ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Rattlers lost 2-1 at Peoria to the Chiefs. Both starting pitchers tossed a complete game last night. All three runs were scored on solo homers.
MEADOWS LAND: Daniel Meadows was the starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers and he scattered 12 hits over eight innings without walking anyone and striking out four. Meadows allowed a solo homer to Ryan Flaherty in the bottom of the first and a solo homer to Rebel Ridling in the bottom of the sixth and took the loss.
FIRST TIME SINCE: Meadows’ complete game was the first by a Timber Rattlers pitcher this season. The last time a Wisconsin pitcher tossed a complete game was September 1, 2008 when Michael Pineda tossed a nine-inning, one-hit shutout at Quad Cities.
RATTLERS OFFENSE: Erik Komatsu hit his first homer of the season with a blast to right field in the top of the fourth inning to tie the game 1-1. Komatsu had two of Wisconsin’s five hits. Juan Sanchez had two hits and Brett Lawrie had one hit to account for the five Wisconsin hits in the game.
WORTHY OPPONENT: Austin Bibens-Dirkx tossed a complete game against the Rattlers, a team he pitched for in 2006. He struck out seven for his second win of the season.
REBEL YELL: Ridling went 4-for-4 for the Chiefs and his sixth inning homer broke the 1-1 tie.
A ROUGH STRETCH: The Rattlers are 2-10 in their last 12 games. Including in that time frame are nine road games and the Rattlers are 1-8 in those games away from Time Warner Cable Field.
STATUS REPORT: The Rattlers have completed 29 games and there are 41 left to play in the second half. Wisconsin now trails Peoria by 1.5 games for the top Western Division playoff spot. The Rattlers are tied with Clinton and Burlington one game behind Quad Cities for the Western Division Wild Card.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Fort Wayne TinCaps are the Midwest League affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They won the first half Eastern Division title with a record of 45-25. They have continued their outstanding record through to the second half as they are 24-6. Fort Wayne is 20-5 in July, but lost the last two games of a just completed series at Burlington. The TinCaps are in their first season at new Parkview Field in downtown Fort Wayne after playing at Memorial Coliseum from 1993 through 2008. The TinCaps entered the Midwest League in 1993 after moving from Kenosha, Wisconsin. They are managed by former major league outfielder Doug Dascenzo.
SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers were swept in a three game series by the TinCaps April 13-15 at Time Warner Cable Field. For Wayne won game one 2-1 in ten innings by scoring a run in the top of the ninth to tie the game and a run in the tenth for the win. The TinCaps won game two of the series 3-2. Fort Wayne got the sweep with a 6-0. That three game sweep was part of the TinCaps going 10-0 to start the season.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .239 as a team. They have scored 401 runs (4.0/game) and hit 49 home runs. The TinCaps are hitting .267 as a team. They have scored 543 runs (5.4/game) and hit 73 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.24 while allowing a total of 487 runs (4.9/game). Fort Wayne pitchers have a team ERA of 3.25 while allowing 386 runs (3.9/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 118 errors. The TinCaps defense has committed 101 errors. Wisconsin is 16-30 in road games this season. Fort Wayne is 35-14 at home this season.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed five members of the current TinCap roster as a Top 30 prospect in the San Diego system. Outfielder Jaff Decker (#3) and infielder Allan Dykstra (#8) are both top ten prospects. The other three players to make the list are pitcher Simon Castro (#14), infielder Drew Cumberland (#15), and outfielder Blake Tekotte (#19).
OUT OF THE DRAFT 2009: The Padres have placed two members of their 2009 draft class on the current Fort Wayne roster. Pitcher Chris Fetter was a 9th round pick of the Padres in June out of the University of Michigan. Infielder Brayden Drake was a 12th round pick out of Missouri State University where he was the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year.
ALL-STARS: Fort Wayne had one position player and three pitchers make the Eastern Division team for the 2009 Midwest League All-Star Game. Sawyer Carroll was a starting outfielder for the East and pitchers Brad Brach, Anthony Bass, and Zach Herr were also on the squad. Of that quartet, only Brach is still with the TinCaps. Brach struck out Timber Rattlers second baseman Brett Lawrie to get the final out of the 6-3 win for the East.
LOOK OUT IN THE LATE INNINGS: Brach leads the Midwest League in saves with 26. He has only blown one save opportunity. Brach saved the first two games of the series at Time Warner Cable Field against the Timber Rattlers.
FORT WAYNE STARTING PITCHER: RHP Simon Castro was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Padres in 2006 out of the Dominican Republic. He has made 20 appearances (19 starts) for the TinCaps in 2009 and is 6-4 with a 3.65 ERA. Castro leads the Midwest League in strikeouts with 110 over 98-2/3 innings pitched. He has a no decision in his last three starts, including his previous start before tonight. In that game on July 23 at Kane County, Castro allowed one hit with no walks and struck out eight over five scoreless innings against the Cougars. Tonight is the first time Castro will face the Timber Rattlers. In 2007, he made three appearances (two starts) against the Arizona League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and was 1-1 with a 4.63 ERA. He allowed eight runs (six earned) on 12 hits over 11-2/3 innings against the Brewers. Castro struck out 17 and walked five in those three games in the desert against the Brewers.
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