ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers defeated the West Michigan Whitecaps 5-2. Brett Lawrie homered in the bottom of the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie. Then, the Rattlers took advantage of four West Michigan errors to go on to the win. Cody Adams was the winning pitcher in relief of Dave Bush and Brandon Ritchie picked up his first save as a Rattler with two scoreless innings.
WILD START: West Michigan starting pitcher Brandon Hamilton walked four batters in the first inning. Brock Kjeldgaard drew the final walk of the frame to force in the first run for Wisconsin.
THE LINE: Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Dave Bush made his rehab start last night. He pitched 4-2/3 innings, allowed one unearned run on four hits, did not walk a batter, and struck out five.
LONG ARM OF THE LAW: Juan Sanchez threw out a runner at the plate last night. That was the tenth outfield assist of the season for Sanchez.
BIG FLY: Lawrie’s homer was his first since June 5 and it was his ninth of the season. The home run was a two-out solo homer to left.
FILE THIS AWAY FOR LATER…MAYBE: Lawrie hit his homer off Victor Larez last night. Lawrie also hit a homer against Larez on May 30 at West Michigan. That homer was a three-run shot with two outs in the eighth inning to put the Rattlers up 4-3. Those are the only two at bats Lawrie has had against Larez.
ON LEAVE: Lawrie will not be available tonight. He is traveling to the XM Futures game in St. Louis. The game will be played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis tomorrow at 1:00pm CDT.
MR. A: Adams won his second straight decision. He allowed one run on four hits over 2-1/3 innings to move his record to 3-5.
RITCHIE RICH: Ritchie entered the game with no outs and the bases loaded in the top of the eighth inning with the Rattlers leading 5-2. Ritchie struck out Jordan Lennerton on three pitches. Ritchie ended the inning by getting Ben Guez, who had homered against Adams in his previous at bat, to ground into an inning ending double play. Ritchie pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season.
END OF THE DAAAAAAYYYYYY! Peter Fatse went hitless for the first time in ten completed games he has played with the Timber Rattlers. Technically he has tied Sanchez and Erik Miller for the longest hitting streak on the team this season at nine games. But, he is 0-for-2 in the game at Burlington that was suspended in the sixth inning on July 7. If he does not get a hit in that game, his streak would have ended at seven games. If he does get a hit when that game restarts in August, Fatse will have the longest hitting streak on the team at 10 games.
CAIN WATCH: The Milwaukee Brewers sent outfielder Lorenzo Cain to the Rattlers to work his way back from injury. Last night, Cain was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. He is 3-for-15 with five walks and a run scored in six games with the Rattlers.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The South Bend Silver Hawks are the Midwest League affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are the defending Eastern Division champions of the Midwest League. They finished the first half of the season with a record of 27-41. In the second half, the Silver Hawks are currently 7-8 and they are in third place in the Eastern Division. However, since the top two teams in the East this half already are in the playoffs, South Bend holds the top second half playoff spot in that division by a game over Dayton and Great Lakes. The Silver Hawks are currently on a ten game road trip. They are 5-2 on the first seven games after taking three out of four at Lansing and two out of three at Beloit.
SEASON SERIES: The Silver Hawks lead 2-1 after they won a series at Coveleski Regional Stadium May 8 through May 10. Wisconsin lost game one 6-1 and game two 11-2. The Rattlers salvaged the final game of the series with a 4-1 win.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .242 as a team. They have scored 351 runs (4.1/game) and hit 41 home runs. The Silver Hawks are hitting .248 as a team. They have scored 316 runs (3.8/game) and hit 22 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 3.92 while allowing a total of 378 runs (4.4/game). South Bend pitchers have a team ERA of 4.09 while allowing 397 runs (4.8/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 102 errors. The Hawks defense has committed 107 errors. Wisconsin is 28-19 at home this season. South Bend is 16-29 on the road this season.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed four members of the current Silver Hawks team on their list of top 30 Arizona Diamondbacks prospects. Pitcher Wade Miley (#5) and shortstop Reynaldo Navarro (#10) are both in the top ten. Catcher Rossmel Perez (#15), and outfielder Isaias Asencio (#24) are also on the list.
NOT FAR TO GO: AJ Pollock was the number one pick of the Diamondbacks in the 2009 draft. Arizona selected the Notre Dame outfielder with the 17th selection overall selection. Pollock was the Cape Cod League MVP in the summer of 2008 and played for the Irish against the Silver Hawks in an exhibition game at Coveleski Regional Stadium before the start of the Midwest League season.
SOUTH BEND STARTING PITCHER: RHP Randy Rodriguez was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks as a non-drafted free agent on December 8, 2006 out of the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez pitched for the Missoula Osprey in 2008 and went 2-6 with an 8.10 ERA in 16 games (nine starts) for the Pioneer League affiliate of the Diamondbacks. He is 1-7 with a 5.40 ERA in 10 starts for the Silver Hawks this season. In his start prior to this evening, Rodriguez last at Lansing on July 6. He pitched 4-2/3 innings and allowed five runs (three earned) on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. He has lost six straight starts. Tonight is the first time Rodriguez has faced the Timber Rattlers. He faced Helena, the Pioneer League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers four times (three times as a starter) in 2008 and was as 0-2 with an 11.57ERA. Rodriguez allowed 24 hits and 23 runs (15 earned) over 11-2/3 innings for the Osprey against the Brewers last season.
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