July 12 Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Dragons beat the Timber Rattlers 8-2. Major League rehabber Jolbert Cabrera had three hits and drove in three runs to pace Dayton’s 11-hit attack. Cabrera went 5-for-10 in the three game series against the Rattlers on the assignment from the Cincinnati Reds.

NOT QUIETLY: The Rattlers also banged out 11 hits in the game. Eight of the nine batters in the lineup had at least one hit. Denny Almonte, Daniel Carroll, and Ron Garth had two hits a piece for Wisconsin. Also, the Rattlers only went down in order one time. Dayton starting pitcher Luis Montano worked a 1-2-3 top of the second.

DIFFERENT RATIOS: Two Dayton pitchers did not issue a walk while striking out six Rattler batters. Four Rattler pitchers did not record a strikeout and walked five a Dayton batters.

BREAKING THE TIE: Rattler starting pitcher Keith Renaud did not allow a hit through the first 3-2/3 innings. He walked Logan Parker with two outs in the bottom of the fourth and Cabrera tripled him in with a line drive off the centerfield wall. A wild pitch by Renaud allowed Cabrera to score. Denis Phipps drew another walk to extend the inning and Michael McKennon drove in Phipps with a triple for a 3-0 lead. Dayton tacked on another run in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Neftali Soto.

COMEBACK ATTEMPT: Joe White singled to center with Edilio Colina and Almonte aboard in the top of the sixth. The safety to center drove in both runners and the Rattlers had cut the lead in half. But, those were the only runs allowed by Montano, who picked up his ninth win of the season.

JUST A NOTE: The Rattlers were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position last night. In the three game series at Dayton, Wisconsin hitters went 2-for-22 with runners in scoring position.

THERE THEY WENT: The Dragons scored four times in the bottom of the seventh inning to go up 8-2. Cabrera singled in a pair of runs, Phipps followed with an RBI single and Zack Cozart capped the frame with another sacrifice fly.

NEVERNEVER LAND: The Rattlers never had the lead in the series at Dayton.

STREAK CONTINUES: The Rattlers have lost thirteen straight games. The last Wisconsin win was on June 26 with a 5-2 win at Cedar Rapids. The current streak started with an 8-4 loss at Burlington on June 27.

WHERE DOES THAT STAND? The longest streak in Timber Rattler history was last season. Wisconsin lost 14 straight from July 5 to July 22. The Appleton Baseball franchise record is 15 straight. The Appleton Foxes lost 15 straight games during the 1973 season.

TECHNICALITY: The Rattlers lead the Beloit Snappers 2-1 in a game that was suspended after the second inning on July 7. If the Rattlers win that game when it is resumed, the losing streak would be stopped at ten games.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Fort Wayne Wizards are the Midwest League affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They finished the first half with a record of 37-33 and missed the playoffs. In the second half, Fort Wayne is 8-14. They are tied for fifth place in the Eastern Division and trail South Bend by six games for the top playoff spot. They trail Dayton by three games for the Wild Card. Fort Wayne is 27-20 at home this season.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .240 as a team and have scored 319 runs (3.7/game). Wisconsin has hit 31 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.90. Fort Wayne is hitting .255 as a team and has scored 422 runs (4.6/game). The Wizards have hit 50 home runs this season. The Fort Wayne pitching staff has a combined ERA of 4.05.

2008 SEASON SERIES: The Wizards lead the season series 2-1. Fort Wayne won the first two games in Grand Chute (5-1 on April 14 and 5-3 on April 15). The Rattlers won the series finale by a score of 6-2 on April 16.

LAST YEAR IN FORT WAYNE: The Rattlers went 3-1 in four games at Memorial Stadium in 2007.

PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook placed three active Wizards on their list of Top 30 list of San Diego prospects before the 2008 season. Pitcher Corey Luebke is the highest rated Wizard on the list at #12. Outfielder Yefri Carvajal (#13) is right behind Luebke. Pitcher Corey Kluber is on the list at #29. Drew Cumberland is currently on the Fort Wayne disabled list and is #16 on that list.

OUT OF THE DRAFT 2007: The Wizards have 15 members of the 2007 San Diego draft class on their active roster. Pitchers Dylan Axelrod (30th), Jeremy Hefner (5th), Colt Hynes (31st), Corey Kluber (4th), Cory Luebke (supplemental 1st), Bryan Oland (24th), Wynn Pelzer (9th), and Matt Teague (8th) are joined by catcher Luis Martinez (12th); infielders Justin Baum (7th), Zachary Brown (27th), and Lance Zawadzki (4th); and outfielders Brad Chalk (2nd), Danny Payne (supplemental 1st), and Robert Perry (16th).

OUT OF THE DRAFT 2008: Pitcher Omar Gutierrez is the only member of San Diego’s 2008 draft class on the Fort Wayne roster. He was a 29th round pick out of Texas A&M Community College.

FORT WAYNE STARTING PITCHER: RH Corey Kluber was San Diego’s fourth round pick out of Stetson in the 2007 draft. He was the Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year after going 12-2 with a 2.05ERA in his final year with Stetson. In his first professional season, Kluber appeared in 10 games (seven starts) for the Eugene Emeralds, the Northwest League affiliate of the Padres. He went 1-1 with a 3.51 ERA. Kluber started the 2008 season with Lake Elsinore in the California League. Kluber was 2-5 with a 6.01ERA before being sent to Fort Wayne on July 11. In his start prior to this evening, Kluber lost at Stockton on June 28 and gave up eight runs on nine hits over three innings. He made three relief appearances for the Storm before joining the Wizards. This is Kluber’s first appearance against the Timber Rattlers. He has faced Everett and High Desert, respectively the Northwest League and California League affiliates of the Seattle Mariners, four times. Last year he made one start against Everett, went three innings, allowed one run on three hits and struck out five for a no decision. Kluber made three starts against the Mavericks in 2008 and was 0-1 and allowed 14 runs on 19 hits with 15 K’s over 16-1/3 innings.