base hit logged by Wisconsin the entire game. As it turned out, the Timber Rattlers lead was short-lived, as Daniel Cabrera launched his first professional home run to open the second and tie the game. Bryant Packard followed with a solo shot of his own to give West Michigan its first back-to-back homers of the 2021 season and a 2-1 lead.
After plating a run in the third, Brieske made a 3-1 advantage stand by striking out a Whitecaps season-best nine batters in six phenomenal innings before the bullpen finished the job. In the seventh, the ‘pen ran into its only trouble when Sam Kessler walked the first two batters he faced before hitting Gabriel Garcia with one out. Chentouf entered and needed only one pitch to end the inning as he got Jesus Lujano to bounce into a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play. In the ninth, Cabrera drew a bases-loaded walk as Garcia tossed a perfect final two innings to give West Michigan its third straight victory.
Brieske (1-0) retired the last 14 batters he faced to help collect his first win as a Whitecap, while Timber Rattlers starter Zach Mort (0-1) gave up three runs in just 2.2 innings to take his first loss this season. Garcia struck out three of the six batters he faced – all of which he retired to enjoy his second save with the club. The Whitecaps even their record at 7-7 while the Timber Rattlers fall for the third straight game to 6-9.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps and Timber Rattlers continue this series on Friday at 7:35 pm. The Whitecaps send Jesus Rodriguez to the mound against Wisconsin’s Victor Castaneda. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 7:20 pm. A limited number of tickets are available for select Whitecaps 2021 home contests by calling the Whitecaps front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.
