ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers lost 9-4 at West Michigan. The Whitecaps grabbed a 9-0 lead and never looked back. Whitecap starting pitcher Jonathan Kibler pitched seven shutout innings, allowed five hits, and struck out eight for his tenth win of the season. The Rattlers scored all four of their runs in the eighth inning on homers by Israel Nunez and Denny Almonte.
OUT FRONT: The Whitecaps scored three times in the second inning – twice on a long home run by Ronnie Bourquin and once on a double by Kyle Peter. West Michigan added two more runs in the fifth inning on a wild pitch and a Brandon Douglas RBI single. All four of these five runs were charged to Rattler starting pitcher Brett Lorin. Lorin was charged with the loss.
NEW ERA: Kibler lowered his Midwest League leading earned run average to 1.81 and became the fourth pitcher in the Midwest League to reach double digits in wins this season.
MATCHING A CAREER HIGH: Joe Dunigan extended his hitting streak to seven games with a single in the fifth inning. Dunigan is 13-for-28 during this run. He has matched his career-high hitting streak of seven games. Dunigan also had a seven game hit streak with Everett in 2007.
FIRST TIME: Nunez launched his first professional homer last night. The leadoff blast in the eighth inning off Kelvin Cedeno was the first in xxx professional at bats for the Rattler catcher.
HOW LONG? The home runs by Nunez and Almonte were the first hit by the Rattlers since Alex Liddi’s solo homer in Fort Wayne on July 14.
HOW LONG? The home run by Borquin was the first by an opponent off a Timber Rattler pitcher since Justin Baum hit a two-run homer for the Fort Wayne Wizards on July 14.
END OF THE ROAD: The Rattlers concluded their six-game road trip with a 2-4 record. Wisconsin took two out of three from Beloit at Pohlman Field on the first leg of the journey. But, the Whitecaps swept the three game series from the Rattlers. Wisconsin is now 19-38 on the road this season.
HOME AGAIN: The Rattlers begin a 9-day homestand tonight. They will have the Beloit Snappers in for three days. Included in the series with the Snappers is the conclusion of the suspended game from July 7. That game will be picked up on Sunday at 5:05pm with the Rattlers leading 2-1 after two innings. There will be a game scheduled for 7-innings after the end of the suspended game. The Lansing Lugnuts, the first half Eastern Division Champions and the owners of the best record in the Midwest League, are in town for three games July 29-31. A three game series with the Great Lakes Loons, the Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, wraps up the homestand August 1-3. The Rattlers are 19-23 on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.
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 one of the two Western Division playoff spots. The Snappers are 17-16 in the second half. They trail division leading Peoria by 3.5 games. The Snappers are behind Burlington by two games for the second half wild card. Beloit has a record of 28-24 away from Pohlman Field this season.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .240 as a team and have scored 371 runs (3.7/game). Wisconsin has hit 37 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 4.02. Beloit is hitting .260 as a team and has scored 474 runs (4.7/game). The Snappers have hit 54 home runs this season. The Beloit pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.87.
2008 SEASON SERIES: Beloit leads the season series 6-5. The Rattlers went 4-2 at Pohlman Field this season. Beloit is 4-1 on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook places four current members of the 2008 Beloit roster on their list of the Top 30 Prospects in the Minnesota organization. Outfielder Ben Revere, the first round pick of the Twins in the 2007 draft, is the highest rated player on the team at #6. Pitcher David Bromberg (#15), shortstop Estarlin de los Santos (#17), and pitcher Mike McCardell (#18) are also on the list. Outfielders Joe Benson (#2) and Chris Parmelee (#12) and third baseman Deibinson Romero (#13) are all on the prospect list, but they are also on the Beloit disabled list. Pitcher Loek Van Mil (#19) just left the Snappers to join the Dutch National team for the upcoming Olympics in China.
OUT OF THE DRAFT 2007: The Snappers have seven members of the 2007 Minnesota draft class on their current roster. Pitchers Steven Hirschfeld (9th), Michael McCardell (6th), Charles Nolte (24th), and Michael Tarsi (12th) are joined by infielder Chris Cates (38th) and outfielders Ben Revere (1st), and Andrew Schmiesing (11th).
OUT OF THE DRAFT 2008: Pitchers Blake Martin, an 18th round selection of the Twins, and Shooter Hunt, a supplemental first round pick of Minnesota, are the two members of the 2008 Minnesota draft class on the current Beloit roster.
BELOIT STARTING PITCHER: RH Shooter Hunt was selected by the Twins as a supplemental first round pick in the 2008 draft out of Tulane. Hunt was the 31st player taken in the 2008 draft. In his final season at Tulane Hunt was 9-4 in 16 starts with a 2.68ERA and 126 strikeouts over 100-2/3 innings and was named Conference USA pitcher of the Year and to several All-American Teams. After signing with Minnesota, Hunt was sent to Elizabethton in the Appalachian League for his first stop as a professional. Hunt made four starts and had four no decisions for the Twins. Over 19 innings in the Appalachian League, Hunt allowed four hits and two runs (one earned). He walked six and struck out 34 in those four starts for Elizabethton. In his start prior to this evening, Hunt made his final start in the Appalachian League. He allowed one unearned run on two hits over six innings with a hit batsman, four walks, and six strikeouts for a no decision. Tonight is Hunt’s first appearance against the Timber Rattlers and his first appearance against an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
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