ABOUT WEDNESDAY: The Timber Rattlers beat the Clinton LumberKings 4-3. Brock Kjeldgaard’s RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh inning snapped a 3-3 tie. Wily Peralta struck out six over the final three innings for the win.
BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING: The Rattlers scored twice in the first inning on three consecutive two-out doubles. Brett Lawrie started the rally. Corey Kemp followed with a double to drive in Lawrie. John Delaney’s two-bagger sent Kemp home with the run for a 2-0 lead.
BRINGING THE LUMBER: Kris Sanchez homered off Rattlers starting pitcher Evan Frederickson with two outs in the third inning for Clinton’s first run. Ex-Rattler Ogui Diaz had a two-out infield single that drove in the tying run in the top of the fourth. Sanchez put Clinton in front with a one out RBI triple off Rattlers reliever Daniel Meadows in the top of the fifth.
SHUTDOWN MODE: After the triple by Sanchez, Meadows and Peralta did not allow another hit over the final 4-2/3 innings.
EVEN STEVEN: The Rattlers put together another two-out rally in the sixth inning to tie the game. Derrick McPhearson drew a walk, stole second, and went to third when Juan Sanchez’s grounder to third was booted. Peter Fatse grounded a single through the right side of the infield to send McPhearson home with the tying run.
TRIPLE DECKER: Kjeldgaard’s triple followed John Delaney’s one out walk in the seventh. The triple was the third of the season for Kjeldgaard. He now has 46 RBI on the season to lead the Rattlers in that category.
SLICK WILY: Peralta’s six strikeouts gave him 83 on the season. He momentarily had the Midwest League lead in that category. But, Simon Castro of Fort Wayne struck out eight Dayton Dragons last night to tie Peralta for the MWL lead.
WALKING AWAY A WINNER: Wisconsin hitters drew a season-high 10 walks yesterday.
WORTH THE WAIT: Wednesday’s game went 3:37. That is the longest 9-inning game of the season for the Timber Rattlers. As a reference, the 14-inning game against the Peoria Chiefs on June 27 had an elapsed time of 3:56.
CLOSE GAME? NO PROBLEM: The Timber Rattlers are 4-2 in the second half. Three of Wisconsin’s four wins have been by one run. On the season, Wisconsin is 11-7 in games decided by one run.
A STEP FORWARD: Wednesday’s win moved the Timber Rattlers back to the .500 mark at 38-38.
FRESH START: The Rattlers begin the second half with an eight-game homestand against two teams that just missed the playoffs in the first half. Wisconsin was 3-1 against the Peoria Chiefs. There are two games remaining in this series with the Clinton LumberKings.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Clinton LumberKings are the Midwest League affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Scott Steinmann, a former player, coach, and manager of the Timber Rattlers, is in his first season as the manager of the LumberKings. Pitching Coach Lance Painter was the pitching coach of Wisconsin in 2006 and 2007. This is the first season for Seattle to be the parent club of the LumberKings. They were 40-30 in the first half and missed a playoff spot. The LumberKings are off to a 3-3 start for the second half. In their series to kick off the second half of the schedule, the LumberKings split a four game set with Beloit at home.
2009 SEASON SERIES: The Timber Rattlers lead the season series 6-4. Clinton swept three games from the Timber Rattlers April 17-19 at Alliant Energy Field. The final game of the series was rained out on April 20. Wisconsin swept a five game series from the LumberKings at Time Warner Cable Field from May 16-19.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .244 as a team. They have scored 317 runs (4.2/game) and hit 36 home runs. The LumberKings are hitting .253 as a team. They have scored 368 runs (4.8/game) and hit 50 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 3.92 while allowing a total of 348 runs (4.6/game). Clinton pitchers have a team ERA of 3.06 while allowing 304 runs (4.0/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 91 errors. The LumberKings defense has committed 115 errors. Wisconsin is 25-17 at home this season. Clinton is 20-18 on the road this season.
CLINTON STARTING PITCHER: LHP Bobby LaFromboise was selected by the Mariners in the 8th round of the 2008 draft out of the University of New Mexico were he was an All-Mountain West Conference selection in his final two seasons. LaFromboise made his professional debut with the Everett AquaSox after signing with the Mariners. He went 2-2 with a 3.46ERA in 13 games (10 starts) for the Northwest League affiliate of the Mariners. He is 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA so far in 2009 with the LumberKings. LaFromboise has made 20 appearances (seven starts) for Clinton and has struck out 58 while walking just 14 over 66-2/3 innings. In his appearance prior to this evening, LaFromboise pitched two innings of relief against the Beloit Snappers on June 26 and allowed one run on one hit with two walks and three strikeouts. The Rattlers have faced him twice as a reliever this season. LaFromboise has no record, allowed one run on five hits, walked none, and struck out five in 5-1/3 innings over those two outings against the Rattlers.
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