Game Notes -- 8/3

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Dayton Dragons beat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 2-1. Keltavious Jones hit a pinch hit double to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning. That game-winning hit came in Jones’ first at bat with the Dragons.

HOME RUN DROUGHTS OVER: Ron Garth gave the Rattlers a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning with a home run. The solo shot was Garth’s first home run since August 16, 2006. That homer was also the first by a Timber Rattler since Carlos Peguero went deep against South Bend on July 23. The homer drought was at 73-1/3 innings for Wisconsin.

GOOD START: Wisconsin starter Ricky Orta pitched five shutout innings, allowed one hit, struck out seven, and left with a 1-0 lead.

TIED UP: Drew Stubbs tripled to start the sixth inning against Rattler reliever Mike Wagner. With one out and the infield drawn in, Juan Francisco flared a single to right that barely made the outfield grass. Stubbs scored to even the game 1-1.

CHANCES WERE: Wisconsin got a lead off walk in the top of the seventh, but an unsuccessful sacrifice bunt was followed by a double play. Gavin Dickey drew a lead off walk in the eighth, stole second and went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Leury Bonilla. But, Ramon Geronimo struck out the next two batters to end the inning.

SCARY END: Rattler right fielder Leury Bonilla crashed into the outfield wall trying to track down the line drive off the bat of Jones in the ninth. He then fell on to the warning track and remained down for several moments. Bonilla walked off the field on his own power and needed a few stitches in his chin.

STUCK ON ONE: The Rattlers scored one run in each of the three losses to the Dragons. After winning game one of the four game series 6-1, the Rattlers lost 2-1, 8-1, and 2-1.

ONE RUN RECORD: The Rattlers are 10-18 in games decided by one run this season.

ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER: The Rattles have only been shutout seven times this season. But, they have scored one run in a game 18 times. Wisconsin is 1-17 when they score just one run in a game. The lone win was a 1-0 win over Kane County on May 21.

STREAK ENDS: Rattler infielder Reed Eastley went 0-for-4 and saw his consecutive on base end streak end. Since June 12, Rattler infielder Reed Eastley had reached base in 38 consecutive games. This was the longest streak of its kind in the Midwest League this season.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Fort Wayne Wizards at the Midwest League affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are 46-61 overall. The Wizards are 15-23 in the second half. That record puts them in 5th place in the Midwest League Eastern Division. Fort Wayne missed the playoffs in the first half. They went 1-3 against the Beloit Snappers at Memorial Stadium in their most recent series. Former major leaguer Doug Dascenzo is the manager of the Wizards.

THE SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers are 1-3 in the season series with the Wizards. The teams met at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium April 26-29. The Wizards won game one 3-1. Wisconsin took game two 12-4. Fort Wayne won the final two games of the series 9-3 and 11-10.

COMPARE & CONTRAST: The Rattlers have a team batting average of .240 (T-13th in the MWL) while the Wizards have a team average of .252 (T-8th). Fort Wayne has scored 426 runs (11th) compared to 392 (14th) scored by Wisconsin. Wizard hitters have 59 homers (10th), while the Rattlers have 46 (14th). The Fort Wayne pitching staff has an ERA of 4.33 (13th). Wisconsin’s hurlers have an ERA of 4.10 (T-10th).

PROSPECTING: BASEBALL AMERICA has three members of the current Fort Wayne roster on their list of top 30 list of Padre prospects. BA has rated Fort Wayne outfielder Cedric Hunter as the number one prospect in the San Diego organization. Pitchers Aaron Breit and Drew Miller are ranked as the 11th and 12th best prospects in the Padre organization.

OUT OF THE DRAFT: The Wizards have five members of San Diego’s 2007 draft class on their active roster and the top Padre pick of ’07 is on the Fort Wayne disabled list. Nick Schmidt, the 23rd overall pick of the 2007 draft, is on the DL. Pitcher Cory Luebke, a supplemental first round pick this year, is the scheduled starter on Monday. Pitchers Allen Harrington (13th round) and Brandon Gomes (17th round) are joined by catcher Luis Martinez (12th round) and outfielder Keith Conlon (14th round) on the Wizard roster.

OPPOSING STARTER: Drew Miller was a 37th round pick of the Padres in the 2005 draft out of Seminole State (OK) Junior College as a draft-and-follow. He went 5-1 with a 3.56 ERA as he split time between the Arizona League and the Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest League in 2006. In his last start for the Wizards, Miller took the loss against the Kane County Cougars on July 29. Miller allowed two runs on one hit with a walk, two hit batters, and seven strikeouts over five innings. This is Miller’s first appearance against the Timber Rattlers. In 2006, he faced the AZL Mariners two times and the Everett AquaSox twice. Miller is 1-0 with a 5.63 ERA against Mariner affiliates.