May 8 Game Notes

LAST ACTION: The Rattlers defeated the Great Lakes Loons 6-0 on Tuesday at Dow Diamond. Nathan Adcock pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out nine batters for his first win of the season. Gavin Dickey went 4-for-4 to lead the offense. Joe Dunigan and Alex Liddi both hit home runs in the game.

CAREER DAY: Adcock’s nine strikeouts are a new single-game high for him as a professional.

DOUBLE SHOT: Dunigan’s three-run homer in the first inning and Liddi’s solo shot in the sixth marked the first time this season Wisconsin has hit two homers in one game.

ON A ROLL: Dickey has at least one hit in each of the 11 games he has played this season. Dickey is 16-for-35 (.457) during the streak.

.500 ON THE ROAD: The Rattlers return home from their six-game road trip with a record of 3-3. Wisconsin took two of three at Lansing and dropped two of three at Great Lakes. The Rattlers are 7-9 away from home this season.

END OF THE LINE: Edilio Colina went 0-for-4 in the Timber Rattler games at Great Lakes on Tuesday. That ended Colina’s hitting streak at 15 games. He was 21-for-58 (.362) during the streak.

THAT’S WEIRD: The two active hitting streaks that were longer than Colina’s also ended on Tuesday. South Bend’s Evan Frey and Adrian Ortiz of Burlington both went hitless on Tuesday. Frey’s hitting streak ended at 23 games (35-for-99, .354). Ortiz was stopped at 17 games (28-for-73, .384) on his hitting streak.

LOTS OF MOVEMENT: Yesterday was a busy one for the Timber Rattlers on the transaction wire. Relievers Shawn Kelley and Bryan Harris were promoted to High Desert of the California League. Catcher Korey Feiner was assigned to help out with Tacoma as the Rainiers were down a catcher before last night’s game against the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines. A pair of pitchers join the Rattlers today. Jose Escalona, a Rattler in 2006, comes to Wisconsin from High Desert. Walter Suriel joins the Rattlers from extended spring training in Arizona.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Cedar Rapids Kernels are the Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Kernels were 78-61 last season and made the Midwest League playoffs as the second half Western Division champions. They were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs by the Clinton LumberKings.

TWINS: The Rattlers and Kernels are tied for the longest partnership with a parent club in the Midwest League. The Kernels and Angels have been partners since 1993. The Appleton Foxes/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and the Seattle Mariners have also been together since 1993. The next closest teams are South Bend and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have been partners since 1997.

KERNELS IN 2008: The Kernels are 16-15 and currently in fourth place in the Western Division. Cedar Rapids is 6.5 games behind division leading Clinton. Cedar Rapids just wrapped up a three game series at home with the Peoria Chiefs in which the Kernels went 1-2. Cedar Rapids is 8-8 in road games this season.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .238 as a team and have scored 89 runs (3.2/game). Wisconsin has hit eight home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.68. The Kernels are hitting .241 as a team and have scored 146 runs (4.7/game). Cedar Rapids has hit 15 home runs in 2008. The Kernel pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.81.

*RUNNING MEN: Cedar Rapids leads the MWL in stolen bases with 57. They have been caught 23 times in 80 attempts.

2007 SEASON SERIES: Wisconsin went 6-7 in thirteen games against the Kernels. Cedar Rapids was 4-2 in six games on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Kernels won the final four games between the teams in Grand Chute.

PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook lists six members of the current Kernel roster on their list of the top 30 prospects in the Angel organization. Pitcher Jordan Walden is the highest ranked at #3. Catcher Anel de los Santos is at #10. The other Kernels on the list are pitcher Trevor Reckling (#16), pitcher Mason Tobin (#21), shortstop Andrew Romine (#28), and outfielder Clay Fuller (#30).

OUT OF THE DRAFT: The Kernels have 10 players from the 2007 Angel draft class on their current roster. The pitchers from last year’s draft are: Michael Anton (12th), Ryan Brasier (6th), Eddie McKiernan (17th), Trevor Reckling (8th), Mason Tobin (16th), Jordan Towns (25th), and Jordan Walden (12th). Infielders Jay Brossman (35th), Efren Navarro (50th), and Andrew Romine (5th) are were also drafted by the Angels last season.

VETERANS: There are only three players on the current roster who spent time with the Kernels last season. Catcher Cody Collet and outfielders Tyler Johnson and Julio Perez played for Cedar Rapids in 2007.

CEDAR RAPIDS STARTING PITCHER: Michael Davitt was a 29th round pick of the Angels in the 2006 draft out of Oskaloosa Walton (FL) Community College. He signed with the Angles in May of 2007, before the draft. He pitched for Orem in the Pioneer League in his first pro stop and was 0-3 in 13 games (eight starts) for the Owlz. He walked 16 and struck out 30 in 33-1/3 innings pitched while racking up an ERA of 5.67. In his start prior to tonight for the Kernels, Davitt started game two of a doubleheader at Clinton on April 5. He allowed two runs on five hits over five innings and took the loss. He has made five straight relief appearances since that start, with his last outing lasting 1-2/3 innings at Fort Wayne on May 3. Davitt gave up two runs on three hits with four walks in that game. Tonight is his first appearance against the Rattlers and against and affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

*-Richard Dawson as the bad guy? It works, but it's still hilarious.