LAST ACTION: The Timber Rattlers defeated the South Bend Silver Hawks 5-2 on Monday afternoon. Juan Sanchez broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning. Brock Kjeldgaard homered later in the game. Efrain Nieves got the win and Nick Tyson got the save. The win put the Timber Rattlers overall record at 45-42. This marks the first time since the team was 3-0 that Wisconsin’s record has been three over .500.
TRADING RUNS: The Silver Hawks scored a run in the top of the first inning on a two out double by Marc Krauss. The Rattlers scored a run in the bottom of the first inning on a double by Pete Fatse.
BOUNCING BACK: Efrain Nieves allowed one run on four hits over five innings and picked up his third win of the season. He struck out seven and walked three. Nieves had allowed nine runs on eight hits over two innings in his start prior to Monday.
KEEP THE INNING GOING: Michael Marseco beat out a potential inning ending double play ball in the bottom of the fifth. He stole second and scored the go ahead run on the Sanchez single.
INSURANCE: Kjeldgaard hit a two-out solo homer in the sixth for a 3-1 lead. The Rattlers added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI triple by Marseco and a sacrifice fly by Sanchez.
END OF THE STREAK: Cody Scarpetta entered in the seventh inning and pitched two scoreless inning, but loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the ninth. He allowed a sacrifice fly to let in a run. That run ended Scarpetta’s scoreless streak at 16-1/3 innings. Last season in the Arizona League, Scarpetta had a 15 inning scoreless streak.
NICK TYSON’S PUNCHOUT: Tyson got a force out and a strikeout to end the game. He is 5-for-5 in save opportunities this season.
A DIFFERENCE: The Timber Rattlers are 30-20 at home this season. In 2008, Wisconsin was 30-34 on the season at Time Warner Cable Field.
ANOTHER DIFFERENCE: The Kjeldgaard homer was the 25th home run of the season for the Rattlers at Time Warner Cable Field. The Rattlers hit 27 homers at home in 2008.
MATCHED: Kjeldgaard’s homer was his 14th of the season in his 84th game. Joe Dunigan led the Timber Rattlers with 14 homers in 119 games last season.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Great Lakes Loons are the Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They just missed the playoffs in the first half of the season with a 40-30 record. So far in the second half, the Loons are 7-11. They hold the second half wild card spot in the Eastern Division by a game over Dayton. Great Lakes trails South Bend for the top playoff spot in the second half by a game.
SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers lead 2-1. Wisconsin won two out of three games from Great Lakes April 29 through May 1 at Time Warner Cable Field. The Rattlers won game one 6-3. The Loons won game two 9-6. Wisconsin won the final game of the series 6-4.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .242 as a team. They have scored 357 runs (4.1/game) and hit 42 home runs. The Silver Hawks are hitting .247 as a team. They have scored 320 runs (3.8/game) and hit 22 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 3.88 while allowing a total of 382 runs (4.5/game). South Bend pitchers have a team ERA of 4.07 while allowing 403 runs (4.7/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 102 errors. The Hawks defense has committed 107 errors. Wisconsin is 29-20 at home this season. South Bend is 17-30 on the road this season.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed eight members of the current Great Lakes roster on their list of the top 30 prospects in the Dodger system before the start of the season. Pitchers Ethan Martin (#3) and Nathan Eovaldi (#10) are ranked the highest. Other pitchers on the list are: JonMichael Redding (#18), and Justin Miller (#20). The highest rated position player is infielder Austin Gallagher (#11). Other position players include: Kyle Russell (#17), Tony Delmonico (#19), and Alfredo Silverio (#27).
LEAGUE LEADER: Great Lakes outfielder Kyle Russell leads the Midwest League in homers with 21. He hit one homer against the Timber Rattlers in the series at Time Warner Cable Field with a two-run homer off Cody Adams on April 29.
APPLETON TIES: Loons shortstop Dee Gordon is the son of Tom Gordon. Tom Gordon pitched for the Appleton Foxes in 1988 when the Appleton pro baseball team played at Goodland Field and was affiliated with the Kansas City Royals.
JUST ADDED: The Loons added Angelo Songco to the roster today. He was the 4th round pick of the Dodgers in the 2009 MLB Entry Draft. Songco is out of Loyola Marymount University, was a semifinalist for the 2008 Golden Spikes Award, and hit .360 with 15 homers, and 63 RBI in his final season with the Lions.
GREAT LAKES STARTING PITCHER: RHP Nathan Eovaldi was the 11th round pick of the Dodgers in the 2008 draft out of Alvin (TX) High School. He chose the Dodgers over a scholarship to Texas A&M. He appeared in six games as a reliever for the Gulf Coast League Dodgers and one game for the Ogden Raptors in 2008. He had no record, one save, and a 0.84 ERA with three walks and 11 K’s in 10-2/3 innings last season. Eovaldi is 1-4 with a 3.80 ERA for the Loons this season. In his last start, Eovaldi pitched five scoreless innings against Lansing on July 3. He struck out seven and allowed five hits without walking a batter. In his last appearance, Eovaldi worked four innings in relief at Peoria on July 9. He gave up one run on four hits over five innings with three strikeouts. Eovaldi made the start against the Timber Rattlers on May 1 at Time Warner Cable Field. The Rattlers scored three runs on six hits over four innings against Eovaldi and he took the loss. Evoldi is rated as the #10 prospect in the Dodgers organization by Baseball America.
GREAT LAKES SCHEDULED RELIEVER: RHP Ethan Martin was the 1st round pick (15th overall) of the Dodgers in the 2008 draft out of Toccoa (GA) High School. Martin was the 2008 Baseball America High School Player of the Year and was the first prep pitcher taken in the ’08 draft. He did not pitch as a professional last season after an injury at a postdraft minicamp. So far in 2009, Martin is 4-4 with a 4.64 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 66 innings over 17 games (14 starts). In his outing prior to tonight, Martin made the start at Peoria on July 9, allowed three runs on five hits with three walks and eight strikeouts over four innings and took the loss. Martin is making his first appearance against the Timber Rattlers and his first appearance against an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers tonight. He is rated as the #3 prospect in the Dodgers system by Baseball America.
No comments:
Post a Comment