August 6 Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The LumberKings defeated the Timber Rattlers 5-4. Mitch Moreland drove in a pair of runs for Clinton. His second RBI was on a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth to break a 4-4 tie and drive in the game-winning run.

THE LEAD UP: Clinton took a 1-0 lead on a solo home run by Tim Smith off Wisconsin starting pitcher Keith Renaud in the bottom of the second inning. Clinton starting pitcher Ryan Tatusko kept the Timber Rattlers off the scoreboard early by retiring the first 12 batters he faced.

RATTLER RISING: Joe Dunigan snapped that streak of consecutive outs with a leadoff double in the top of the fifth. Denny Almonte followed with an RBI single. Later in the inning, Blake Ochoa’s two-out single drove in Almonte and the Rattlers had a 2-1 lead.

FLIP, FLOP, AND FLY: Almonte’s drive up the middle took a bad hop off the arm of Clinton shortstop David Stoneburner. The play was originally ruled an RBI single. Later, the play was changed to an error on Stoneburner and no RBI was given. After the game, the play was changed back to an RBI single for Almonte.

BRINGING THE LUMBER: Clinton tied the game in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Moreland. They took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI double by Kyle Murphy and a successful suicide squeeze bunt by Matt Lawson that went for a single.

DANCING ON THE EDGE: Renaud allowed the leadoff batter to reach base in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. The LumberKings put the leadoff man aboard in the eighth and ninth innings, too.

TURNING TWO: The Timber Rattler defense turned four double plays last night. Wisconsin turned a 3-6-3 double play in the first, a 6-3 twin killing in the third, and a 4-3 double play in the fifth. First baseman Ron Garth turned an unassisted double play in the fourth.

LOADED QUESTION: The Rattlers trailed 4-2 in the top of the eighth inning, but loaded the bases with one out. However, Joseph Ortiz recorded a pair of strikeouts to keep the Rattlers off the scoreboard. That ran Wisconsin’s record with the bases loaded to 11-for-71 with 22 strikeouts this season.

BUT IN THE NINTH: The Rattlers loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the ninth against Clinton closer Adalberto Flores. Daniel Carroll drove a single to left on a 2-2 pitch to knock in the tying runs. Wisconsin is 12-for-72 (.167) as a team with the bases loaded. Carroll is 2-for-4 with a pair of walks and six RBI when he bats with the sacks full.

HOWEVER: Stoneburner doubled to leadoff the bottom of the ninth against Rattler reliever Jose Escalona. A bunt single by Engel Beltre put runners at the corners with no outs. Escalona got the first out, but Moreland singled over a drawn-in outfield to drive in the winning run.

RBI MEN: Mitch Moreland is the Midwest League leader in RBI with 77. Teammate Jonathan Greene is second with 73.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Clinton LumberKings are the Midwest League affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They were the first half Western Division Champions with a record of 41-26. They are currently 64-47 overall and have the best record in the Midwest League. Clinton is 32-25 at home this season.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .241 as a team and have scored 423 runs (3.8/game). Wisconsin has hit 45 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.92. Clinton is hitting .270 as a team to lead the Midwest League in that category. They have scored 549 runs (4.9/game) and lead the league in that category. The LumberKings have hit 93 home runs this season. The Clinton pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.48.

2008 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers lead the season series with a 4-3 record. The LumberKings won the only game played between the teams in Grand Chute in April. The other three games of that series were washed/frozen/snowed away. The Rattlers won four out of five games played at Alliant Energy Field over June 13-15.

CLINTON STARTING PITCHER: RH Michael Main was the 24th overall pick of the 2007 draft out of DeLand (FL) High School. In his senior season, Main went 12-1 with a 1.02ERA and 121 strikeouts and hit .457 with 3 homers and 22 RBI with 24 stolen bases to be named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Florida. Signed a letter of intent to attend Florida State, but elected to turn pro after being selected in the first round by the Rangers. He went 2-1 with an ERA of 3.21 and 34 strikeouts in 28 innings pitched over 10 starts between the Arizona League and the Northwest League with Spokane last season. He began this season with the Arizona League affiliate of the Rangers. Main was 1-1 in three starts with a 3.38ERA and 15 strikeouts over 13-1/3 innings before joining the LumberKings in early July. He is 1-0 with a 2.04ERA in four starts with Clinton. In his last start for the LumberKings, Main got his first Midwest League win as he allowed one run on three hits over six innings against South Bend on July 31. Main is making his first appearance against the Timber Rattlers tonight, but he has made three starts against Seattle affiliates in his career. He is 1-1 and has allowed six runs (three earned) on nine hits and has struck out 17 over 13-1/3 innings. His first professional win was on August 20, 2007 against Everett, a game in which he allowed a run on three hits and struck out nine over five innings. Main was rated as the #6 prospect in the Texas organization by Baseball America before the 2008 season.