July 24 Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Whitecaps beat Wisconsin 6-1. Mauricio Robles pitched six shutout innings for the win. The Whitecaps scored three times in the second inning to grab the early lead. The Rattler offense managed four hits.

LIKE THE TIDE: Rattler starting pitcher Keith Renaud retired the first batter of the second inning. Then he gave up a single and a walk. Corey Middleton followed with an RBI double to drive in the first run of the game. A walk to Keith Stein loaded the bases. Kyle Peter was next with a sacrifice fly. A Justin Henry single drove in the final run of the inning.

ROBLES ROLLS: The Whitecap starter allowed two hits, walked two, and struck out four. No Rattler made it past second base in the six innings Robles was in the game.

ADVENTURES IN BASERUNNING: In the top of the fifth inning with the Rattlers still only down 3-0, Joe Dunigan singled to start the inning. Robles picked off Dunigan for the first out of the inning. Robles walked the next two batters and got the second out on a fly ball. Maximo Mendez stepped to the plate and took a ball inside. Catcher Alex Avila fired a throw to first and caught Joe White too far from the bag for the final out.

WOULDN’T YOU KNOW IT: In the bottom of the fifth inning, Brandon Douglas drove in a run with a single for a 4-0 lead.

ADDING ON: West Michigan added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth for a 6-0 lead.

AVOIDING THE SHUTOUT: The Rattlers scored a run in the top of the ninth inning off Noah Krol. Edilio Colina drew a lead off walk and scored on a two-out single by Dunigan.

MAKING SOME NOISE: The Rattlers would load the bases in the two more walks after the Dunigan RBI single. But, Krol got the final out to end the Rattler rally.

TWO PAIR: Dunigan had two hits for the Rattlers. Alex Meneses had the other two hits.

WORKING HIS WAY BACK: Juan Ramirez pitched two scoreless innings in relief. Ramirez did not pitch from July 2 through July 16 and made the start on July 17 against the South Bend Silver Hawks and went 2/3 of an inning. Last night was his second relief outing of the season. He did not allow a hit, did not walk a batter, and struck out two against the Whitecaps.

AGAINST THE EAST: This is the last road series against an Eastern Division opponent for the Timber Rattlers in 2008. So far this season, Wisconsin is 4-12 in road games against the East.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The West Michigan Whitecaps are the Midwest League affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They finished the first half with a record of 37-31 and qualified for the playoffs as the Eastern Division Wild Card. The Whitecaps are 15-16 in the second half. West Michigan has a record of 26-22 at home this season.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .238 as a team and have scored 362 runs (3.7/game). Wisconsin has hit 35 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.42. West Michigan is hitting .253 as a team and has scored 440 runs (4.4/game). The Whitecaps have hit 45 home runs this season. The West Michigan pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.38.

2008 SEASON SERIES: West Michigan leads the season series 3-1. The Whitecaps took two out of three games from the Timber Rattlers on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium from April 28-30. West Michigan won the first game of the series 4-3. The Rattlers won game two 7-5. The Whitecaps took the rubber game 6-1.

WEST MICHIGAN STARTING PITCHER: LH Alfredo Figaro was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Tigers in 2005. He currently leads the Midwest League in wins (12) and ERA 1.83. Last season, Figaro split time between Oneonta in the New York-Penn League and Lakeland in the Florida State League. He was 4-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 11 starts for Oneonta. At Lakeland, Figaro went 0-2 in five games (four starts) with a 4.76ERA. Figaro is 6-0 with a pair of no decisions in his last eighth starts. In his start prior to this evening, Figaro allowed two runs on eight hits over 5-1/3 innings at Burlington on July 19. He did not walk a batter and struck out five. Figaro has faced the Timber Rattlers once before this season. On April 28 in Grand Chute, he allowed on unearned run on three hits with nine strikeouts over six innings. He picked up a no decision as the Rattlers came back to tie the game, but the Whitecaps would win 4-3.