ABOUT MONDAY: The Lansing Lugnuts completed a three-game sweep of the Timber Rattlers with a 6-4 win yesterday afternoon. Kenny Wilson singled in two runs with a bases loaded single in the top of the sixth inning to erase a 4-3 Rattler lead.
IT STARTED EARLY: Lansing scored three times in the first inning. There were three hits and two errors that led to the early runs off Timber Rattler starting pitcher Wily Peralta. Lansing scored first in all three games of the series with Wisconsin.
COMEBACK: Wisconsin got a run in the bottom of the first inning. Then, Erik Miller hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to put Wisconsin up 4-3.
FIRST TIME? Miller’s line drive over the left field wall was his first professional home run.
LAUNCHING PAD OR ON PAR? Wisconsin has hit six homers at Time Warner Cable Field this season. Opponents have also hit six to make 12 homers hit in the first 15 games in the stadium. Last season, there were 27 homers hit by the Rattlers at home and opponents hit 31 here for a total of 58 in 64 games.
NOT FOR LONG: The Lugnuts loaded the bases on a pair of singles and an error in the top of the sixth inning against Cody Adams. Adams got the first out on a force play at the plate, but Wilson delivered his single to put the Lugnuts up by a run.
RUNNING GAME: Lansing was 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts against Wisconsin until Sean McCraw threw out Wilson to complete a strike-‘em out, throw-‘em out double play in the sixth. McCraw also threw out another would-be base stealer in the eighth.
TO ERR: The Rattlers committed six errors in the three-game set with the Lugnuts. Those six errors led to five unearned runs.
IT GOES TO NINE: Juan Sanchez singled in the first inning yesterday to extend his hitting streak to nine games. He is 18-for-39 (.462) during the streak. Sanchez has tied Miller for the longest hitting streak on the Timber Rattlers this season.
HOMESTAND SO FAR: The Rattlers are 2-4 in the first six games of their current nine-game homestand. They have been outscored 41-31 and have been outhit 62-60.
UNCHARTED TERRITORY: The sweep at the hands of the Lugnuts has dropped the Rattlers to 9-14 on the season. This marks the first time this season Wisconsin has been five games under .500.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Burlington Bees are the Midwest League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are the defending Midwest League Champions. Burlington missed the playoffs in the first half of 2008, but won the Western Division Second Half title with a record of 43-26. They went 6-0 in the Midwest League Playoffs in 2008. Manager Jim Gabella is back with Burlington after one season as the manager of Kansas City’s Pioneer League affiliate in Idaho Falls. Gabella had been Burlington’s manager from 2004-2007. The Bees are 7-16 to start the 2009 season. In their most recent series, the Bees dropped two out of three to West Michigan at home. The final two games – a win and a loss – went 10 innings.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .246 as a team. They have scored 97 runs (4.2/game) and hit ten home runs. The Bees are hitting .204 as a team. They have scored 74 runs (3.2/game) and hit eight homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.79 while allowing a total of 127 runs (5.5/game). Burlington pitchers have a team ERA of 4.38 while allowing 113 runs (4.9/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 30 errors. The Bees defense has committed 22 errors. Wisconsin is 8-7 at Time Warner Cable Field this season. The Bees are 4-6 away from Community Field this season.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed six members of the current Burlington roster on its list of top 30 prospects in the Royals organization. Eric Hosmer is the highest ranked player at #2. Pitcher Kelvin Herrera is next at #12. Catchers Salvador Perez (#19) and Jose Bonilla (#26); infielder Kyle Martin (#27) and pitcher Sam Runion (#28) are also on the list.
OUT OF THE DRAFT 2008: The Royals have placed six members of their 2008 draft class on the current Bees roster. Hosmer was Kansas City’s #1 pick in 2008. Hosmer was also the third player selected in last year’s draft. Infielder J.D. Alfaro was a ninth round pick and is the only other top ten pick from ’08 on the Burlington roster. Alfaro is also the only other non-pitcher from the 2008 draft currently with the Bees. Pitchers Derrick Saito (16th), Blaine Hardy (22nd), Carson Bryant (25th), and James Thompson (38th) were all selected by the Royals last year.
RETURNING ALUMNI: There are 10 players on the current Burlington roster that spent at least some time with the Bees in 2008. Pitchers Barry Bowden, Brent Fisher, Herrera, Zach Peterson, and Runion; infielders Antonio Jimenez, Martin, and Alwin Perez; and outfielders Nick Francis and Wilson Tucker were all Bees last season. Bowden, Fisher, Herrera, Peterson, Martin, and Francis were all on the playoff roster for the 2008 Midwest League Champions.
BURLINGTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP Manauris Baez was signed by the Royals as a minor league free agent in March, 2008. He had originally been signed by the New York Yankees and spent two seasons playing for the Dominican Summer League Yankees. Last season, Baez pitched for Burlington in the Appalachian League and was 2-2 with a save and a 2.89ERA in 15 games (three starts). He walked 10 and struck out 35 in 37-1/3 innings pitched. Baez has made six appearances (one start) for the Bees in 2009. In his one start – at Clinton on April 28 – Baez pitched four scoreless innings and allowed five hits. In his last appearance, Baez gave up three runs on five hits over 1-1/3 innings against West Michigan on May 2. Tonight is the first time Baez has faced the Rattlers and an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.
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