ABOUT MONDAY: The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers beat the Peoria Chiefs 9-6. Calvin Beamon and Denny Almonte each had a pair of hits and a pair of RBI to lead the offense. Jake Wild allowed a run in relief and got the win. Walter Suriel and Rob Harmon closed out the Chiefs with a scoreless inning a piece.
*SKY HIGH: The nine runs by the Rattlers are the most in a game this season. The previous high had been eight runs.
THREE LITTLE RUNS: The Rattlers rallied from a 5-2 deficit for the 9-6 win. That marked the third time in 2008 the Rattlers have comeback to win a game after being down three runs in a game.
AWARD WINNER: Peoria infielder Marquez Smith was named the Midwest League offensive player of the week before Monday’s game. He celebrated with three more hits, including a home run in the top of the seventh off Wild that tied the game 6-6.
MANUFACTURING SECTOR: The Rattlers were batting in the bottom of the seventh with Gavin Dickey at third, Almonte at first, and Israel Nunez at the plate with one out and the score tied. Almonte ran on a pitch to Nunez, who sent a grounder back to the mound. Pitcher Craig Muschko turned and threw to second, but the ball arrived just behind Almonte. Dickey scored on the play as Nunez was thrown out at first. Instead of an inning-ending double play, the Rattlers had a 7-6 lead.
PERFECT TEN: Maximo Mendez is singled in the seventh to drive in Almonte. The RBI single extended Mendez’s current hitting streak to ten games. He is 16-for-40 (.400) during the streak.
THE CLOSER: Rob Harmon is 4-for-4 in save opportunities since the beginning of May. In those four save opportunities, Harmon has allowed one hit and no runs with two walks and three strikeouts over four innings.
OFF THE BOARD: Suriel allowed at least one to score in each of his first six outings for the Timber Rattlers. He has not allowed a run in each of his last two stints out of the bullpen.
**MONDAY, MONDAY: The Rattlers won their first Monday game of 2008 yesterday. Wisconsin is now 1-8 in nine games on Monday.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Peoria Chiefs are the Midwest League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are currently 24-33 and in sixth place in the Western Division of the Midwest League. The Chiefs are currently 17 games behind division leading Clinton. Peoria had won four straight games before the Rattlers beat them yesterday. The Peoria manager is Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .235 as a team and have scored 174 runs (3.3/game). Wisconsin has hit 13 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.38. Peoria is hitting .248 as a team and have scored 224 runs (4.0/game). Peoria has hit 33 homers. The Chief pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.68.
2008 SEASON SERIES: Wisconsin is 2-4 against Peoria this season. 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.
PEORIA STARTING PITCHER: Robert Hernandez was signed by the Cubs as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in July 2005. Tonight is his first start of the season for the Chiefs. Hernandez was scheduled to be the starting pitcher for the Chiefs on Opening Night at Burlington on April 3. But, he failed a test for performance enhancing drugs and had to serve a 50-game suspension. The suspension ended on May 31. In 2007, Hernandez was 8-9 with a 4.34 ERA for the Chiefs. He made one start against Wisconsin last season. On June 26, he beat the Rattlers at O’Brien Field. In that game, Hernandez allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts over seven innings. Hernandez is rated as the #17 prospect in the Cubs’ minor league system by Baseball America.
*, **-Yes.
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