ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers beat the Chiefs 2-1 in 14 innings. Jose Duran scored the winning run after Junior Lake dropped a popup off the bat of Juan Sanchez with two outs in the bottom of the fourteenth. Nick Tyson extended his scoreless streak to 15-1/3 innings with a scoreless top of the fourteenth and got his second win of the season.
ONE ON POWER: The Chiefs scored their run on a solo homer by Josh Vitters in the top of the sixth inning.
ONE ON HUSTLE: The Rattlers tied the game in the bottom of the sixth on a fielder’s choice by Brock Kjeldgaard. Wisconsin had runners at first and third with one out and Kjeldgaard sent a grounder to third. The Chiefs got the force at second, but Kjeldgaard beat the relay to first to allow the Brett Lawrie to score from third.
THE WAITING GAME: There were two rain delays in last night’s game. The first lasted just four minutes. The second occurred in the bottom of the fifth and lasted 18 minutes. Neither starting pitcher returned to the game after the second rain delay.
ABOUT THOSE STARTERS: Cody Scarpetta tossed five scoreless innings with six strikeouts and no walks for the Rattlers. Chris Carpenter worked 4-1/3 innings and worked around five hits and a walk without allowing a walk.
PITCHING IN: Three Timber Rattler relievers combined to allow one run on five hits over the last nine innings. Four Peoria relievers gave up four hits over the final 9-1/3 innings and none after the eighth inning. Both of Wisconsin’s runs were unearned.
PUT THAT ONE BACK IN THE PLAYBOOK: Both teams tried a suicide squeeze in the game. Neither play worked. The Chiefs pitched out on the Rattlers attempt. The Chiefs batter missed on the bunt attempt.
I DARE YOU: Peoria rightfielder Kyler Burke had a pair of assists in the bottom of the eighth inning last night. He threw out Corey Kemp at third and Chris Dennis at the plate.
THAT’S A LOT: Wisconsin hitters struck out 16 times last night.
THAT’S A LOT (PT II): Peoria defenders committed five errors, including two in the fourteenth inning, last night. The Chiefs were charged with four errors on Friday night.
CLEARING THE BENCH: The Rattlers had an active roster of 23 last night. Due to Steve Braun and Dennis leaving the game with injuries, Wisconsin used two of their three position players who started the game on the bench.
HOW THE GAME WAS WON: Jose Duran reached on a throwing error by shortstop Ryan Flaherty to start the fourteenth. Duran would go to second on a wild pitch and was there with two outs. Sanchez swung at the first pitch of his at bat in the fourteenth. Duran scored the winning run easily when the ball was dropped.
LAST TIME: Last night was the first 14 inning game at Time Warner Cable Field since June 4, 2003. The Rattlers defeated the Fort Wayne Wizards 2-1. No other game since that day have gone longer than 13 innings.
NOW, THAT’S JUST WEIRD: Not only did the Rattlers win that 14 inning marathon by a score of 2-1 back in 2003, but the opponents committed two errors in the fourteenth to give the Rattlers the victory. Fort Wayne first baseman Paul McAnulty committed an error on a sacrifice bunt that allowed the winning run to get to third base. McAnulty committed an error on the very next play to let the winning run score.
SENSING A PATTERN: Wisconsin is 7-0 against the Chiefs this season. They have trailed in six of the games. Wisconsin has five one-run wins and three “walk-off” wins against the Chiefs.
A STEP UP: The win last night moved the Timber Rattlers over the .500 mark to 37-36. The last time the Rattlers were above .500 was when they were 7-6 after a win on April 24 over the Chiefs at Miller Park.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Peoria Chiefs are the Midwest League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. First year manager Marty Pevey led his team to a first half record of 38-31. The Chiefs put on a late charge at a playoff spot, but fell just short.
SEASON SERIES: The Timber Rattlers swept a four game series from the Chiefs in April. The Rattlers won by scores of 3-2, 7-6, and 8-7 at Time Warner Cable Field. Wisconsin also won the Border Battle at Miller Park by a score of 5-3. Wisconsin is 7-0 against the Chiefs in 2009
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .245 as a team. They have scored 305 runs (4.2/game) and hit 35 home runs. The Chiefs are hitting .267 as a team. They have scored 321 runs (4.5/game) and hit 57 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 3.83 while allowing a total of 326 runs (4.5/game). Peoria pitchers have a team ERA of 3.66 while allowing 296 runs (4.1/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 84 errors. The Chief defense has committed 88 errors. Wisconsin is 24-15 at home this season. Peoria is 13-24 on the road in 2009.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed four current Chiefs on its Top 30 list of Chicago Cub prospects before the 2009 season. Third baseman Josh Vitters is rated at #1 on the list. Shortstop Ryan Flaherty is at #8. The Chiefs also have infielder Junior Lake (#14) and pitcher Chris Carpenter (#18) on that list.
OUT OF THE DRAFT 2008: The Cubs have placed 12 members of their 2008 draft class on the current Peoria roster. Flaherty was a supplemental first round pick in the ’08 draft. Pitchers Jeff Beliveau (18th), Justin Bristow (5th), Erik Harmen (37th), and Aaron Shafer (2nd); catcher Michael Brenly (36th); infielders Josh Harrison (6th), David Macias (19th), and Rebel Ridling (25th), and outfielder Anthony Campana (13th) were also 2008 draft picks.
PEORIA STARTING PITCHER: Aaron Shafer was the 3rd round pick of the Cubs in the 2008 draft. Shafer pitched collegiately at Wichita State University. In his final season with the Shockers, Shafer went 11-4 with a 3.26ERA and he led the Missouri Valley Conference in strikeouts with 110 while walking just 28. Shafer spent last his first professional season with stops in the Arizona League and the Northwest League. He made one appearance for the Mesa Cubs in the AZL before moving to the Boise Hawks of the NWL. In eight games (seven starts) Shafer was 2-2 with a 3.09ERA with 24 strikeouts and five walks. In his start prior to today, Shafer lost to Burlington on June 21. He gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits over 4-1/3 innings. Shafer was the Peoria starting pitcher in the Border Battle at Miller Park on April 24 and he was tagged with the loss. Shafer allowed four runs on nine hits over five innings. He is 5-4 with a 5.04ERA with the Chiefs this season.
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