ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers beat the Kane County Cougars 3-1. Brock Kjeldgaard broke a 1-1 tie with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh and Corey Kemp tacked on a run scoring double in the bottom of the eighth. Jim Henderson pitched a scoreless ninth with three strikeouts for his 15th save of the season.
TOUGH LUCK TREY: Trey Watten got the starting assignment last night and allowed one run on five hits over six innings with eight strikeouts. But, he picked up a no decision. In his last three starts, Watten has allowed one run over 17 innings. He has a no decision in all three of those starts.
END OF THE STREAK: Watten took an 11 inning scoreless streak into last night’s start. He held the Cougars off the board until Jason Christian homered in the top of the fifth inning. Watten’s streak ended at 15-1/3 innings.
THEY’LL BUY THAT FOR A DOLLAR: Jose Duran was on first with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kane County pitcher Kenny Smalley tried to pick off Duran, who is 3-for-8 in stolen base attempts. The throw to first was wild and Duran hustled around to third. Cougars first baseman Steve Kleen retrieved the baseball and threw wildly to third base. The ball wound up in the stands and Duran scored the tying run.
SETTING THE STAGE: Chris Dennis tripled off the left-centerfield wall to start the Rattler seventh. Kjeldgaard drove him home with a sacrifice fly.
RBI GUY: Kjeldgaard had six RBI in the four game series with the Cougars.
THE BIG 4-0: Brandon Ritchie relieved Watten and pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth. The lefty allowed two hits and struck out two. When the Rattlers took the lead, Ritchie was in position to move his record to 4-0.
DON’T MESS AROUND WITH JIM: Henderson earned his 15th save in 15 opportunities. He is in fifth place on the single season Timber Rattler saves list. The record of 19 was set in 1995 and is held by John Thompson.
MORE ZEROES: Ritchie and Henderson combined for three scoreless innings out of the bullpen. In the last five games, the Timber Rattlers relief corps has pitched 20-1/3 innings and has not allowed a run.
ROSTER MOVES: After Saturday’s game, the Timber Rattlers moved infielder Edgar Trejo and outfielder Derrick McPhearson to the Helena Brewers roster. Those two will join Helena to start the 2009 Pioneer League season. The Wisconsin roster is currently at 23.
HOMESTAND: The Rattlers ended their 12-game homestand with a 6-6 record. The Rattlers went 1-3 against Cedar Rapids; 2-2 against Beloit; and 3-1 against Kane County.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Wisconsin closes out their first half schedule with an eight-game road trip. The Rattlers start a four game series with the Bees today. Wisconsin ended the first half with a four game series at Kane County June 18-21.
RETURNING HOME: The Rattlers will be home for an eight-game, nine-day homestand to start the second half. The Peoria Chiefs will visit from June 25-28. Then, the Clinton LumberKings are at Time Warner Cable Field from June 30 to July 3.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Burlington Bees are the Midwest League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are the defending Midwest League Champions. The Bees are 26-36 and have been eliminated from playoff contention in the first half. Burlington is on a three game losing streak heading into this series.
SEASON SERIES: Burlington leads the season series 2-1. The Bees took two out of three from the Rattlers at Time Warner Cable Field May 5-7.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .247 as a team. They have scored 261 runs (4.2/game) and hit 34 home runs. The Bees are hitting .238 as a team. They have scored 254 runs (4.1/game) and hit 24 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.06 while allowing a total of 287 runs (4.6/game). Burlington pitchers have a team ERA of 4.16 while allowing 302 runs (4.9/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 76 errors. The Bees defense has committed 77 errors. Wisconsin is 9-17 in road games. The Bees are 9-22 at 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. Pitchers Michael Montgomery (#4) and Tim Melville (#5) are also in the top ten. Catchers Salvador Perez (#19) and Jose Bonilla (#26) 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. He is the only non-pitcher on the Bees roster from the 2008 draft. Pitchers Montgomery (Supplemental 1st), Tim Melville (4th), Saito (16th), Blain Hardy (22nd), and James Thompson (38th) were all selected by the Royals last year.
RETURNING ALUMNI: There are six players on the current Burlington roster that spent at least some time with the Bees in 2008. Pitchers Barry Bowden and Runion; infielders Antonio Jimenez and Juan Rivera; and outfielders Nick Francis and Nick Van Stratten were all Bees for at least part of 2008.
BURLINGTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP Bryan Casey was a 20th round pick of the Royals in 2005. He has pitched two seasons (2006 and 2008) in Idaho Falls, the Pioneer League affiliate of the Royals. Casey missed the 2007 season with an injury. In 2008, Casey was 3-5 with a 3.36 ERA, and 66 strikeouts over 72-1/3 innings pitched in 16 starts for the Chukars. He was named Idaho Falls pitcher of the year by the Royals and also named to the Pioneer League post-season all-star team. In his start prior to today, Casey took the loss at Cedar Rapids on June 9. He allowed 11 runs (five earned) on seven hits over 3-1/3 innings. Casey walked four and struck out two in the game. Today is Casey’s first appearance against the Timber Rattlers. He faced Helena one time in 2008 and picked up a no decision despite allowing one run on two hits with six strikeouts over five innings. Casey also faced Helena twice in a relief role in 2006 and allowed three runs on five hits over 3-1/3 innings for a pair of no decisions.
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