ABOUT MONDAY: The Timber Rattlers beat Clinton 14-7. Chris Dennis homered and drove in four runs for Wisconsin. The Timber Rattlers set a new season high for runs scored in a game (14) and matched their longest winning streak of the year (4).
STUMBLED OUT OF THE GATE: Clinton scored twice off Rattler starting pitcher Efrain Nieves in the first inning.
ANYTHING YOU CAN DO: The Rattlers answered back in the bottom of the first with three runs. All three Rattler runs came after two outs and none on base. Taylor Green drew a walk and Brett Lawrie cracked his fifth homer of the season to tie the game. Then, Brock Kjeldgaard singled, Corey Kemp walked, and Michael Vass gave the Rattlers a 3-2 lead with an RBI single.
SLIGHT HICCUP: The LumberKings retook the lead in the top of the fourth. Nieves loaded the bases with no outs on a pair of singles and a hit batsman. Clinton went in front 4-3 with back-to-back run scoring singles.
THEY HAD AN ANSWER AND IT WAS A QUICK ONE: Kemp doubled and Vass walked to start the bottom of the fourth. Dennis lined an opposite field homer to left and the Rattlers were up 6-4. Later in the inning, Michael Marseco tripled and scored on a Jose Duran double.
IT HAPPENED AGAIN…AND AGAIN: Clinton scored a run in the top of the sixth inning, but Wisconsin would score four more times in the bottom of the sixth. The LumberKings scored once in the top of the eighth only to see the Rattlers score three more times in the bottom of the eighth.
WALK THE LINE: Green went hitless for the first time in a Rattler uniform yesterday. But, he drew three walks and scored three runs. As a team, Wisconsin drew six walks in yesterday’s game.
ON THE OTHER HAND: Three Wisconsin pitchers (Nieves, Trey Watten, and Liam Ohlmann) gave out just one walk to Clinton yesterday.
DOUBLE DIGITS: Yesterday, Wisconsin scored more than 10 runs in a game for the first time this season. Wisconsin scored exactly 10 runs in a win over Quad Cities on April 10.
WORTH MENTIONING: Erik Miller went 1-for-5 yesterday to extend his hitting streak to six games. Miller is 11-for-22 (.500) during this recent streak. Miller had a nine game hitting streak earlier this season in which he was 12-for-34.
SETTLING IN TO CLEAN UP: Lawrie was 2-for-4 with three RBI in the #4 spot in the batting order yesterday. In the four games since he was plugged into the clean up spot, Lawrie is 5-for-14 with a homer and six RBI. He is the team leader in RBI with 27 and is tied for fourth in the Midwest League in that category.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Clinton LumberKings are the Midwest League affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Scott Steinmann, a former player, coach, and manager of the Timber Rattlers, is in his first season as the manager of the LumberKings. Pitching Coach Lance Painter was the pitcher coach of Wisconsin in 2006 and 2007. This is the first season for Seattle to be the parent club of the LumberKings. They are off to a 20-17 and in fourth place in the Midwest League Western Division.
2009 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers lead the season series 4-3. Clinton swept three games from the Timber Rattlers April 17-19 at Alliant Energy Field. The final game of the series was rained out on April 20. The Rattlers will host Clinton in a four game series from June 30-July 3.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .256 as a team. They have scored 164 runs (4.4/game) and hit 20 home runs. The LumberKings are hitting .254 as a team. They have scored 175 runs (4.7/game) and hit 29 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.42 while allowing a total of 191 runs (5.1/game). Clinton pitchers have a team ERA of 3.18 while allowing 158 runs (4.3/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 54 errors. The LumberKings defense has committed 63 errors. Wisconsin is 14-9 at home this season. Clinton is 8-9 on the road this season.
CLINTON STARTING PITCHER: Brett Lorin was a 5th round pick in the 2008 draft by the Mariners out of Cal State Long Beach. He began his pro career in Everett with the Northwest League affiliate of Seattle and was 1-0 in five starts. Lorin was promoted to Wisconsin in early July and appeared in eight games (six starts) for the Timber Rattlers. He did not have a record and struck out 32 in 30 innings with an ERA of 4.80. In 2009, Lorin is 3-0 and is third in the MWL ERA race at 1.71. In his start prior to this evening, Lorin allowed four runs (two earned) on three hits over six innings against Beloit on May 14. He received a no decision in the game. Baseball America rates him as the #28 prospect in the Mariner organization.
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