ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Rattlers and Kernels split a doubleheader. Wisconsin won game one 4-2 in eight innings. Cedar Rapids won game two 5-3.
GAME ONE RECAP: Wisconsin trailed 2-1 heading into the top of the sixth inning. Corey Kemp’s two-out RBI double tied the game. In the top of the eighth, Brock Kjeldgaard’s RBI single knocked in the go ahead run and Kemp drove in an insurance run with a sacrifice fly.
VASS GOES YARD: Michael Vass hit a solo homer in game one to lead off the second inning to tie the game at one. That was the first home run by a Timber Rattler on this current road trip.
COMBO #3: Three Wisconsin pitchers combined to hold the Kernels to just three hits in game one. Wily Peralta allowed three hits in 5-2/3 innings pitched. Daniel Meadows and Jim Henderson closed out the game with 2-1/3 innings of scoreless, hitless relief.
MEADOWS FIVE-0: Meadows, the reigning Midwest League pitcher of the week, retired all four batters that he faced and picked up the win when the Rattlers rallied to take the lead in the top of the eighth. The win moved his record to 5-0.
#9: Henderson is now 9-for-9 in save opportunities this season. He worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh to preserve the Rattler victory.
EXTRA MILE: The Rattlers are now 1-1 in extra innings this season.
GAME TWO RECAP: The Kernels jumped out to a 4-0 lead with two runs in the first and two more in the fourth off Rattler starter Trey Watten. Cedar Rapids added one more run in the sixth off Evan Frederickson. Kjeldgaard delivered a three-run double with two outs in the top of the seventh inning to get the Rattlers close.
QUICK START: The Kernels had a 2-0 lead three pitches into the bottom of the first inning of game two. Matt Crawford’s drag bunt on the first pitch from Watten was followed by an RBI triple by Alexi Amarista and an RBI grounder by Roberto Lopez.
A PRETTY FULL DAY: Rattler leftfielder Juan Sanchez played in both games of the twinbill and went 4-for-7 with a walk, a stolen base, two runs scored, and an outfield assist.
IT’S A TIE: Kjeldgaard drove in four runs yesterday and is now tied with Brett Lawrie for the team lead RBI.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Cedar Rapids Kernels are the Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They are managed by Bill Mosiello, who is in his first season as the manager of the Kernels. Mosiello managed the final 108 games of the 2004 season for the Battle Creek Yankees. The Kernels went 32-36 in the first half of the 2008 season, but they went 40-30 in the second half and made the playoffs as the second half Western Division Wild Card. Cedar Rapids won in the first round with a sweep of Clinton, but they were swept by the Burlington Bees in the Western Division Finals. The Kernels are 15-18 and in fifth place in the Western Division. In their most recent series, Cedar Rapids dropped two out of three games at Modern Woodmen Park against the Quad Cities River Bandits.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .241 as a team. They have scored 125 runs (3.9/game) and hit 17 home runs. The Kernels are hitting .247 as a team. They have scored 144 runs (4.4/game) and hit 15 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.54 while allowing a total of 173 runs (5.4/game). Cedar Rapids pitchers have a team ERA of 4.12 while allowing 148 runs (4.5/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 45 errors. The Kernels defense has committed 43 errors. Wisconsin is 2-11 in road games this season. The Kernels are 11-5 at home this season.
CEDAR RAPIDS STARTING PITCHER: LHP Manuel Flores was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in January of 2006. He spent his first season with the Angels with their Dominican Summer League team. Flores was with the Arizona League affiliate of the Angels in 2007 and 2008. Last season, he went 7-4 with a 3.16ERA in 13 games (12 starts). He walked 10 and struck out 63 in 74 innings of work in ’08. In his start prior to this evening, Flores pitched just one inning at Quad Cities on May 8. He allowed one run on one hit, a hit batsman, and three hits in just one inning. But, he got a no decision in that game. Flores pitched nine innings of shutout ball against Peoria on May 3, but he also had a no decision in that game. Flores has never faced the Timber Rattlers and has only faced an affiliate of the Brewers one time. On August 12, 2007, Flores allowed five runs on 10 hits with three walks and five strikeouts in a start against the Arizona League affiliate of the Brewers. He picked up a no decision in that game.
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