July 21 Game Notes

ABOUT SUNDAY: The Rattlers beat the Snappers 8-4. The Rattler offense knocked out 12 hits led by three from Edilio Colina and Joe Dunigan. Jake Wild allowed one unearned run on two hits over six innings for the win.

OUT EARLY: The Rattlers scored first in their third game in a row. Blake Ochoa’s RBI grounder drove in Alex Liddi in the top of the second.

BACK TO EVEN: For the third game in a row, the opponents came back to tie the game 1-1. Beloit scored an unearned run on a Greg Yersich sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second.

NICE LEAD: The Rattlers scored three times in the third and three times in the fifth to take a 7-1 lead. Liddi and Dunigan each had two-out RBI hits in both innings for the Rattlers.

SPOT OF TROUBLE: Wild walked the first two batters of the bottom of the fifth inning after taking the six run lead. Wild got a force out and a double play to close out the inning.

WILD THING: Wild broke a personal four-game losing streak with the win yesterday. He walked three and struck out four.

SPOT OF TROUBLE II: Beloit loaded the bases with one out against Ryan Moorer in the bottom of the seventh inning. An RBI single by Estarlin De Los Santos drove in a run and a run scoring fielder’s choice by Chris Cates made the score 7-3. In the bottom of the eighth, Moorer walked two more batters with one out. He recorded the second out of the inning

HERE’S A SAVE: Jose Escalona picked up the first save of his career yesterday. He entered the game after Moorer got the second out of the eighth and allowed an RBI single to Andrew Schmiesing to make the score 7-4. But, Escalona got the final out of the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth to get the save for the first time in 55 career relief appearances.

OUTBURST: The Rattlers scored eight runs yesterday. Wisconsin scored eight runs in their just ended three-game losing streak.

SINGLE LIFE: Wisconsin had 11 singles out of their 12 hits. Alex Liddi doubled for the only Rattler extra base hit of the game.

POWER OUTAGE: The Rattlers have not hit a home run since Alex Liddi’s homer at Fort Wayne on July 14.

DID YOU KNOW? The Rattlers are currently tied with Cedar Rapids and Lansing for fourth in fielding percentage at .969 in the Midwest League. The Rattlers have committed 110 errors this season. Only South Bend (94), Dayton (102), and Great Lakes (105) have committed fewer in 2008.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Beloit Snappers are the Midwest League affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They finished the first half with a record of 36-32 and missed the playoffs in the Western Division. The Snappers are currently 17-12. They trail Peoria for the top second half playoff spot in the West by 2-1/2 games. The Snappers hold the second half Western Division wild card spot by 1-1/2 games over Burlington and Quad Cities. Beloit has a record of 25-23 at home this season.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .237 as a team and have scored 349 runs (3.7/game). Wisconsin has hit 34 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.91. Beloit is hitting .262 as a team and has scored 461 runs (4.8/game). The Snappers have hit 54 home runs this season. The Beloit pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.82.

2008 SEASON SERIES: Beloit holds a 6-4 edge in the season series. The Rattlers are 3-2 at Pohlman Field. The Snappers are 4-1 on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

BELOIT STARTING PITCHER: RH Santos Arias was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic by the Twins in 2005. He spent 2005 and 2006 with the Dominican Summer League affiliate of the Twins. In 2006, Arias went 10-0 in 15 games (14 starts) with a 1.23 ERA. Last season, Arias went 3-4 in 11 games (10 starts) with a 2.96 ERA for the Gulf Coast League affiliate of the Twins. Arias joined the Snappers in late April and has made 14 starts with a record of 5-3. In his last start before today, Arias beat the West Michigan Whitecaps on July 16 at Pohlman Field. He allowed two runs on five hits with nine strikeouts over six innings. Arias faced the Timber Rattlers on July 6 in Grand Chute. He allowed five runs on seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts over 5-1/3 innings for a no decision. The Snappers went on to win the game 12-11 in 11 innings.