ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Dayton Dragons beat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 9-4. Jordan Hotchkiss tossed 3-2/3 innings of scoreless relief for the win and the Dragons knocked out 14 hits while Wisconsin committed three errors.
EARLY IN THE EVENING: The Dragons and the Rattlers each scored two runs in the first inning. Dayton got a run in the top of the second and Wisconsin tied the game with a run in the bottom of the third.
SNAPPED: Josh Fellhauer’s two-run homer in the fourth inning put the Dragons in front 5-3. They never gave up that lead.
RELIEF: Hotchkiss entered the game with one out and runners at second and third in the bottom of the fourth. He gave up a sacrifice fly to Juan Sanchez that made the score 5-4. Hotchkiss retired the next nine batters he faced and would allow just one hit over 3-2/3 innings as the Dragons padded their lead out to 9-4.
BACK TO THAT FIRST INNING: The Dragons had two outs and nobody on base before a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases. Rattlers starter Daniel Meadows walked Byron Wiley to force in the first run of the game. Wisconsin has issued 11 bases loaded walks this season.
A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Dayton is 3-1 against the Timber Rattlers this season. In those four games, the Dragons have a team batting average of .310 and the Rattlers are hitting .234. Dayton has outscored the Rattlers 30-15 in the series.
WELKOME BACK: Erik Miller and Erik Komatsu each returned to the Wisconsin lineup after long layoffs. Miller, who started in center an hit eighth, was 0-for-3 and was hit by a pitch. Komatsu was the designated hitter and hit seventh. He was 0-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run scored.
TOUGH STRETCH: The Rattlers are 1-6 in their last seven games and have been outscored 63-26.
BUT…With 24 games down and 46 left to play in the second half, the Rattlers hold a 1.5 game lead over Burlington for the top Western Division playoff spot in the second half.
28 DAYS: Last night was the beginning of 28 straight games on the schedule for the Rattlers without an off day. The next scheduled off day for the team is August 19.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Dayton Dragons are the Midwest League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They missed the playoffs in the first half of the season with a 28-42 record. So far in the second half, the Dragons are 11-14. Dayton is 1.5 games behind the Great Lakes Loons and one game behind the South Bend Silver Hawks for the two second half playoff spots in the Eastern Division. They are on a four-game winning streak after sweeping the Beloit Snappers in a set at Fifth Third Field that ended on Monday and their win last night.
SEASON SERIES: The Dragons lead the season series 3-1. They took two out of three games at Fifth Third Field from May 26 through May 28. The Rattlers won game one 7-2, but Dayton took game two 14-4 and game three 5-0.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .241 as a team. They have scored 388 runs (4.0/game) and hit 46 home runs. The Dragons are hitting .258 as a team. They have scored 414 runs (4.4/game) and hit 57 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.17 while allowing a total of 456 runs (4.8/game). Dayton pitchers have a team ERA of 4.64 while allowing 484 runs (5.1/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 115 errors. The Dragons defense has committed 91 errors. Wisconsin is 30-21 at Time Warner Cable Field this season. Dayton is 20-30 away from home this season.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed one member of the current Dayton roster on their list of the top 30 prospects in the Reds system before the start of the season. Pitcher JC Sulbaran is the only member of the Dragons on that list and he is rated at # 20.
OUT OF THE DRAFT 2009: The Reds have placed three players from their 2009 draft class on the current Dayton roster. Pitcher Donnie Joseph was a third round pick out of the University of Houston. Fellow pitcher Mark Serrano was the sixth round pick of Cincinnati out of Oral Roberts University. Outfielder Josh Fellhauer was the seventh round pick of the Reds out of Cal-State Fullerton.
WISCONSIN’S OWN: Kevyn Feiner is a native of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and was drafted by the Reds in the 18th round of the 2005 draft out of Sun Prairie High School. Feiner is the brother of former Timber Rattler Korey Feiner.
ALL-STARS: The Dragons had a pair of players make the Midwest League All-Star Game. Catcher Kevin Coddington was a reserve and pitcher Matt Fairel were Dayton’s representatives in Clinton.
DAYTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP J.C. Sulbaran was selected in the 30th round of the 2008 draft by the Reds out of American Heritage High School in Plantation, Florida. He did not pitch professionally in 2008, but did pitch for the Dutch National team at the Beijing Olympics. Sulbaran also appeared in two games for the Netherlands in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Before the season, Sulbaran was rated as the #20 prospect in the Cincinnati organization by Baseball America. Additionally, Sulbaran pitched for the World team at the XM Futures Game in St. Louis and was a teammate of Timber Rattlers second baseman Brett Lawrie. Sulbaran is 2-2 in 12 starts with a 5.12 ERA for the Dragons this season. In his start prior to this evening, he allowed a run on four hits over four innings against Quad Cities on July 16 and was not involved in the decision. On May 27 at Fifth Third Field, Sulbaran beat the Timber Rattlers. In that game, he gave up two runs on six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts over six innings. The two runs that he allowed in that game were on a pair of solo homers by Chris Dennis.
No comments:
Post a Comment