8/14/2007

Game Notes -- 8/14

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: West Michigan beat the Timber Rattlers 4-2. Charlie Furbush struck out ten Timber Rattlers over seven innings to earn the victory. Brennan Boesch and Ryan Strieby backed the pitching with solo home runs in the top of the fourth. Brett Jensen pitched a routine 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 22nd save of the season.

EARLY LEAD: West Michigan got a second inning run off Rattler starter Nolan Gallagher to go in front 1-0. Gorkys Hernandez singled to start the inning, stole second, and scored on a single by Michael Bertram.

RUNNING WILD: In the last two games, West Michigan is 7-for-9 in stolen base attempts. Hernandez picked up his Midwest League leading 46th base of the season last night. The Whitecaps are second in the league in steals with 154. The Cedar Rapids Kernels lead the league in stolen bases with 168.

YARD WORK: Boesch hit his tenth homer of the season with one out in the top of the fourth. Strieby hit his fifteenth of the season with two outs in the fourth.

OUTTA HERE: Alex Liddi got the Rattlers on the scoreboard with a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth. It was Liddi’s first home run since July 8 at Kane County.

UP TO A DOZEN: Joe White extended his hitting streak to twelve games with a two-out RBI single in the fourth to get the Rattlers to within 3-2. White is tied with Kuo Hui Lo for the longest hitting streak by a Rattler this season. White is 17-for-40 (.425) during the streak.

FOR THE WANT OF A HIT: The Rattlers loaded the bases after White’s hit, but Furbush got out of the jam with a groundout.

INSURANCE: A lead off triple by Audy Ciriaco in the top of the eighth was followed by a wild pitch that allowed him to score and put the Whitecaps up 4-2.

FINISHER: Brett Jensen worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 22nd save. He is third in the league in saves. Jensen has converted 22 of 24 save opportunities this season.

LEAGUE LEADERS: After last night, the Whitecaps have the best record, the best team batting average, best team ERA, and best fielding percentage in the MWL.

HALFWAY THERE: Tonight is the eighth game of a sixteen game home stand for the Rattlers. Wisconsin is 5-2 in the first seven games. They have an off day on Wednesday before continuing with the home stand on Thursday against Clinton.


OPPOSING STARTER: Jonah Nickerson was the 7th round pick of the Tigers in the 2006 draft out of Oregon State University. He was 13-4 with a 2.24ERA and 131 strikeouts for the 2006 College World Series Champion Beavers. Nickerson was named Most Outstanding Player of the CWS in 2006. He is 7-0 with a 1.20 ERA in nine second half starts. In his last start, Nickerson pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed three hits with four strikeouts at Clinton on August 8. The Rattlers beat Nickerson at Fifth Third Ballpark on April 23 in his only start against an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Wisconsin got five runs on eight hits over 6-1/3 innings in a 6-3 victory. Nickerson struck out five and walked one in that game.

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