5/12/2008

May 12 Game Notes

ABOUT SUNDAY: The Rattlers beat the Cedar Rapids Kernels 3-1. Edward Paredes allowed an unearned run over six innings for the victory. Rob Harmon pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the save.

THREE’S COMPANY: The Rattlers took three of four from the Kernels for the first home series win by the team this season. The last time Wisconsin won a home series of more than two games was when they swept the Beloit Snappers in a four-game set August 7-10, 2007. That is a span of only six series of three or more games.

FLAWED GEM: Kernel starting pitcher Trevor Reckling tossed eight innings for a complete game, but took the loss. He allowed three hits and three runs (two earned) with a pair of walks and five strikeouts.

AND THE WINNER IS: Paredes snapped a personal three game losing streak with six solid innings. He allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out a pair to move his record to 2-3.

TAME: Rattle reliever Jake Wild provided two perfect innings out of the bullpen with no walks and three strikeouts.

HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY: Harmon pitched a scoreless ninth with a walk and a strikeout to earn his first professional save.

HERE’S THE OFFENSE: Joe Dunigan tripled in the tying run in the bottom of the fourth. He scored on an error by Reckling. Ron Garth scored the third run of the game in the seventh after doubling to start the inning. He moved to third on a grounder by Calvin Beamon and scored on a grounder by Blake Ochoa.

BREAKING OUT: The triple by Dunigan was his first hit of the series against the Kernels. He had been 0-for-11 with a walk and a sacrifice bunt in his first 13 plate appearances versus Cedar Rapids.

HERE’S THE DEFENSE: Julio Perez lined a pitch from Paredes high off the left field wall in the second inning. Angel Castillo scored easily from second base, but Gavin Dickey played the carom perfectly and fired a strike to Alex Meneses at second to retire Perez for the final out of the inning.

OUT AT HOME: Both teams had a runner thrown out at the plate yesterday. In the series, there were four runners – two for both teams – thrown out at home.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Burlington Bees are the Midwest League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Last season, the Bees went 61-77 and missed the playoffs. Brian Rupp is in his first year as the manager of the Bees.

HISTORY LESSON: The Bees and Rattlers met in the 1999 Midwest League Championship Series. Burlington won the first two games at Community Field. The Rattlers won games three and four in Grand Chute. Burlington won game five at – then – Fox Cities Stadium.

BEES IN 2008: The Bees are 14-20 and in seventh place in the Midwest League’s Western Division. They trail first place Clinton by 11 games. In their most recent series, the Bees were swept in a three game series at home by the Beloit Snappers. The final game of the series on Sunday was rained out.

GET FAMILIAR: The Rattlers and Bees will play 16 times this season. Eight on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium and eight at Community Field.

WATCH OUT FOR: Adrian Ortiz is hitting .324 and is currently eighth in the Midwest League batting race. Edward Cegarra only has a 1-3 record, but his in the top ten in ERA (1.93; 7th) and top five in strikeouts (42, T-4th).

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .232 as a team and have scored 106 runs (3.3/game). Wisconsin has hit eight home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.41. Burlington is hitting .217 as a team and has scored 127 runs (3.7/game). The Bees have hit 21 homers this season. The Burlington pitching staff has an ERA of 3.45.

2007 SEASON SERIES: Burlington won the season series with Wisconsin last year. The Rattlers went 3-5 in eight games with the Bees. The teams split the only two games played in Grand Chute last season.

PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook has placed three current Burlington Bees on their list of the top 30 prospects in the Kansas City organization. Shortstop Mike Moustakas is rated number one on the list. Pitcher Matt Mitchell is ranked at number nine. Outfielder David Lough is on the list at #22. Pitcher Brett Fisher is on the Burlington disabled list and is ranked #19 by BA.

OUT OF THE DRAFT: The Bees have eight members of their current roster who were members of the Kansas City draft class in 2007. Moustakas, a high school shortstop out of Chatsworth, California, was the second overall pick in the draft. Outfielder Adrian Ortiz, a 10th round pick, is the only other top ten pick on the Burlington roster. Other ’07 draftees include: Pitchers Alex Cegarra (13th), and Matt Mitchell (14th); catcher Ryan Eigisti (15th); infielder Clint Robinson (25th); and outfielders David Lough (11th) and Wilson Tucker (33rd).

VETERANS: There are five members of the current Burlington team who played for the Bees in 2007.

BURLINGTON STARTING PITCHER: Alex Caldera was the 13th round pick of the Royals in the 2007 draft out of Chaffey College. He was the Foothill Conference Pitcher of the Year after compiling a record of 9-2 with a 1.70ERA. He spent his first professional season with the Burlington Royals of the Appalachian League. Caldera was 1-2 with a 3.40ERA in 12 games (seven starts) with 13 walks and 39 strikeouts in 42-1/3 innings. Tonight is his first appearance against the Rattlers and an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. In his last outing for the Bees, Caldera faced the Fort Wayne Wizards on May 6 in Fort Wayne. He allowed four runs on nine hits with four walks and four strikeouts for a no decision.

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