ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Rattlers could no hold a 4-0 lead and wound up on the short end of an 8-7 decision at the hands of the Cougars. Aaron Recker’s lead-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning snapped a 7-7 tie.
EARLY LEAD: Wisconsin scored three runs in the first inning and tacked on another run in the fourth for their 4-0 lead.
CHARGING IN THE MIDDLE: The Cougars scored a three times in the bottom of the fifth inning off Rattler starting pitcher Harold Williams. The lefty gave up three straight singles to load the bases and then uncorked a wild pitch to allow one run to score – another run scored on the same play because of an error by Williams. A sac fly made it a 4-3 score.
PARTY ON, GARTH! Rattler infielder Ron Garth singled in a run in the top of the sixth to pad the Rattler lead to 5-3. Garth had three hits, drove in two runs, and scored a run for Wisconsin last night.
BACK-TO-BACK JACKS: Rattler reliever Jeff Gilmore gave up a lead-off home run to Jose Pineda in the bottom of the sixth. Steve Kleen, the next batter for the Cougars, launched another home run to tie the game. Later in the inning, Frank Martinez singled in two runs with a two-out hit off Rollie Gibson for a 7-5 lead.
HOW DID THEY RALLY? The Rattlers tied the game in the top of the seventh with a run scoring passed ball and a run scoring wild pitch. But, in the bottom of the seventh, Recker hammered a 2-0 pitch from Guaramato to right for the game-winner.
EASY NIGHT WORK: TJ Franco retired the only batter he faced to get out of the seventh and he got the win.
MR. AUTOMATIC: Steve Sharpe pitched a scoreless eighth and a scoreless ninth for his eighth save in eight save opportunities this season for Kane County.
BAD POWER SURGE: Timber Rattler relievers gave up three home runs in three innings last night. In their prior 128-1/3 innings, the Rattler bullpen gave up just five homers.
SEASON LOW: The Rattlers are at 17-23, six games below .500. This is the first time in 2006 that Wisconsin has been six games under the .500 mark.
OPPOSING STARTING PITCHER: Jared Lansford was a second round pick of the Athletics in 2005 draft out of Santa Clara High School. He was 0-1 with a 1.27ERA for the AZL Athletics in 2005. In 21-1/3 innings he struck out 20 and walked just five. In his last start, Lansford pitched a seven inning no-hitter against the Beloit Snappers on May 14 in the first game of a doubleheader at Pohlman Field. This is his first appearance against the Rattlers. He did not face the AZL M’s in the Arizona League last season. Lansford is the son of former major leaguer Carney Lansford.
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