ABOUT SUNDAY: The Rattlers beat the Lugnuts 9-7. Wisconsin scored four times in the top of the eighth inning to rally from a 7-5 deficit. Pete Fatse drove in the winning runs with a two-out triple and Ritchie pitched two scoreless innings to pick up the save. The win snapped a four game winning streak.
THERE’S SOMETHING YOU DON’T SEE EVERYDAY: Sean McCraw hit a two-run homer to right in the top of the fifth inning to put the Rattlers up 2-1. The homer was the first for McCraw since August 29, 2007.
BACK AND FORTH THEY GO: Lansing scored three times in the bottom of the fifth inning retake the lead. A two run double by Balbino Fuenmayor and a single by AJ Jimenez accounted for the runs. Wisconsin scored three times in the sixth on a John Delaney double, a wild pitch, and an RBI single by Michael Marseco to go up 5-4. Lansing scored twice in the sixth on two out RBI hits by Yohermyn Chavez and Chris Emanuele.
THERE’S SOMETHING YOU DON’T SEE EVERYDAY (PT II): Delaney scored on the wild pitch on an attempted intentional walk by Ryan Koch to McCraw.
SWEET SIXTEEN: Brock Kjeldgaard hit his sixteenth homer of the season to leadoff the top of the eighth inning. Kjeldgaard is tied with Jon Nelson of the 2003 Timber Rattlers for eighth on the single season home run list. Here are the players in front of Kjeldgaard and Nelson:
PLAYER...........YEAR.....HRS
Matt Hagen.......2003.....21
Juan Silvestre...1999.....21
Mike Wilson......2005.....19
Justin Leone.....2000.....18
David Ortiz......1996.....18
Marshall Hubbard.2005.....17
Shawn McCorkle...2000.....17
HUSTLE PLAY: The Rattlers trailed 7-6 with the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth. Michael Marseco sent a grounder to second and beat out the relay to first for an RBI on a fielder’s choice to tie the game.
RITCHIE RICH: Ritchie earned his second save of the season. Both of his saves this season are two inning saves. He did not allow a hit yesterday and has allowed one hit in his last 6-1/3 innings pitched. Opponents are now hitting just .180 against him.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Lansing Lugnuts are the Midwest League affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. They missed the playoffs in the first half of the season with a 26-43 record. So far in the second half, the Lugnuts are 7-15. Lansing is 3.5 games behind the Great Lakes Loons and the South Bend Silver Hawks for the two second half playoff spots in the Eastern Division. Their overall record of 33-58 is the worst in the Midwest League.
SEASON SERIES: The Lugnuts lead the season series 4-1. They swept a three-game series at Time Warner Cable Field in the first half. Lansing beat the Rattlers 11-3, 8-6, and 6-4 from May 2 through May 4 in Grand Chute. Johermyn Chavez was 5-for-13 in the series with a pair of walks, a double, a triple, a homer, four RBI, and five runs scored. The Lugnuts stole nine bases in 11 attempts in the series. Wisconsin did outhit the Lugnuts .314 to .272. The Rattlers also held leads after five innings in game one and game three, but they could not hold them.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .242 as a team. They have scored 383 runs (4.1/game) and hit 46 home runs. The Lugnuts are hitting .244 as a team. They have scored 371 runs (4.1/game) and hit 61 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.02 while allowing a total of 432 runs (4.6/game). Lansing pitchers have a team ERA of 4.80 while allowing 469 runs (5.2/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 110 errors. The Lugnuts defense has committed 114 errors. Wisconsin is 16-26 on the road this season. Lansing is 16-32 at Oldsmobile Park this season.
LANSING STARTING PITCHER: RHP Chad Beck was originally drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 14th round of the 2006 draft out of Louisiana-Lafayette. He was picked up by the Blue Jays in a trade involving David Eckstein on August 31, 2008. Beck pitched for South Bend in 2007 and 2008 and was 10-12 with a 4.35ERA in 79 appearances (17 starts) in the Diamondbacks organization from 2006 to 2008. He began the 2009 season with Dunedin in the Florida State League and made nine relief appearances with no record and a 4.35 ERA. In May, he was transferred to Lansing. Since joining the Lugnuts, Beck is 2-4 with a 6.22ERA in 10 starts. In his start prior to this evening, Beck beat the Cedar Rapids Kernels on July 15. Beck allowed five runs on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts over seven innings. This is the first time Beck will face the Rattlers this year, but he has faced them in his career. In 2008, Beck got the win in relief at South Bend on April 21 against Wisconsin. In 2007, Beck pitched three times in relief against the Timber Rattlers and did not allow a run in four innings. Tonight is not the first time Beck will face an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers either. He pitched three times against the Brevard County Manatees earlier this season. In 3-2/3 innings, against the Manatees, he allowed three runs on three hits without a decision.
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