ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers fell 6-4 to the Fort Wayne Wizards. Wisconsin had a 4-3 lead going into the top of the ninth inning. But, the Wizards scored three times off Austin Bibens-Dirkx for the comeback win. Fort Wayne took three of the four games in the series from the Rattlers.
INTO THE NINTH: The Rattlers had been 27-2 when leading after eight innings this season. But, a leadoff double by Jose Lobaton started the Wizard ninth inning last night. A bloop single by AJ Davidiuk tied the game. Mike Baxter’s two-out RBI double put the Wizards up 5-4 and Will Venable’s RBI triple capped the Wizard rally.
EVEN DOZEN: Wisconsin relievers have twelve blown saves this season after last night.
QUALITY TIME: Rattler starter Marwin Vega gave up three runs on eight hits for a statistical quality start. It was the first quality start by the Rattlers since Nick Allen’s start against South Bend on July 27.
BACK-AND-FORTH: Wisconsin took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on back-to-back RBI hits by Robby Hudson and Mike Saunders. The Wizards scored two in the fifth and one in the sixth to go up 3-2. The Rattlers tied the game with a run in the sixth and took the 4-3 lead on another RBI by Saunders in the seventh.
SAUNDERS ON FIRE: Saunders extended his hitting streak to five games and is 7-for-19 during the streak. In the series with the Wizards, Saunders drove in four runs and scored three.
COOLED OFF: Eddy Hernandez started the series with the Wizards at .241. That was up from .217 at the end of the first half. Hernandez went 1-for-10 with six strikeouts against the Wizards.
MORE STRIKEOUT STUFF: Alex Gary went 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts last night. The Rattler outfielder has struck out 63 times in 126 at bats this season. Half of Gary’s at bats have ended in strikeouts this season.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Beloit Snappers are the Midwest League affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. Beloit is currently 24-18 in the second half. They trail Western Division leading Quad Cities by one-half game and lead Cedar Rapids by 5-1/2 games for the Western Division Wild Card. The Snappers are 59-51 overall this season.
MILK PAIL SERIES ’06: The Rattlers and Snappers are playing for the Milk Pail Trophy once again this season. Wisconsin took two out of three from Beloit at Pohlman Field in a mid-April series. Wisconsin won game one 7-2. The Snappers won the second game 11-10 in twelve innings. Wisconsin got the victory in game three 7-1. Beloit swept a four game series at Pohlman Field to take a 5-2 lead in the season series. One win in this series will win the trophy for the Snappers. Wisconsin needs a series sweep to capture the Milk Pail.
CLOSE, TOO CLOSE: Since the Snappers became an affiliate of the Twins before the 2005 season, Beloit is 14-12 in the series against the Rattlers. Wisconsin and Beloit split sixteen games in the regular season (The Rattlers were 4-4 at Pohlman Field and 4-4 at Fox Cities Stadium.) The teams met in the 2005 Western Division Championship Series and the Rattlers won that series 2-1. This is Beloit’s first visit to Fox Cities Stadium since September 9, 2005.
PROSPECTING: BASEBALL AMERICA’s Top 30 list of Twin prospects has six members of the current Snapper roster on it. Shortstop Paul Kelly is the highest ranked Snapper at number 11. Pitcher Eddie Morlan checks in as the highest rated hurler at number 15. Others on the list are: infielder Juan Portes (#18), infielder Drew Thompson (#19), pitcher Adam Hawes (#28), and pitcher Alexander Smit (#30).
OPPOSING STARTING PITCHER: Ryan Mullins was a 3rd round pick of the Twins in the 2005 draft out of Vanderbilt where he was a member of the first team All-SEC squad in his final season. Mullins was 3-0 with a 2.18ERA in eleven starts for Elizabethton in his first pro season. In his last start, Mullins got a no decision against the Rattlers at Pohlman Field on July 31. Mullins allowed four runs (two earned) over six innings with four strikeouts and no walks. He left with a 6-4 lead, but the Rattlers tied the game in the top of the eighth.
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