ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers beat the West Michigan Whitecaps 7-5. Ron Garth had three this and drove in a pair of runs for the Rattler offense.
LEAD #1: The Rattlers jumped out to a 3-0 lead with single runs in the first, second, and fourth innings.
COMEBACK #1: The Whitecaps scored three runs in the top of the fifth and one run in the seventh to go up 4-3.
COMEBACK #2: The Rattlers scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning to retake the lead.
TO ERR: West Michigan committed eight errors last night. That tied a franchise record for errors in one game.
ANATOMY OF A RALLY: Alex Liddi was at second with one out in the bottom of the seventh trailing 4-3. He took off for third base on a pitch in the dirt. Catcher Jordan Newton’s throw went into left field and Liddi scored the tying run. Juan Diaz, who was at the plate when Liddi made his dash for home, drew a walk later in the at bat. Garth singled to left with two outs and the ball got by left fielder Joe Tucker. Diaz scored to put the Rattlers up 5-4. Garth would scored the third run of the inning when shortstop Audy Ciriaco threw wildly to first on a grounder off the bat of Blake Ochoa.
NAILED DOWN: Shawn Kelley picked up his third save in three attempts this season by getting the final three outs.
UP TO TEN: Edilio Colina went 1-for-5 last night and extended his hitting streak to ten games.
NUMBER NINE*: Calvin Beamon had a pair of hits last night and moved his hitting streak to nine games.
WHERE THOSE STAND: Evan Reed of South Bend has the longest current hitting streak in the Midwest League. He is at 18 games. Adrian Ortiz is next with an 11 game hitting streak. Colina has the third longest active streak in the MWL. Beamon has the fourth longest streak in the loop.
WALK THE LINE: Eddy Hernandez drew a walk in the fifth inning last night. He has drawn a walk in three straight games.
ALL-TIME HIGH (for the season): The Rattlers scored seven runs to set a new high for the runs in a game this season.
A COUPLE OF FIRSTS: Last night was the first night game of the season won by the Rattlers. It was also the first time Wisconsin has won a game in which they allowed five or more runs.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The West Michigan Whitecaps are the Midwest League affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. In 2007, the Whitecaps had the best record in the league 83-57. They also went on to win the Midwest League Championship, their second straight league title and their third in the last four years. The last team to win consecutive Midwest League Championships was the Appleton Foxes. The Foxes won three straight titles from 1982-1984.
WHITECAPS IN 2008: West Michigan is off to a 14-10 record to start this season. They are tied for first place with the Lansing Lugnuts in the Midwest League’s Eastern Division. In their most recent series, the Whitecaps dropped two out of three games at Cedar Rapids. West Michigan is 7-8 on the road in 2008 under their first-year manager Joe DiPastino.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: West Michigan is hitting .259 as a team. They have scored 120 runs (5.2/game) and have hit seven home runs. The Whitecap pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.18. Wisconsin has a team batting average of .238 and have scored 67 runs (3.2/game) with three homers. The Rattlers have a staff ERA of 3.92.
WEST MICHIGAN PITCHER: Lauren Gagnier was a 10th round pick of the Tigers in the 2006 draft out of Cal State-Fullerton. In his final season with the Titans, Gagnier went 14-5 with a 2.80ERA in 21 games (19 starts). He was 1-1 with a 0.70ERA in nine games (one start) for Oneonta of the New York-Penn League in 2006. Last season, Gagnier was 5-11 with the Whitecaps in 28 games (22 starts) and had an ERA of 4.57. He has made one start against the Timber Rattlers. On April 24, 2007, Gagnier got the win against Wisconsin at Fifth Third Ballpark. He allowed three runs on two hits over five innings. In his last start this season, Gagnier took the loss at Cedar Rapids on April 25. He gave up seven runs (five earned) on six hits with four walks and a hit batsman over 4-2/3 innings. He did strikeout five Kernel batters in the game. Gagnier has 25 strikeouts in 19-1/3 innings this season.
*- The Beatles were different
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