5/15/2008

May 15 Game Notes

ABOUT WEDNESDAY: The Timber Rattlers beat Burlington 3-1. Edilio Colina’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning broke a 1-1 tie. An Alex Liddi single later in the frame drove in Colina with the third run of the game. Jose Escalona picked up the win and Justin Souza got the save for the Rattlers.

PINEDA IS HUMAN: Timber Rattler starting pitcher Michael Pineda allowed a run in the top of the third inning. Michael Moustakas tripled to drive in Wilson Tucker to give the Bees a 1-0 lead. That run was only the second allowed by Pineda in 28-2/3 innings this season. It also snapped a scoreless streak of 21-1/3 innings for Pineda.

PINEDA IS THE LEADER: Yesterday’s five innings gave Pineda enough innings to qualify in the Midwest League ERA race. He is now the league leader at 0.63.

DOUBLING UP ON THE DOUBLES: Joe Dunigan doubled twice in yesterday’s game for the Rattlers. He has 12 on the season and is tied for fourth in the Midwest League. Dunigan’s second double started the fifth inning and he scored on a Denny Almonte sacrifice fly to tie the game 1-1.

SPELLING RELIEF: Keith Meyer, Escalona, and Souza combined on four innings of shutout relief. Escalona entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth and got out of the jam. Souza relieved Escalona with one out in the ninth and got both batters he faced for his first save this season.

THE WINNING RALLY: Calvin Beamon started the bottom of the eighth with a triple. Colina singled through the drawn-in infield for the lead.

A SMALL VILLAGE: The Bees stranded 11 base runners, including five in scoring position, in yesterday’s game.

AX MEN: Rattler catcher Israel Nunez threw out both of Burlington’s would-be base stealers yesterday. He has a success rate of 60% (3-of-5). All Rattler catchers are cutting down 33.9% (21-of-62) base stealers this season.

*THIS IS GRAND CHUTE: In their last two games, Wisconsin has snapped a tie game with two runs in the eighth inning. Wisconsin is 5-2 in the first seven games of this 11-game homestand to run their home record to 9-10.

TRYING FOR THE TRIFECTA: The Rattlers are going for their third win in a row tonight. If they win, it would be their first three-game winning streak of the season. Wisconsin has won two straight games six times this season.

BEES IN 2008: The Bees are 15-22 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. The next meeting between the teams is at Burlington, June 9-12.

WATCH OUT FOR: Adrian Ortiz is hitting .321 and is currently tied for sixth in the Midwest League batting race. Edward Cegarra only has a 1-3 record, but his in the top ten in ERA (1.93; 9th) and top ten in strikeouts (42; T-8th).

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .239 as a team and have scored 115 runs (3.3/game). Wisconsin has hit nine home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.27. Burlington is hitting .219 as a team and has scored 133 runs (3.6/game). The Bees have hit 21 homers this season. The Burlington pitching staff has an ERA of 3.43.

BURLINGTON STARTING PITCHER: Edward Cegarra was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Royals out of Venezuela in September, 2005. He was 1-6 with a save and a 5.12 ERA in 16 games (nine starts) for the Bees in 2007. He faced the Rattlers once last season and picked up a no decision on August 27 at Community Field with five innings in which he gave up four runs on five hits with four strikeouts. In his start prior to this evening, Cegarra allowed one run on six hits over eight innings and took the loss against Beloit at home. He walked two and struck out five in that loss.

*-It may have been a stretch, but it was worth it.

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