ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Whitecaps beat the Timber Rattlers 11-2. West Michigan scored three times in the first, twice in the second, and four more times in the fourth inning to build a 9-0 lead. The Whitecaps banged out 17 hits and beat the Timber Rattlers for the first time in 2009.
RIGHT AWAY: The first four Whitecaps batters singled against Timber Rattlers starting pitcher Trey Watten. In his last start, Watten allowed three hits over eight innings.
SMOOTH AVISAILING: Avisail Garcia had four hits, scored twice, and drove in a run for the Whitecaps. Every Whitecaps starter had at least one hit in the victory.
THE CROSBY SHOW: Whitecaps starter Casey Crosby pitched four scoreless innings, struck out eight, walked three, and allowed two hits. He was not involved in the decision.
PUT IT ON THE BOARD: The Rattlers got their first run of the night with two outs in the fifth inning. Juan Sanchez singled against Whitecaps reliever Anthony Shawler. Peter Fatse followed with a triple to rightcenter to knock in Sanchez.
SOME OFFENSE: Michael Marseco had a pair of hits for the Rattlers and also scored a run in the ninth inning. Last night was his thirteenth multi-hit game.
DOUBLER: Derrick McPhearson collected his first Midwest League extra base hit with a ninth inning double that drove in Marseco.
WELCOME BACK: Catcher Sean McCraw was activated from the Timber Rattlers disabled list just before the start of last night’s game.
AAAAAAYYYYYY! Peter Fatse has a hit in all nine completed games he has played with the Timber Rattlers. Technically he has tied Sanchez and Erik Miller for the longest hitting streak on the team this season. But, he is 0-for-2 in the game at Burlington that was suspended in the sixth inning on July 7. If he does not get a hit in that game, his streak would have ended at seven games. The 24th round pick of the Brewers in the 2009 draft is 10-for-35 (.286) on the season.
CAIN WATCH: The Milwaukee Brewers sent outfielder Lorenzo Cain to the Rattlers to work his way back from injury. Last night, Cain had a scheduled off day. He is 3-for-12 with four walks and a run scored in five games with the Rattlers.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The West Michigan Whitecaps are the Midwest League affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are into the Midwest League playoffs as the first half wild card for the Eastern Division. The Whitecaps finished the first half with a record of 43-27. They finished two games behind Eastern Division Champion Fort Wayne in half number one. West Michigan is off to an 9-5 record in the second half to give them a 52-32 overall record.
SEASON SERIES: Wisconsin is 4-1 against the Whitecaps in 2009. The Rattlers swept a three game series from the Whitecaps at Fifth Third Ballpark from May 29 to May 31. The Timber Rattlers beat the Whitecaps by scores of 5-3, 4-3, and 8-3. The sweep by the Rattlers was the first ever by an Appleton baseball team since the Whitecaps entered the Midwest League in 1994. The teams have split the first two games of this three game set. Tonight is the final time the Rattlers will face the Whitecaps in the regular season.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .242 as a team. They have scored 346 runs (4.1/game) and hit 40 home runs. The Whitecaps are hitting .276 as a team. They have scored 434 runs (5.2/game) and hit 35 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 3.96 while allowing a total of 376 runs (4.5/game). West Michigan pitchers have a team ERA of 3.63 while allowing 332 runs (4.0/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 100 errors. The Caps defense has committed 64 errors. Wisconsin is 27-19 at home this season. West Michigan is 25-16 on the road this season.
WEST MICHIGAN STARTING PITCHER: RHP Brandon Hamilton was a supplemental first round pick of the Detroit Tigers in the 2007 draft out of Millbrook (AL) High School. He pitched eight games (six starts) for the Whitecaps in 2008 and was 0-5 with a 5.01 ERA before moving down to the Gulf Coast League affiliate of the Tigers. Down in the GCL, Hamilton went 5-1 with a 1.86ERA in nine games (seven starts) and struck out 42 over 38-2/3 innings and was named Gulf Coast League Pitcher of the Year. In 2009, Hamilton is 3-3 with a 6.90 ERA in 14 starts for the Whitecaps. He has walked 34 and struck out 45 in 61-1/3 innings. In his start prior to this evening, Hamilton allowed five runs on five hits over two innings with two walks and three strikeouts against Dayton on July 5. He had a no decision in a 20-13 Whitecaps win. Douglas, who is rated as the #26 prospect in the Detroit system, is making his first appearance against the Timber Rattlers and his first appearance against an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.
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