August 1, 2009: Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Rattlers lost 7-0 to the River Bandits. Arquimedes Nieto pitched six innings and struck out a career high eight for the win. Osvaldo Morales homered for Quad Cities. The loss was the seventh straight for Wisconsin. This is the longest losing streak of the season for the Rattlers. Last night was also the eighth time Wisconsin has been shutout this season.

EARLY LEAD: Morales hit his homer to lead off the top of the second inning for a 1-0 lead. Morales has 14 homers and is third in the Midwest League in RBI with 71.

ADDING ON: The River Bandits added two runs in the top of the fifth with a two-out, two-run single by Jason Stidham. They put four more on the board in the top of the ninth on an RBI single by Jarred Bogany, a run scoring passed ball, and a two-run single by Jose Garcia.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKED: Wisconsin had runners at first and second with no outs in the fifth and runners at first and second with one out in the sixth. Nieto got out of both jams.

THREE FOR ALL: Erik Komatsu had three of the seven hits for the Timber Rattlers.

LAST FIVE: Wisconsin has hit .196 and scored eight runs in their last five games.

LAST TEN: The Rattlers have hit .210 and scored 24 runs in their last ten games.

LAST MONTH: Wisconsin finished the month of July with a 10-18 record. Rattler hitters struck out 249 times in 29 games. There was a game in Burlington that was suspended in the sixth inning with the game tied 1-1. That game will be resumed on August 25.

A NOTE ABOUT ATTENDANCE: The attendance last night was 4,929 to bump Wisconsin’s home attendance to 178,203 for an average of 3,494. There are 17 home games remaining on the schedule. The single season attendance record for Wisconsin was set in 1996 with a mark of 233,797. If the Timber Rattlers hit their average attendance over the final 17 games of the season, that will give them 59,398 more fans for a total of 237,601.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Quad Cities River Bandits are the Midwest League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The River Bandits missed the playoffs in the first half with a record of 30-40. In the second half of the season, Quad Cities is 15-18 and they trail Peoria by three games for the top second half playoff spot in the Western Division. The River Bandits are tied with the Clinton LumberKings for the second half Western Division Wild Card. The River Bandits were swept in a three game series at South Bend and are on a three game losing streak coming into this series.

SEASON SERIES: Wisconsin is 3-5 against Quad Cities this season. The Rattlers swept a three game series against the River Bandits at Time Warner Cable Field to open the 2009 season. Quad Cities swept a four game series from the Wisconsin at Modern Woodmen Park April 25 through April 28.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .238 as a team. They have scored 408 runs (3.9/game) and hit 49 home runs. The River Bandits are hitting .241 as a team. They have scored 435 runs (4.2/game) and hit 52 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.25 while allowing a total of 511 runs (4.9/game). Quad Cities pitchers have a team ERA of 4.56 while allowing 527 runs (5.1/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 123 errors. The River Bandits defense has committed 143 errors. Wisconsin is 31-23 at home this season. Quad Cities is 14-36 on the road this season.

QUAD CITIES STARTING PITCHER: RHP Scott McGregor was the 15th round pick of the Cardinals out of the University of Memphis in the 2008 draft. He was 1-8 with an ERA of 5.19 over 13 starts for Memphis. McGregor signed with the Cardinals pitched at three levels in their system last season. He pitched in the Gulf Coast League, Johnson City in the Appalachian League, and for the River Bandits. In three relief appearances for the River Bandits last season, McGregor had no record and an ERA of 2.84. So far this season, McGregor is 4-7 with a save and a 6.69 ERA over 27 games (11 starts). In his start prior to this evening, McGregor pitched three innings and did not allow a run while giving up one hit at South Bend on July 28. The game was suspended by rain in the top of the fourth inning. McGregor has made two appearances against the Timber Rattlers this season. He was the starting and losing pitcher on April 10 at Time Warner Cable Field. McGregor pitched in relief against the Rattlers on April 28 and got the win. He has pitched 4-2/3 innings against Wisconsin and has allowed eight runs on 11 hits with three walks and four strikeouts.