May 20, 2009: Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers defeated Clinton 2-1. Wisconsin scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to erase a 1-0 deficit. Brandon Ritchie picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief and Jim Henderson earned his tenth save with a scoreless ninth

MANUFACTURING PROCESS: The Rattlers trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. At that point they had managed two hits off Clinton starter Brett Lorin. Erik Miller started the inning with a single and one out later, Sean McCraw walked. After an infield grounder for the second out moved Miller to third and McCraw to second, Lorin threw a wild pitch that allowed Miller to score the tying run and McCraw to take third. Jose Duran was next and he beat out a routine grounder to second for an infield single and McCraw scored the go ahead run.

RITCHIE ROCKS: Rattler reliever Brandon Ritchie entered in the top of the fifth. He set down the side in order and lowered his ERA to 0.52. Opponents are hitting just .136 against Ritchie and his WHIP (Walks + Hits/Innings Pitched) dropped to 0.92. He also won his second game of the season.

HERE COMES THE HEAT: Wily Peralta relieved Ritchie and pitched three scoreless innings. Peralta matched his career high for strikeouts in a game with seven K’s.

PERFECT TEN: Henderson is now 10-for-10 in save opportunities. He is tied with Brad Brach of Fort Wayne and Javy Guerra of Great Lakes for the Midwest League in the saves category.

BY THE NUMBERS: The line score for the series with Clinton:

............R...H...E
Clinton....14..40..11
Wisconsin..39..49...7

STAYING HOT: In the series with Clinton, Taylor Green went 8-for-17 with five RBI in the series with Clinton; Erik Miller was 8-for-18; and Duran was 7-for-20.

SETTING A NEW STANDARD: The Timber Rattlers swept a five game series from the LumberKings. The sweep gives Wisconsin their longest winning streak of the season. As a Mariner affiliate in 2008, the Timber Rattlers won five in a row twice.

JUST PUTTING IT OUT THERE: The last time a Wisconsin team had a winning streak of more than five games was 2005. That Rattler team won six straight from April 9 through April 15.

ROAD TRIP! The Rattlers begin a 12-game, 12-day, 4-city road trip tonight. Wisconsin has a three game series with Kane County followed by three game sets in Beloit, Dayton, and West Michigan respectively. The Rattlers return hom on June 2. Wisconsin will be trying to improve on a 2-12 road record.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Kane County Cougars are the Midwest League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are 23-14 and in first place in the Midwest League Western Division. The Cougars have a 1-1/2 game lead over Peoria and Quad Cities.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .254 as a team. They have scored 166 runs (4.4/game) and hit 20 home runs. The Cougars are hitting .264 as a team. They have scored 211 runs (5.7/game) and hit 33 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.32 while allowing a total of 192 runs (5.1/game). Kane County pitchers have a team ERA of 3.21 while allowing 146 runs (3.9/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 55 errors. The Cougars defense has committed 46 errors. Wisconsin is 2-12 on the road this season. Kane County is 14-7 at home this season.

PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed two members of the current Kane County roster on their list of top 30 Oakland prospects. Shortstop Dusty Coleman is ranked at # 22 and outfielder Grant Desme checks in at #30.

OUT OF THE DRAFT 2008: The Athletics have placed 13 members of their 3008 draft class on the current Kane County roster. The picks from the top 10 rounds are: Catcher Petey Paramore (3rd), pitcher Anthony Capra (4th), infielder Jason Christian (5th), pitcher Brett Hunter (7th), and outfielders Jeremy Barfield (8th) and Mitchell LeVier (9th). Other current Cougars from the ’08 draft are: Pitchers Matt Fitts (16th), Mike Hart (19th), Shawn Haviland (33rd), Justin Murray (29th), Kenny Smalley (24th), and Mickey Storey (31st). Coleman was a 28th round pick last year and he rounds out the draftees from 2008.

RETURNING ALUMNI: There are 10 current Cougars who spent time in Kane County last season. Pitchers Capra, Hunter, Scott Deal and Jamie Richmond; catchers Paramore and Juan Nunez; and infielders Carlos Arrieche, Christian, Coleman, Dusty Napoleon, and Matt Ray all wore a Cougar jersey in 2008.

A KIND OF HOMECOMING: Rattler hitting coach Matt Erickson played for the Kane County Cougars in 1998. Erickson was a post-season all-star at third base in the MWL after hitting .324 and tying for third in the league batting race with Timber Rattler second baseman Jermaine Clark.

THEY ARE FAMILY: Kane County outfielder Jeremy Barfield is the son of former major league outfielder Jesse Barfield. His brother Josh Barfield played is currently playing for the Cleveland Indians. Josh Barfield played for the Fort Wayne Wizards in 2002.

KANE COUNTY STARTING PITCHER: Anthony Capra was a fourth round pick of Oakland in the 2008 draft out of Wichita State University. In his first pro season, Capra was 4-3 with a 4.22ERA in 10 games (all starts) for the Vancouver Canadians. He allowed 48 hits and 22 walks with 39 strikeouts over 49 innings for the Northwest League affiliate of the Athletics. Capra’s last outing was on May 14 in a start at Burlington. He allowed five runs on 10 hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out two. Tonight is Capra’s first appearance against the Timber Rattlers and his first against an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.