Jo Adell homered again for the Bees on Friday. He is 8-for-20 with four homers in his last four games.

The last time I was at Fox Cities Stadium, I watched an 18-11 slugfest between the Quad Cities River Bandits and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. My return visit Friday saw a lower-scoring game, as the Burlington Bees beat the Timber Rattlers 3-2.

The Timber Rattlers scored first, plating both of their runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Joantgel Segovia singled home Nick Roscetti (who had doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch), and Tristen Lutz tripled home Segovia. Lutz was thrown out at home on the next play, trying to score on a ground ball by Demi Orimoloye.

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers rightfielder Tristen Lutz bats during the 1st inning of Friday’s game.

The Bees responded with a run of their own in the next frame, thanks to a triple by Torii Hunter Jr. followed by an RBI groundout by Keinner Pina. Burlington tied the score on a solo homer by Jo Adell in the top of the 6th before Pina singled home Leonardo Rivas to plate the decisive run in the 8th.

Burlington Bees catcher Keinner Pina plays catch during pre-game warm-ups.

Bees reliever Oliver Ortega got the win in his Midwest League debut. He pitched innings four through seven, scattering two hits and one walk while striking out three batters.

Burlington Bees RHP Oliver Ortega

Game 2 of the series — which I will be at — is Saturday afternoon and will feature a rehab appearance by Milwaukee Brewers RHP Zach Davies, who will start for the Timber Rattlers. (He is coming back from a rotator cuff injury.) RHP Simon Mathews will start for the Bees. He is 0-2 with a 5.96 ERA, 30 strikeouts and six walks in 22.2 innings (six games/four starts) for Burlington this season.

LEGO Night

It was LEGO Night at Fox Cities Stadium. The first 1,000 fans received a LEGO-compatible OYO Sports mini-figure of Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson, who played for the Timber Rattlers in 2011. A LEGO mascot roamed the ballpark for awhile, and everything was awesome because all the players were part of a team! (That’s a LEGO Movie reference, in case you didn’t know.)

Best of all, fans could see this cool LEGO version of Milwaukee’s Miller Park. The “retractable roof” even moved!

Want to see more photos from this game and others I attend this season? Bonus photos are among the exclusive content you can see on my Patreon site by pledging a minimal $1 per month to help support and defray costs associated with my Midwest League coverage. Read more about it here.

*All photos by Craig Wieczorkiewicz/The Midwest League Traveler