April 28, 2009 Game Notes

ABOUT MONDAY: The Timber Rattlers dropped a pair of games to the River Bandits. Quad Cities won game one 4-2 and game two 17-7.

GAME ONE RECAP: The Rattlers grabbed a 2-1 lead with single runs in the third and fourth innings. But, the River Bandits scored three times in the bottom of the fifth inning off Rattler starting pitcher Trey Watten to grab a 4-2 lead.

GAME TWO RECAP: Wisconsin had a 1-0 lead after scoring a run in the top of the first inning. But, the River Bandits scored six times in the bottom of the first and knocked Wisconsin starting pitcher Cody Scarpetta out of the game after just 2/3 of an inning. Quad Cities scored twice in the second, three times in the third, five times in the fourth, and one more time in the fifth to pull away from the Rattlers. Charles Cutler drove in five runs, including a grand slam, for the River Bandits. Brett Lawrie had two hits and three RBI for the Rattlers.

SIX PACK: Rattler outfielder Erik Miller had one hit in both games of Monday’s doubleheader. He has extended his current hitting streak to six games, the longest streak by a Rattler this season. He is 9-for-23 (.391) during the streak. This hitting streak matches Miller’s longest streak as a pro. He also had a six-game hitting streak from July 14 to July 20 while playing for the Arizona League Brewers.

PAINFUL HISTORY: Brett Lilley was hit by a pitch three times, including twice in the first inning, in the second game of the doubleheader. He shares the Midwest League record with 10 other players for most times hit by pitch in a game. Former Timber Rattler Andy Augustine (July 25, 1995) is one of those players. The last Midwest Leaguer to be hit by a pitch three times in a game was Eric Verbryke of the Battle Creek Yankees on May 24, 2003 against the South Bend Silver Hawks. Getting hit is nothing new to Lilley. He was hit by a pitch 109 times in 231 games as an infielder at the University of Notre Dame.

TRANSACTIONS: The Timber Rattlers have placed infielder John Delaney on the disabled list retroactive to April 26. Infielder Jose Duran has joined the Timber Rattlers in Quad Cities and will be eligible for play tonight.

MEET THE NEW GUY: Duran was a sixth round pick of the Brewers in the 2008 draft out of Texas A&M. He hit .372 and was the Big 12 Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in 2008. Duran hit .211 in 36 games for Helena in the Pioneer League after signing with the Rattlers. He is the brother of German Duran, who played 60 games for the Texas Rangers in 2008 and is currently playing for the Oklahoma City Red Hawks of the Pacific Coast League.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Quad Cities River Bandits are the Midwest League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. This is the fifth season of the partnership between the River Bandits and the Cardinals. Last season, Quad Cities missed the playoffs. They were 33-31 in the first half and 35-35 in the second half for an overall record of 68-66. They are off to a 9-7 start this season. In their most recent series, Quad Cities split a four game set at Beloit. The River Bandits won the first two games, but they blew a pair of early leads in the last two games of the series at Pohlman Field and took losses in both games.

2009 SERIES: The Rattlers swept a season opening series from Quad Cities at Time Warner Cable Field. The Rattlers won by scores of 2-1, 10-1, and 3-2. The season series is tied at 3-3. This is the final game of the first half between the teams. This is also the final regular season game in the series here at Modern Woodmen Park. The next time the teams meet is July 31-August 2 at Time Warner Cable Field.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .227 as a team. They have scored 64 runs (4.0/game) and hit seven home runs. The Bandits are hitting .244 as a team. They have scored 95 runs (5.9/game) and hit 11 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.73 while allowing a total of 82 runs (5.1/game). Quad Cities pitchers have a team ERA of 3.98 while allowing 79 runs (4.9/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 19 errors. The River Bandit defense has committed 32 errors. Wisconsin is 0-6 on the road this season. The River Bandits are 7-2 at Modern Woodmen Park this season.

QUAD CITIES STARTING PITCHER: RHP Miguel Tapia was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic by the Cardinals in April of 2006. He pitched in the Dominican Summer League in 2006 and 2007 before starting the 2008 season with the Batavia Muckdogs of the New York-Penn League in 2008. Tapia went 4-2 with a 3.86ERA with 28 walks and 36 strikeouts in 53-2/3 innings pitched for Batavia. He made 15 appearances (nine starts) for the Muckdogs. Tapia’s appearance prior to this evening for the River Bandits was on April 23 at Beloit. He took the loss as he allowed three runs on three hits over three innings of relief work with a pair of walks and five strikeouts. Tapia has made one other start this season for the River Bandits. On April 16 against Peoria at Modern Woodmen Park, Tapia allowed one unearned run on four hits over four innings and picked up a no decision. Tapia faced the Timber Rattlers on April 10 and pitched two innings in relief. He gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits, a walk, and three strikeouts. That is his only appearance against the Rattlers and his only appearance against an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.