ABOUT TUESDAY NIGHT: The Rattlers jumped out to a 6-0 lead and held on for a 6-5 victory over the Beloit Snappers. Jose Escalona allowed one run over five innings for the win.
BIG INNING: The Rattlers scored all of their runs in the third inning off Zach Ward. Adam Moore and Chris Minaker each had two run singles in the inning. Gerardo Avila and Travis Scott also added RBI singles.
FIRST LOSS: Ward had been 8-0 on the season. He was 7-0 for Dayton and 1-0 in one start for the Snappers.
SEVENTH WIN: Escalona leads the Rattlers in wins with seven. He has won two straight starts. In Tuesday’s game, Escalona got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the top of the second inning to keep the game scoreless. Overall, Escalona allowed one run on six hits with a pair of walks, a pair of hit batters, and five strikeouts.
LATE CHARGE: The Snappers trailed 6-1 heading into the top of the eighth inning. They scored four runs (two earned) off Ruben Flores and Brian Kappel to get close. But, Kappel closed the door in the eighth and slammed it again with a 1-2-3 top of the ninth.
SPLITSVILLE: The Rattlers split the four game series with the Snappers at Fox Cities Stadium. The final three games were all decided by one run with the Rattlers winning two of those games.
STOPPING THE RATTLER KILLER: Erik Lis hit his fourth homer against the Rattlers with a lead off shot against Escalona in the top of the fourth. Lis went 0-for-3 the rest of the game with two strikeouts. Lis finished the season 17-for-44 (.386) with four homers, five doubles, and sixteen RBI against Wisconsin.
DOUBLE SIXES: Wisconsin scored six runs in an inning twice in the series with the Snappers. In the third inning on Tuesday night and in the fourth inning on Sunday afternoon.
BIG CROWD: Tuesday’s attendance at Fox Cities Stadium was 5,525. It was the eighth home crowd of over 5,000 for the Rattlers this season. Wisconsin is now 4-4 when playing in front of over 5,000 fans at home in 2006.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Cedar Rapids Kernels are the Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Kernels did not qualify for the playoffs in the first half. Their current second half record of 20-25 puts them seven games behind the Swing of the Quad Cities for the top Western Division playoff spot and 5-1/2 games behind Beloit for the Western Division Wild Card. The Kernels are currently 51-64 overall. Cedar Rapids is coming into this series off a 14-4 win over the Lansing Lugnuts on Tuesday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The blowout win gave them a split in their series with the Lugnuts.
VS. CEDAR RAPIDS ’06: The Rattlers are 2-5 against the Kernels this season. Cedar Rapids swept a three game set from Wisconsin at Fox Cities Stadium April 13-15. Cedar Rapids won by scores of 7-2, 4-2, and 5-3. The teams met again May 4-7 at Memorial Stadium and split a four game series. Cedar Rapids won game one of the series 6-2. Wisconsin took game two 8-6 and game three 3-2 in eleven innings. The Kernels won the final game 6-5.
PROSPECTING: BASEBALL AMERICA’s Top 30 list of Angel prospects has three current Kernels on it. Pitcher Tommy Mendoza is the highest rated on the list at number ten. Infielders Mark Trumbo (#12) and Hainley Statia (#16) are also on the list. Jordan Renz is not listed by BA, but he is tied for the Midwest League lead in home runs with 21 and is fourth in the RBI race with 72. Pitchers Nick Adenhart (#6) and Stephen Marek (#18) each had ten wins this season for the Kernels, but both have been promoted to Rancho Cucamonga since the last time Wisconsin saw the Kernels.
OPPOSING STARTING PITCHER: Anthony Ortega was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela by the Angels in 2003. He recorded an ERA of 0.85 in 94-1/3 innings and was 7-4 in fourteen starts for the Angels Dominican Summer League team in 2005. Ortega began the 2006 season with Rancho Cucamonga in the California League where he appeared in five games for the Quakes going 0-1 with a save. He was sent down to extended spring training before heading to Orem in the Pioneer League where he went 1-1 with a 0.79 ERA in two starts before being promoted to Cedar Rapids. In his last start, the Peoria Chiefs scored three runs on seven hits over seven innings at O’Brien Field and tagged Ortega with the loss. Tonight is his first appearance against the Timber Rattlers.
No comments:
Post a Comment