May 25 Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Peoria Chiefs beat the Timber Rattlers 5-4. Chief starting pitcher Alberto Cabrera allowed two runs over five innings and snapped a personal six-game losing streak. The win gave Peoria a season-high five-game winning streak.

FOLLOW THE LEADER: The teams traded single runs in the first two innings. Wisconsin took a 1-0 lead two batters into the game as Maximo Mendez drew a lead-off walk and scored on a Juan Diaz double. The Chiefs scored a run in the bottom of the first on a two-out RBI single by Jovan Rosa. The Rattlers retook the lead in the second inning as Alex Liddi tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Calvin Beamon. Peoria tied the game again in the second inning on a lead-off home run by Tyler Johnston.

*AN UNFORTUNATE SERIES OF EVENTS: The game was tied in the top of the fifth inning when Elvis Lara singled to start the frame. Nate Samson appeared to have grounded out to short, but Rattler starter Michael Pineda was called for a balk to send Lara to second. Pineda hit Samson to put runners on second and third, but he would get the next two outs. Then, Marquez Smith singled to center and Lara scored. Mendez, the Rattler centerfielder tried to get Samson at third, but fired the ball high and it wound up in the dugout and Samson scored for a 4-2 Peoria lead.

EVERY LITTLE BIT HURTS: The Chiefs tacked on one more run in the sixth inning on an RBI grounder by Lara.

THE TOUGH NIGHT OF MICHAEL PINEDA: Pineda had allowed three earned runs in 34-2/3 innings heading into last night’s game. He gave up five runs (four earned) on eight hits and struck out four over 5-1/3 innings last night.

**GETTING CLOSER TO MY HOME: Edilio Colina hit his first Midwest League homer in the top of the eighth inning to get the Rattlers to within 5-4. Colina’s last homer before last night was on July 12 for the Everett AquaSox. The longball was the second of the road trip for the Rattlers and the 12th of the season for the team.

A RARE THING: Last night was only the second time Wisconsin has lost in nine Saturday games this season.

ON THE ROAD: The Rattlers are 1-5 in the first six games of their current 12-game road trip.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Peoria Chiefs are the Midwest League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Chiefs went 71-68 in 2007. They missed out on the Midwest League playoffs on a tie-breaker despite a 40-30 record in the second half. Baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg is in his second season as the manager of the Chiefs.

CHIEFS IN 2008: The Chiefs are 19-30 and in eighth place in the Midwest League Western Division. They trail first place Clinton by 16 games. The Chiefs are 9-13 at O’Brien Field. Peoria is currently on a five game winning streak after they won the final three games of a four game series at Quad Cities against the River Bandits.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .233 as a team and have scored 147 runs (3.3/game). Wisconsin has hit 12 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.37. Peoria is hitting .241 as a team and has scored 185 runs (3.8/game). The Chiefs have hit 25 home runs this season. Their pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.65.

2007 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers and Chiefs played 17 times in 2007. Wisconsin went 8-9 against the Peoria. The Rattlers went 4-5 in nine games at O’Brien Field last season.

2008 SEASON SERIES: Peoria leads the series 2-0. These are the first four meetings of the season between the Rattlers and Chiefs. Wisconsin and Peoria will play a total of 15 times this season. Seven times at O’Brien Field and eight times on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

PEORIA STARTING PITCHER: Hung-Wen Chen was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Taiwan by the Cubs in April of 2007. He split time between Mesa (Arizona League) and Boise (Northwest League) last season. He appeared in two games (one start) for the Mesa Cubs and was 0-0 with a 10.12ERA. He went up to Boise to end the season and made two relief appearances, going 1-0 with a 3.60ERA. Today is Chen’s first appearance against the Rattlers, but hit Arizona League start was against Seattle’s affiliate on August 26. He allowed three runs on three hits over 1-2/3 innings with two strikeouts for a no decision. Today is his twelfth appearance (seventh start) for the Chiefs this season. In his start prior to today, Chen allowed five runs on five hits over six innings for a no decision at Quad Cities on May 20. He hit a batter, allowed a homer, and struck out three.

*-Jim Carrey couldn't make me laugh if my life depended on it.
**-GRAND FUNK ROCKS SHEA STADIUM!