Game Notes -- 5/8

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Rattlers lost 9-3 at South Bend. The Rattlers wound up with a split in their four game series with the Silver Hawks at Coveleski Regional Stadium. Kalian Sams led the Rattler offense with three hits and a solo home run.

IN THE FIRST PLACE: The Silver Hawks scored four runs in the first inning. Timber Rattler starting pitcher Anthony Varvaro walked in a run by issuing a bases loaded free pass to Steve Mena. Then, Frank Curreri doubled in three runners for a 4-0 South Bend lead.

CALIENTE: Carlos Peguero continued his hot hitting. The Rattler DH went 2-for-4 last night and went 7-for-15 in the series at South Bend.

FIRST TIMER: The home run by Sams was hit into the top of a tree to the left of the batter’s eye in center field for a blast of conservatively 430 feet. The homer was his first as a professional in the Mariner system.

LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BULLPEN: The Rattler bullpen pitched eighteen innings in the series against South Bend. They allowed seven runs (six earned) on 15 hits in the four games versus the Hawks. That works out ton an ERA of 3.00.

BANNISHING THE K: Timber Rattler hitters struck out just seven times yesterday. That was the fourth game in a row in which the team did not reach double digits in strikeouts.

TODAY’S ROSTER MOVES: Starting pitcher Tony Butler comes off the disabled list today. Also, Steve Richard is transferred back to the Timber Rattler roster from Everett. To make room, pitchers Nathan Adcock, Anthony Varvaro. and Kyle Parker have been transferred to the Everett roster. On the position player front, Luis Nunez has been transferred to the Everett roster to make room for infielder Alex Meneses.

MORE ON MENESES: The newest Rattler position player was a 35th round pick of Seattle in the 2006 draft out of Barry University in Florida. He played nine games and hit .387 for the Arizona League Mariners. Then, he was promoted to Inland Empire in the California League. With the 66ers, he hit .270 in 32 games with no homers and seven RBI. This season, Meneses started out with the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx in the Southern League and hit .217 in seven games. He made one appearance for the Tacoma Rainiers in the Pacific Coast League on May 5. Meneses drew a walk in his only Triple A plate appearance and scored a run for the Rainiers.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Great Lakes Loons are the Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. This franchise used to be the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays in Battle Creek, Michigan. That franchise moved to Midland after the 2006 season. The Loons are currently 12-18 and in 6th place in the Eastern Division. They trail the first place Dayton Dragons by 12-1/2 games. In their most recent series, the Hawks split a four game series with the Beloit Snappers. Former major league catcher Lance Parrish is the manager of Great Lakes.

PLEASED TO MEET YOU: This series is the first meeting between the Timber Rattlers and a Dodger farm team ever. The last time and Appleton baseball team faced a Dodger team was during the 1979 season when the Dodgers had an affiliate in Clinton, Iowa. The Dodgers were in Clinton from 1977-1979. Other Dodger affiliates in the Midwest League have included: Danville, Illinois (1975-1976), Dubuque, Iowa (1967), Keokuk, Iowa (1962), and Kokomo, Indiana (1956-1961).

PROSPECTING: BASEBALL AMERICA has placed six members of the Great Lakes roster on their top thirty list of Dodger prospects. Pitcher Clayton Kershaw is the highest rated at number two. Third baseman Josh Bell and shortstop Preston Mattingly are numbers nine and ten. Carlos Santana is on the list at number twenty-three. Pitchers Cody White (#24) and Josh Hall (#29) round of the Loons on the list.

OPPOSING STARTER: Clayton Kershaw was the first round pick of the Dodgers in the 2006 draft out of Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas. He was the seventh player taken in the ’06 draft. Kershaw was 2-0 in ten games (eight starts) for the Gulf Coast League Dodgers in his first action as a professional. He was 2-0 with a 1.95ERA and struck out 54 batters while walking just five. Kershaw won his last start for the Loons. On April 30 at Quad Cities, he pitched six shutout innings and allowed six hits while walking three and striking out seven. In his previous start for Great Lakes, Kershaw struck out twelve Cedar Rapids Kernels and walked only one over six innings on April 24. He got a no decision against the Kernels in that game. This is his first start against the Rattlers and his first appearance against an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.