ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Dayton beat the Timber Rattlers 4-1. The Dragons scored three times on four hits in the first inning off Rattlers starting pitcher Evan Frederickson. Wisconsin got a run in the bottom of the first, but the Dragons added a run in the top of the second to close out the scoring on the night.
SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES; DIFFERENT OUTCOMES: The first two Dragons to hit in the first inning reached on singles. The first two Rattlers to hit in the first inning also reached on singles. Cody Puckett drove in the two Dragons with a one out double and he would score on a two out single by Kevin Coddington. Corey Kemp knocked in a Rattler run with a two-out infield single, but that would be in for Wisconsin in the inning and the game.
WHERE’S THE UNION GAP BAND: Dragon second baseman Cody Puckett’s two run double drove in the first two runs of the game. Puckett has 25 doubles this season and is tied for fourth in the Midwest League in doubles.
YOU PICKED A FINE TIME: JC Sulbaran was the starter for the Dragons and he had a 2-2 count on Peter Fatse with two outs in the bottom of the fifth with a 4-1 lead. But, he was taken out of the game after the 1-2 pitch bounced in to Fatse. Andrew Bowman entered the game and struck out Fatse looking to end the inning and qualify for the win. Bowman would toss 2-1/3 innings allow one hit, walk three, and strike out four.
END GAME: The first two Rattlers of the bottom of the ninth inning reached against Dragons closer Aguido Gonzalez on a single and a walk. But, Gonzalez ended the game with a strikeout and a 5-4-3 double play.
TOUGH STRETCH: The Rattlers are 1-7 in their last eight games and have been outscored 67-27.
BUT…With 25 games down and 45 left to play in the second half, the Rattlers hold a one game lead over Burlington for the top Western Division playoff spot in the second half.
28 DAYS: Wednesday 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.
A NOTE ABOUT ATTENDANCE: The Rattlers played in front of a crowd of 5,461 last night, the second biggest attendance at Time Warner Cable Field in 2009. That crowd was also the fourth time Wisconsin has drawn more that 5,000 fans to a game at Time Warner Cable Field. In 2008, the Rattlers drew five crowds of 5,000+ at home, but all of those crowds were drawn after July 24.
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 12-14. Dayton is one game behind the Great Lakes Loons for the top playoff spot in the Eastern Division. They are tied with South Bend Silver Hawks for the second half wild card. They are on a five-game winning streak after sweeping the Beloit Snappers in a set at Fifth Third Field that ended on Monday and their wins in the first two games of this series.
SEASON SERIES: The Dragons lead the season series 4-1. 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 389 runs (4.1/game) and hit 46 home runs. The Dragons are hitting .258 as a team. They have scored 418 runs (4.4/game) and hit 57 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.17 while allowing a total of 465 runs (4.8/game). Dayton pitchers have a team ERA of 4.60 while allowing 485 runs (5.1/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 115 errors. The Dragons defense has committed 91 errors. Wisconsin is 30-22 at Time Warner Cable Field this season. Dayton is 21-30 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.
DAYTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP Lance Janke was selected by the Reds in the 14th round of the 2008 draft out of San Diego Christian College. Lawrie made 11 starts and was 3-2 with a 5.60 ERA for the Billings Mustangs last season. He walked 12 and struck out 35 in 45 innings pitched for the Mustangs. He is 5-5 with a 4.09 ERA in 19 games (14 starts) for the Dragons this season. Janke won his start prior to this evening with a victory over the Beloit Snappers at Fifth Third Field on July 18. In that game, he allowed one run on four hits over seven innings with a walk and five strikeouts. Janke faced the Timber Rattlers back on May 26 in Dayton. The Rattlers got to him for six runs (three earned) on seven hits over 5-1/3 innings and Janke took the loss in that game. Wisconsin hit three homers off Janke in the game, a 7-2 win. Corey Kemp hit a two-run homer in the first; Brett Lawrie hit a three-run blast in the fifth; and Brock Kjeldgaard hit a solo home run in the sixth.
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