July 10 game notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Dragons beat the Rattlers 9-1. Matt Klinker allowed one run over seven innings for the win. Dayton scored three runs on an inside-the-park home run by Denis Phipps in the bottom of the fourth inning to break a scoreless tie.

INSIDE INFORMATION: The game was scoreless with two outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the fourth inning. Rattler starting pitcher Jake Wild walked Brandon Menchaca on a 3-2 pitch to put two runners on base. Phipps hit the next pitch to the wall in right. Rattler outfielder Joe Dunigan attempted to make the catch, but crashed into the wall. By the time the ball was on the way back to the infield, Phipps was rounding third and heading for home for the inside-the-park homer.

PILING ON: The Dragons added two runs in the fifth and two runs in the sixth to take a 7-0 lead.

SHUTOUT AVOIDANCE: Ron Garth doubled in the top of the seventh inning. He went to third on a ground out by Dunigan and scored on a groundout by Alex Liddi.

THE CONVENTIONAL WAY: Michael McKennon hit a two-run homer over the fence in right in the eighth inning for the final runs of the game.

ON ASSIGNMENT: Jolbert Cabrera is on a rehab assignment with Dayton for the Reds. He was 1-for-2 last night. Wild struck him out in the first inning. Cabrera singled in the third and was hit by a pitch in the fifth.

STREAK CONTINUES: The Rattlers have lost eleven straight games.

WHERE DOES THAT STAND? The longest streak in Timber Rattler history was last season. Wisconsin lost 14 straight between July 4 and July 22. The Appleton Baseball franchise record is 15 straight. The Appleton Foxes lost 15 straight games during the 1973 season.

ROSTER MOVE: Brett Lorin joins the Rattlers tonight. The right handed pitcher was the 5th round pick of the Seattle Mariners in the 2008 draft out of Long Beach State University. He is the first member of the 2008 Seattle draft class to join the Timber Rattlers. Lorin went 5-3 with a 2.53ERA and 31 strikeouts in 41-1/3 IP over 15 games (8 starts) for Long Beach State. He made his professional debut with the Everett AquaSox and made five starts in the Northwest League. He was 1-0 for Everett. In a start against Boise on June 22, Lorin struck out 13 batters over six innings and got his first pro win. He is available tonight, but will most likely make his Rattler debut in relief of Michael Pineda at Fort Wayne on Saturday.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Dayton Dragons are the Midwest League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They finished the first half with a record of 28-40 and missed the playoffs. In the second half, Dayton is 9-11. They are in fourth place in the Eastern Division and trail first place South Bend by four games. However, the Dragons currently hold the second half wild card by one game over Fort Wayne. Dayton is 19-27 at home this season.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .240 as a team and have scored 315 runs (3.7/game). Wisconsin has hit 31 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.82. Dayton is hitting .244 as a team and has scored 359 runs (4.1/game). The Dragons have hit 76 home runs this season. The Dayton pitching staff has a combined ERA of 4.30.

2008 SEASON SERIES: The Dragons lead the season series 2-1. The Rattlers and Dragons split a pair of games on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The two games were played on Sunday, April 13. The first two dates of the series April 11 & 12 were snowed out and froze out.

LAST YEAR IN DAYTON: The Rattlers went 1-3 in four games at Fifth Third Field in 2007. Wisconsin’s all-time record in Dayton is 19-13.

DAYTON STARTING PITCHER: RH Kyle Lotzkar, a native of Delta, British Columbia was a supplemental first round pick of the Reds in the 2007 draft. He was 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA in seven starts in the Gulf Coast League last season. A former member of the Canadian World Junior Championship squad, Lotzkar struck out 24 over 21 innings for the GCL Reds. He also made two starts for Billings in the Pioneer League and struck out 12 in eight innings. In his last start for the Dragons, Lotzkar picked up the win with five shutout innings at Great Lakes on July 4. He allowed three hits and struck out seven. Tonight is Lotzkar’s first appearance against the Timber Rattlers and his first against an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Lotzkar was rated as the #11 prospect in the Cincinnati organization by Baseball America before the 2008 season.