ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Kane County Cougars beat the Rattlers 6-4. Kane County scored three runs in the fourth and three runs in the fifth to support Jamie Richmond’s seven inning performance. Chad Kerfoot and Nick Walters pitched the final two innings to nail down the win.
TAKING THE SERIES: Kane County took three out of four games from the Timber Rattlers in the series at Elfstrom Stadium.
ONE SHORT OF THE CYCLE: Wisconsin centerfielder Maximo Mendez had three hits last night: A third inning single, a fifth inning triple, and a seventh inning double. No Timber Rattler has ever hit for the cycle.
FIGURE EIGHT: Mendez is currently on a season high hitting streak of eight games. He is 13-for-34 (.382) during the streak.
EARLY LEAD: Wisconsin took a 1-0 lead when Juan Diaz drove in Mendez with a double in the top of the third. Diaz also had three hits and drove in a pair of runs last night.
RBI GUY: Diaz drove in five of Wisconsin’s nine runs in the four game series with the Cougars.
SEVEN: The Timber Rattler record of 22-29 matches their season low watermark. Wisconsin has been seven under .500 two other times this season: Once at 8-15 after a May 1 loss at Lansing and once at 10-17 after a May 5 loss at Great Lakes.
*31 DAYS IN MAY: The Timber Rattlers completed the first full month of the season with a 14-15 record. Wisconsin hit .233 and had a team ERA of 2.95 during the month. Joe Dunigan led the team in hitting with a .356 average and three home runs over 18 games. Diaz led Wisconsin hitters in the month with 15 RBI. Edward Paredes and Juan Ramirez both won three games to tie for the team lead in that category. Rob Harmon was 3-for-3 in save opportunities.
ROAD TRIP WRAP-UP: The Rattlers went 3-9 on their just concluded 12-game road trip. The Rattlers dropped three out of four games at Cedar Rapids and Peoria before the series at Kane County. They hit .214 (83-for-387) and scored 27 runs (2.3/game) on the trip. Opponents hit .232 (86-for-371) and scored 50 runs (4.2/game) against the Rattlers in the last 12 games.
ROUGH ROAD: The 3-9 record on the trip dropped the Wisconsin record to 10-18 on the road this season.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Peoria Chiefs are the Midwest League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are currently 23-32 and in sixth place in the Western Division of the Midwest League. The Chiefs are currently 17 games behind division leading Clinton. Peoria has won three straight games and are 8-2 in their last ten games. The Peoria manager is Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .233 as a team and have scored 161 runs (3.2/game). Wisconsin has hit 13 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.35. Peoria is hitting .245 as a team and have scored 212 runs (3.9/game). Peoria has hit 30 homers. The Chief pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.59.
2007 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers and Chiefs played 17 times in 2007. Wisconsin went 8-9 against the Peoria. The Rattlers went 4-4 in eight games versus the Chiefs on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.
2008 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers dropped three out of four games at O’Brien Field over Memorial Day weekend. The Chiefs won 5-2 on 5/23, 5-4 on 5/24, and 5-2 on 5/26. The Rattlers won 3-2 on 5/25.
ABOUT THAT SERIES: Dylan Johnston and Marquez Smith led the Peoria offense. Each player was 5-for-13 (.385) in four games against the Rattlers. Johnston and Nate Samson both had three RBI against the Rattlers. Wisconsin hitters were led by Maximo Mendez, who was 5-for-15 (.400) in the series. Edilio Colina drove in three runs to be the top Rattler run producer in that series.
DROUGHT: Mendez hit a lead-off homer against the Chiefs on May 26. That was the last time a Rattler batter went deep.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook has placed three members of the current Peoria roster on their list of the top 30 prospects in the Chicago Cub organization. Catcher Josh Donaldson is rated at #7. Pitchers Dae-Eun Rhee (#16) and Robert Hernandez (#17) are also on the list.
OUT OF THE DRAFT: The Chiefs have 10 members of the 2007 Chicago Cub draft class on their current roster. Pitchers Zach Ashwood (16th); Craig Muschko (22nd); Dustin Sasser (21st); Chris Siegfried (11th); and Steve Vento (23rd) are joined by catchers Luis Bautista (32nd); Josh Donaldson (1st – supplemental); infielder Marquez Smith (8th); and outfielders Brandon Guyer (5th) and Leon Johnson (10th).
VETERANS: There are six members of the current Peoria team who played for the Chiefs in 2007.
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 his thirteenth appearance (eighth start) for the Chiefs this season. His last start was against the Timber Rattlers on May 25 at O’Brien Field. In that game, Chen allowed two runs on six hits, no walks, and four strikeouts over six innings, but took the loss.
*-Another movie from the Douglas family
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