August 25 game notes

ABOUT SUNDAY: The Rattlers beat Quad Cities 5-3. The River Bandits broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the top of the seventh inning. The Rattlers rallied with four runs in the bottom of the seventh. Denny Almonte and Joe Dunigan each had a two-run single in the rally.

SPLITSVILLE: The Rattlers and River Bandits each had two wins in the four game series. Wisconsin has split each of its last four series.

THE NINE: Rattler starting pitcher Juan Ramirez struck out nine over seven innings yesterday. That marks the fourth time this season Ramirez has struck out nine in a game. He is second on the team with 106 K’s this season.

FOR THE WIN: Ramirez allowed two runs on five hits and did not walk a batter. He was on the hook for the loss until the Rattler rally in the bottom of the seventh. Ramirez is now 6-9 on the season.

EARLY ON: The teams traded solo homers in the fourth inning. Adron Chambers led off the top of the inning with a homer off Ramirez. Juan Diaz hit a two-out shot in the bottom of the frame.

TO THE FRONT: Curt Smith started the top of the seventh inning with a double. Domnit Bolivar singled him in to give Quad Cities a 2-1 lead.

RALLY TIME: Wisconsin loaded the bases against Cedar Rapids reliever JD Stambaugh in the bottom of the seventh on a single by Israel Nunez, an error on a sacrifice bunt by Maximo Mendez, and a bunt single by Daniel Carroll. That brought up Almonte who laced an 0-2 pitch to left for a two-run single. Later in the inning, Dunigan singled to right to drive in two more runs.

THEIR SACRIFICE: The Rattlers had three sacrifice bunts in yesterday’s game, including two in the bottom of the seventh. The sacrifice bunt by Mendez in the seventh inning was his seventh of the season and he is tied for the team lead in that category.

WAY TO STOP A SLIDE: Almonte’s two-run single was his first of the series against the Bandits. He had been 0-for-10 with nine strikeouts until that point in the series.

FIRST TO 50: Dunigan’s two-run single gave him a team-leading 51 RBI on the season.

BOUNCE BACK ABILITY: The Rattlers were shutout on Saturday 4-0 and came back to win on Sunday. The last three times Wisconsin has been shutout, they have come back to win their next game.

DEEP SIX: Jeff Dunbar allowed a two-out solo homer to Bolivar in the top of the ninth inning, but closed out the River Bandits for his sixth save with the Timber Rattlers. Dunbar is 6-for-6 in save opportunities with Wisconsin. He had been 3-for-3 in save chances for Pulaski in the Appalachian League before joining the Rattlers.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Cedar Rapids Kernels are the Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They did not qualify for the Midwest League playoffs in the first half. But, they are currently 35-27 in the second half and hold the Western Division Wild Card. They lead Quad Cities by four games with eight games remaining in the season. The Kernels lead the Midwest League with 233 stolen bases. The second place team in that category is Beloit with 168.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .242 as a team and have scored 496 runs (3.9/game). Wisconsin has hit 58 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.90. Cedar Rapids is hitting .242 as a team. They have scored 575 runs (4.4/game). The Kernels have hit 82 home runs this season. The Cedar Rapids pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.63.

2008 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers and the Kernels have split 12 games this season. In the first half, Wisconsin won three out of four games from the Kernels on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium and the Kernels won three out of four games in Cedar Rapids. The two teams split a four game series in Cedar Rapids earlier in the second half.

PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook placed four current members of the Kernel roster on their list of top 30 Angel prospects heading into the 2008 season. Pitcher Trevor Reckling was the highest ranked Kernel at #16. Fellow pitcher Robert Fish was rated at #27. Infielder Andrew Romine (#28) and outfielder Clay Fuller (#30) are also on the list. Pitcher Mason Tobin, who is currently on the Kernel disabled list, was rated at #21 in the Prospect Handbook.

OUT OF THE DRAFT 2007: The Angels have placed five members of their 2007 draft class on the current Kernel roster. Pitchers Eddie McKiernan (17th) and Reckling (8th) are joined by infielders Romine (5th), Jay Brossman (36th), and Hector Estrella (40th).

OUT OF THE DRAFT 2008: The Angels have put two members of their 2008 draft class on the current Cedar Rapids roster. Pitcher Tim Kiely (27th out of Trinity College) and infielder Gabe Jacobo (10th out of Sacramento State) are with the Kernels. Catcher CJ Bressoud, a 2008 non-drafted free agent out of Columbus State, is with Cedar Rapids.

YES, THAT’S HIM: Kiely was a member of the Trinity (CT) College team that won the 2008 NCAA Division III College World Series in Grand Chute. Kiely pitched a complete game, but took the loss to Johns Hopkins in the first game of Championship Tuesday, but Trinity would win the second game.

CEDAR RAPIDS STARTING PITCHER: LH Trevor Reckling was the 8th round pick of the Angels out of St. Benedict’s Prep School in Newark, New Jersey in the 2007 draft. He pitched for the Arizona League affiliate of the Angels after signing. He went 3-1 with a 2.75 ERA in nine games (five starts) with 55 strikeouts in 36 innings pitched. This is Reckling’s fourth start against the Timber Rattlers this season and is 0-1 with a 1.35ERA. He has allowed four runs (three hits) over 20 innings with seven walks and 13 strikeouts. In his last outing before tonight, Reckling lost at Beloit on August 19. He allowed six runs (five earned) on 11 hits over five innings with no walks and four strikeouts.