August 13 game notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Rattlers beat the Kane County Cougars 9-2. Maximo Mendez hit a grand slam and drove in five runs for the Rattlers.

SLAM: Mendez hit his bases loaded home run during a six run second inning for the Timber Rattlers. The homer was his fourth of the season and first since June 21 against Burlington. Mendez also hit a grand slam in the Arizona League during 2007. He hit that one against the Giants on July 3, 2007.

HISTORY OF THE SLAM: The grand slam by Mendez was the second of the season for the Timber Rattlers. It was also the 33rd in Timber Rattler history. Wisconsin has hit four slams against the Cougars. The only team Wisconsin has hit more grand slams against since 1995 is Cedar Rapids, a team that has given up seven slams to Wisconsin hitters. The last Rattler grand slam was hit by Denny Almonte on June 25 at Cedar Rapids.

ONE MORE ON THE LONG BALL: The home run by Mendez was the first hit to leave a ballpark in seven games. The last homer hit by a Rattler before last night was from Alex Liddi in the fourth inning of a 3-2 win over Great Lakes in Grand Chute on August 3.

BIG TIME: The Rattlers scored more runs in the second inning last night than they did in all but one of the previous ten games in the month. The Rattlers had scored six runs in an 8-6 loss to the Great Lakes Loons on August 1.

ALL IN: The Rattlers racked up 14 hits and each of the nine starters collected at least one hit. Edilio Colina went 3-for-5 to pace the attack. Joe Dunigan, Mendez, and Israel Nunez each had two hits for the Rattlers.

NOT TO BE TOO PICKY: Of the 14 hits, 12 were singles. Dunigan’s triple and the homer by Mendez were the only two extra base hits for the Rattlers.

GETTING THROUGH: Rattler starting pitcher Edward Paredes made it through five innings to pick up his seventh win of the season. Paredes threw over 90 pitches in his five innings, allowed two runs on five hits, walked one, threw a wild pitch, and struck out five.

TIED IN THE CLUBHOUSE: Paredes is now tied for the team lead in wins. Michael Pineda also has seven wins this season.

RELIEF WORK: Ryan Moorer (3IP) and Joe Kantakevich (IP) combined to keep the Cougars of the scoreboard for the final four innings. Moorer allowed one hit and one walk over the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. Kantakevich pitched a perfect ninth.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Rattlers begin a seven-game road trip tonight. They have three games with the Chiefs and four games at Kane County. The Rattlers are 20-41 on the road this season. Wisconsin is 6-18 away from home in the second half.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Peoria Chiefs are the Midwest League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Chiefs are 55-64 overall. They are currently 25-26 in the second half. Peoria did not qualify for the playoffs in the first half. They currently trail Western Division leading Burlington by 5-1/2 games. The Chiefs are 3-1/2 games behind Cedar Rapids for the second half Western Division Wild Card. Peoria is 29-29 at home this season

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .242 as a team and have scored 453 runs (3.9/game). Wisconsin has hit 46 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.92. Peoria is hitting .254 as a team. They have scored 493 runs (4.1/game). The Chiefs have hit 83 home runs this season. The Peoria pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.91.

2008 SEASON SERIES: The Chiefs lead the season series 8-4. Wisconsin went 1-3 in a four game series at O’Brien Field over Memorial Day weekend. The Rattlers were 3-5 in eight games played on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium against the Chiefs this season.

PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook had one current member of the active Chief roster on their list of Top 30 Chicago Cub prospects. Pitcher Roberto Hernandez was rated as the #17 prospect in the Cub organization before the season began. Pitcher Dae-Eun Rhee was ranked at #16, but is currently on the Peoria disabled list.

OUT OF THE DRAFT 2007: There are seven members of the 2007 Chicago Cub draft class on their active roster. Pitchers Zach Ashwood (16th round), Craig Muschko (22nd), Chris Siegfried (11th), and Steve Vento (23rd); catcher Luis Bautista (32nd); and outfielders Brandon Guyer (5th) and Jonathan Wyatt (13th) were all drafted last June.

OUT OF THE DRAFT 2008: There are six members of the 2008 Chicago Cub draft class on their active roster. Pitchers Casey Coleman (15th round) and Josh Whitlock (26th); catcher Luis Flores (7th); and infielders Josh Harrison (6th), Jake Opitz (12th), and Rebel Ridling (25th) were all drafted in June of 2008.

PEORIA STARTING PITCHER: RH Casey Coleman was the 15th round pick of the Cubs in the 2008 draft out of Florida Gulf Coast University, a NCAA Division II school. Coleman was 7-3 with a 4.11ERA in 70 innings for the Eagles. Coleman began his professional career with the Boise Hawks, Chicago’s Northwest League affiliate. He is 2-1 with a 1.88 ERA since joining the Chiefs in late July. Coleman’s last start prior to this evening was a win over Burlington at O’Brien Field. He allowed one run on four hits over six innings with three walks and four strikeouts. Tonight is his first appearance against the Timber Rattlers, but Coleman did face Everett, the Northwest League affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, twice when he was with Boise. Coleman had no record in those two starts against the AquaSox as he allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits with four strikeouts over 8-1/3 innings.