ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Loons beat the Timber Rattlers 9-5. The Loons snapped a 1-1 tie with four runs in the bottom of the second inning and went on to build a 9-1 lead. Wisconsin scored four runs in the top of the eight, but could get no closer. JonMichael Redding allowed one run on three hits and struck out seven over six innings for his eleventh win of the season.
MADE FOR WISCONSIN: The Rattlers manufactured a run in the top of the second inning to tie the Loons. Brock Kjeldgaard walked and took second on a delayed steal. Michael Vass moved him over with a grounder to second. A sacrifice fly by Jose Duran knocked in the tying run.
BUT….Great Lakes scored four times in the bottom of the second inning. The first six batters reached in the inning and the Loons grabbed a 5-1 lead. Great Lakes added two more runs in the fourth and single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to build their large advantage.
CATALYST: Loons leadoff hitter Dee Gordon was on base each of the first four times he went to the plate last night. Gordon scored two runs, stole two bases, and drove in one. In five games against the Rattlers this season, Gordon is 10-for-22 (.455) with two walks for an on-base percentage of .500. He has scored eight runs and stolen six bases in six attempts.
NOW TIED ATOP THE LEADERBOARD: Redding’s eleventh win of the season tied him with Rattlers pitcher Daniel Meadows for the Midwest League lead in that category.
ATTEMPTING THE COMEBACK: The Rattlers got an RBI double from Cain with one out in the top of the eighth inning to make the score 9-2. Michael Vass drove in two more with a two-out double. Vass later scored on a wild pitch. In the ninth, the first two Rattlers reached against reliever Robert Boothe. But, Cole St. Clair took over and struck out the final three batters of the game for his fifth save.
RISING CAIN: Lorenzo Cain had a pair of doubles and an RBI last night. He is 3-for-9 with three doubles in this series.
A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS: Great Lakes is hitting .316 as a team in five games against the Timber Rattlers. The Rattlers are hitting .260 against the Loons. In the three Great Lakes wins, they have outscored the Timber Rattlers 29-12. Wisconsin has outscored the Loons 12-7 in their two victories.
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 9-11. They are tied with South Bend for the top second half playoff spot in the Eastern Division. Both teams have a two a game lead over Dayton.
SEASON SERIES: The Loons lead the season series 3-2. 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 .241 as a team. They have scored 368 runs (4.1/game) and hit 43 home runs. The Loons are hitting .260 as a team. They have scored 452 runs (5.0/game) and hit 65 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 3.94 while allowing a total of 413 runs (4.6/game). Great Lakes pitchers have a team ERA of 3.88 while allowing 402 runs (4.5/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 107 errors. The Loons defense has committed 108 errors. Wisconsin is 15-24 on the road this season. Great Lakes is 24-17 at Dow Diamond this season.
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.
LEAGUE LEADER (PT II): Russell also leads the Midwest League in RBI with 68.
LEAGUE LEADER (PT III): Loons shortstop Dee Gordon has the most stolen bases in the Midwest League. Gordon stole a pair of bases last night and is at 49 on the season.
LEAGUE LEADER (PT IV): Gordon also leads the league in hits. He had three hits last night to run his season total to 109.
LEAGUE LEADERS GALORE: Russell also leads the Midwest League in slugging percentage (.572) and extra base hits (51). Gordon also leads the league in runs scored (68) and triples (9).
APPLETON TIES: 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. The elder Gordon is on the 60-Day DL of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
GREAT LAKES STARTING PITCHER: RHP Josh Walter was signed by the Dodgers as a non-drafted free agent out of Texas State University after the 2008 draft. He had no record and no saves and an ERA of 10.06 in 14 relief appearances for the Ogden Raptors in 2008. Walter walked seven and struck out 18 in 17 innings for the Pioneer League affiliate of the Dodgers. Walter pitched 1.1 innings in relief against the Timber Rattlers on April 29 and allowed a run on two hits. He made two relief appearances against the Helen Brewers, the Pioneer League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, in 2008. In those two games, Walter pitched a total of two scoreless innings, allowed two hits, and struck out two. So far in 2009, he is 5-3 with a 3.43ERA in 22 games (seven starts). In his outing prior to this evening, Walter took the loss at Kane County on July 11. In that game he allowed six runs on seven hits over 4-1/3 innings pitched.
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