June 28 Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Bees beat the Timber Rattlers 8-4. Wisconsin had a 4-0 lead after the top of the second inning, but the Bees rallied for the win.

STARTING STRONG: The Rattlers scored twice in the first and twice in the second. RBI singles by Juan Diaz and Alex Liddi in the first put Wisconsin up 2-0. Edilio Colina singled in a run in the second and a run scored on an error after that for the early advantage.

FROM THERE THOUGH…: After the fourth Rattler run scored, Burlington starting pitcher Eduardo Paulino retired the final 13 Rattler batters he faced.

EVEN UP: The Bees tied the game with two runs in the second an RBI single by Juan Rivera and back-to-back solo home runs in the third by Mike Moustakas and Clint Robinson.

WALKING INTO THE LEAD: The Bees took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning on a bases loaded walk. Rattler starting pitcher Juan Ramirez issued a four-pitch free pass to David Lough to force in the go ahead run.

ADDING ON: The Bees tacked on two unearned runs in the sixth inning and another run in the eighth to pad their lead.

WILD THINGS: The four Rattler pitchers in last night’s game combined to walk eight Burlington batters. Ramirez walked three (one intentionally); Keith Meyer walked two and threw three wild pitches; Justin Souza walked two; and Rob Harmon walked one.

ODDLY THOUGH: Only one of the eight Bees who reached on a free pass scored a run.

THIS CURSED PLACE: The Rattlers are 0-5 against the Bees at Community Field this season. Going back to the 2006 season, Wisconsin is 5-14 in Burlington.

ROSTER MOVES: Rattler staring pitcher Nathan Adcock has been placed on the disabled list. Keith Renaud has been transferred to the Timber Rattlers from High Desert. Renaud is scheduled to start Monday against the Bees in place of Adcock.

MEET THE ‘NEW’ GUY: Renaud was the 10th round pick of the Mariners out of Franklin Pierce College in 2007. He appeared in 18 games (two starts) for the Rattlers last season and was 2-0 with a save and a 3.50ERA. Renaud started the 2008 season with High Desert, Seattle’s California League affiliate, and was 3-9 in 15 games (14 starts) with an ERA of 7.68. He had walked 49 and struck out 40 in 72-2/3 innings with the Mavericks this season.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Burlington Bees are the Midwest League affiliates of the Kansas City Royals. They finished the first half with a record of 30-39 and out of the playoffs in the Western Division. The Bees are 5-4 to start the second half of the season. Burlington is 22-18 at home this season. They snapped a three game losing streak with the win last night.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .237 as a team and have scored 275 runs (3.7/game). Wisconsin has hit 23 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.55. The Bees are hitting .238 as a team. They have scored 301 runs (3.9/game). Burlington has hit 54 home runs this season. The Bee pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.44.

2008 SEASON SERIES: Burlington leads the season series 9-4. Burlington swept a four game series at Community Field June 9-12. The Rattlers and Bees split eight games on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

BURLINGTON STARTING PITCHER: Daniel Duffy was a 3rd round pick of the Royals in the 2007 draft out of Cabrillo High School in Lompoc, California. In his first professional season, Duffy went 2-3 with a 1.45ERA in 11 games (nine starts) for the Arizona League affiliate of the Royals. In his last appearance before tonight, Duffy beat Peoria with seven shutout innings on June 23. Duffy allowed four hits, walked none, and struck out eight at Community Field to beat the Chiefs. On June 9, Duffy beat the Timber Rattlers at Community Field in his only appearance against Wisconsin. He allowed two unearned runs on two hits over five innings and struck out eight in a 6-4 Burlington victory. In his only other time against a Seattle affiliate, Duffy took on the Arizona League Mariners in a three inning relief stint last season. He allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts in that game.