ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Bees beat Wisconsin 6-2. Burlington scored three unearned runs of the six that they tallied on the night. Wisconsin committed three errors in the game.
ALMOST GOT OUT OF IT: Rattler starting pitcher Cody Scarpetta put the first two batters of the top of the second inning on base with a single and a walk. He retired the next two batters and the runners had moved up to second and third on a ground out. But, Michael Marseco’s throwing error on a grounder to short off the bat of Antonio Jimenez allowed the two runs to score.
2009 DEBUT: Burlington starter Kelvin Herrera made his 2009 debut a pretty good one. The righty allowed three hits, did not walk a batter, and struck out one over five scoreless innings.
RUN MANUFACTURING: The Bees took a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning on a lead off single, a sacrifice bunt, a wild pitch, and an RBI grounder by Sean McCauley.
ROUGH INNING: Rattler reliever Kris Dabrowiecki entered the game in the top of the sixth inning and allowed three doubles and three runs to let the Bees to take a 6-0 lead.
DIGGING THE LONG BALL: Wisconsin got both of their runs on solo homers off Burlington reliever Justin Garcia in the seventh. Brock Kjeldgaard and Edgar Trejo hit their fourth and second homers of the year to help Wisconsin avoid the shutout. The Timber Rattlers have hit 13 homers in their first 25 games of the season. In 2008, the Rattlers had 13 homers in their first 51.
NOTES ON A LINEUP: Last night, the Timber Rattlers started Kjeldgaard in left field, Shawn Zarraga at first, and Cutter Dykstra in right field. Kjeldgaard and Zarraga were making their first professional starts at their respective positions last night. Dykstra made six starts in right field in 2008 as a member for the Helena Brewers.
STING OF THE BEES: Burlington scored six runs last night in the win. In their first five games this month, Burlington scored a total of five runs.
LAWRIE’S LAST TEN/LAST FIVE: Wisconsin second baseman Brett Lawrie went 1-for-4 last night. He is 15-for-39 over his last 10 games for a .385 average in those games. In his last five games, Lawrie is 9-for-19 (.474).
LAST OF THE STAND: Tonight is the final game of Wisconsin’s 9-game homestand. They are 3-5 in the first eight games.
THE ROAD AHEAD: The Rattlers are off to South Bend for a three game series and Cedar Rapids for a four game series over the next eight days. Wisconsin returns home for a four-day, five-game series with Clinton May 16-19.
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 8-17 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. The next time these teams meet is when the Rattlers will be in Burlington for a four-game series June 14-17 as part of Wisconsin’s final road trip of the first half.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .243 as a team. They have scored 101 runs (4.0/game) and hit 13 home runs. The Bees are hitting .200 as a team. They have scored 80 runs (3.2/game) and hit eight homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.51 while allowing a total of 133 runs (5.3/game). Burlington pitchers have a team ERA of 4.20 while allowing 117 runs (4.7/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 33 errors. The Bees defense has committed 23 errors. Wisconsin is 9-8 at Time Warner Cable Field this season. The Bees are 5-7 away from Community Field this season.
BURLINGTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP Zach Peterson was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the University of Illinois-Chicago on June 13, 2007. Peterson was an All-Horizon League pitcher three times of the UIC Flames and was the Horizon League pitcher of the year in his final season. Peterson spent all of 2008 with the Bees and made 30 appearances (four starts). He went 3-3 with five saves and a 3.13 with 20 walks and 82 strikeouts over 77-2/3 innings for Burlington in ’08. Peterson also appeared in three playoff games during the Bees post-season run and picked up a save in one of those games. In his start prior to this evening, Peterson beat Peoria at Community Field on May 1. He pitched six shutout innings and allowed four hits with a pair of walks and five strikeouts. Peterson made four appearances (one starts) against Wisconsin in 2008 and picked up a save. He allowed three runs on 12 hits and struck out 13 over 10-2/3 innings. Tonight is his first appearance against an affiliate of the Brewers.
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