ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Cedar Rapids Kernels beat the Timber Rattlers 3-2. Jeremy Moore and Julio Perez both homered for the Kernels and Robert Fish allowed one run and struck out eight over six innings for his tenth win of the season.
THE CLINCHER: Last night’s victory clinched a Midwest League Playoff spot for the Kernels. They trail Burlington by 3-1/2 games for the Second Half Western Division title with five games remaining in the regular season. The Kernels are most likely to face Clinton in the first round of the playoffs which begin on September 3.
HOW THEY SCORED: Moore led off the game with a homer off Rattler starting pitcher Michael Pineda. Tyler Johnson would score a run in the fifth inning on a throwing error by rightfielder Maximo Mendez. Perez put the Kernels up 3-0 with a two out homer in the top of the sixth.
HOW THE RATTLERS SCORED: Joe Dunigan blasted his team-leading fourteenth home run of the season over the wall in center to lead off the Rattler sixth inning. Denny Almonte’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning drove in the run to make the score 3-2.
DUNIGAN’S STREAK: Dunigan’s homer snapped Wisconsin’s scoreless streak at 19-1/3 innings, but it extended another streak. To that point, Dunigan had driven in each of the last five Timber Rattler runs. He had a two-run single in the seventh inning on Sunday for the last two Rattler runs in that game and a two-run homer for the only Rattler runs on Monday.
ADDING ON TO THAT POINT: Almonte’s RBI in the eighth inning meant that the last eight Rattler runs had been knocked in by either Dunigan or Almonte.
LOADED QUESTION: Wisconsin loaded the bases three times last night. They filled the sacks with two out in the first; with one out in the one out in the fifth; and with no outs in the seventh. The Rattlers went 0-for-2 with a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded last night. For the season, Wisconsin is 16-for-95 (.168) in that situation.
SURPRISED OR NOT: Rattler second baseman Edilio Colina grounded into an inning ending double play in the fifth. That was the 13th time he has grounded into a double play this season, the most on the team this season.
THE CLOSER: When the Rattlers loaded the bases in the eighth inning, Cedar Rapids called in closer Eddie McKiernan. McKiernan gave up the sacrifice fly to Almonte, but got out of the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his 21st save of the season. McKiernan is second in the Midwest League in saves.
PINEDA’S NIGHT: The Rattler starting pitcher allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits over 6-2/3 innings. His ERA went from 2.05 to 2.09. He is third in the league in that category. Last night was the first time this season Pineda has allowed two homers in a game.
CEDAR RAPIDS STARTING PITCHER: RH Michael Davitt was a 29th round pick of the Angels in the 2006 draft out of Oskaloosa Walton (FL) Community College. He signed with the Angles in May of 2007, before the draft. He pitched for Orem in the Pioneer League in his first pro stop and was 0-3 in 13 games (eight starts) for the Owlz. He walked 16 and struck out 30 in 33-1/3 innings pitched while racking up an ERA of 5.67. Davitt is 6-8 with a 4.69ERA in 26 games (18 starts) for the Kernels this season. He has pitched against the Rattlers three times in 2008 and is 1-1. Davitt has allowed 10 runs (6 earned) on 10 hits with nine walks and nine strikeouts vs. Rattler hitters. In his start prior to this evening, Davitt lost to Peoria as the Chiefs got to him for five runs on nine hits over seven innings at O’Brien Field on August 23.
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