ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Rattlers ended their eight-game losing streak with a 1-0 win at O’Brien Field over the Peoria Chiefs. Cody Scarpetta pitched six scoreless innings and struck out five for the win. Mike Fiers pitched three scoreless innings and also struck out five for the save.
A FAMILIAR SCORE: The Timber Rattlers beat the West Michigan Whitecaps 1-0 on July 8 at Time Warner Cable Field. Scarpetta was the winning pitcher in that game, too. Wisconsin lost 1-0 to the Cedar Rapids Kernels at home. Scarpetta was the losing pitcher in that game.
ON THE ROAD WITH NO LOOKING BACK: Scarpetta won his first road game of the season last night.
THE RUN: Wisconsin got their run two batters into the game. Leadoff hitter Josh Prince singled and stole second base. Pete Fatse followed with an RBI single.
AAAAYYYYYY: Fatse went 5-for-10 in the series at O’Brien Field. He reached base safely 12 times in 18 plate appearances.
TWIN KILLINGS: The Timber Rattlers defense turned three double plays in key situations last night. Peoria had runners at first and second with no outs in the top of the first inning. Scarpetta got Rebel Ridling to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. In the second, with a runner at first and one out, Scarpetta induced a 6-3 double play off the bat of Nelson Perez. Fiers gave up a single to the first batter he faced in the bottom of the seventh inning. He benefited from a 5-4-3 double play that was hit into by DJ LeMahieu.
ENDGAME: Fiers allowed a lead off single in the bottom of the ninth to allow the tying run to reach. Fiers struck out the next two batters and got Kyler Burke to ground out to finish the game.
PUT IT IN PLAY: Wisconsin hitters struck out just four times last night. The averaged 10 strikeouts per game in the first three games of the series at Peoria.
MAKING MOVES: After Fiers picked up his first Midwest League save, he was promoted to the Brevard County Manatees, Milwaukee’s Florida State League affiliate.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Cedar Rapids Kernels at the Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Cedar Rapids is in the Midwest League Playoffs as the first half wild card in the Western Division. They finished the first half with a record of 40-30. In the second half, the Kernels are 24-20. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games. The Kernels are coming into the series with the Timber Rattlers off a five-game series with the Beloit Snappers in Cedar Rapids. The Kernels went 2-3 as Beloit won the final three games of the set.
SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers are 2-6 in eight games against the Kernels this season. The Rattlers went 1-3 against Cedar Rapids at Perfect Game Field May 12-15. Wisconsin was 1-3 against the Kernels at Time Warner Cable Field June 2-5.
GET FAMILIAR WITH THESE GUYS: Beginning on Tuesday, the Timber Rattlers and Kernels will play 11 games over the final 27 games of the season.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .238 as a team. They have scored 443 runs (3.9/game) and hit 53 home runs. The Kernels are hitting .251 as a team. They have scored 537 runs (4.7/game) and hit 51 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.33 while allowing a total of 563 runs (4.9/game). Cedar Rapids pitchers have a team ERA of 3.73 while allowing 476 runs (4.2/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 128 errors. The Kernels defense has committed 107 errors. Wisconsin is 17-36 on the road this season. Cedar Rapids is 34-22 at Perfect Game Field in 2009.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed three players on the current Kernel roster on their list of top 30 Angel prospects. All three are pitchers. Tyler Chatwood is the highest rated at number 11. Manuarys Correa (#19) and Ryan Chaffee (#21) are also on the list. Will Smith (#12) was on the active roster the last time these teams met, but he has since gone on the disabled list.
OUT OF THE DRAFT 2009: The Kernels have no players from the 2009 draft class of the Angels.
ALL-STARS: The Kernels had six players make the Western Division squad for the Midwest League All-Star game in Clinton. Alexi Amarista was the starting second baseman and Tyson Auer was a reserve outfielder. There were four Kernels pitchers to make the All-Star Game and they were: Mike Kohn, Manuel Flores, Tyler Chatwood, and Ryan Chafee. Only Flores and Kohn have moved on from the Midwest League. The other four players are still with Cedar Rapids.
CEDAR RAPIDS STARTING PITCHER: RHP Tyler Chatwood was a second round pick of the Angels out of Redlands (CA) East valley High School in the 2008 draft. He was 1-2 with a 3.08ERA for the AZL Angels in his first pro stop. In his start prior to this evening, Chatwood took the loss at Quad Cities on August 6. The River Bandits got to him for eight runs (seven earned) on five hits and six walks over 3-2/3 innings. Chatwood is 0-3 with a 5.26 ERA in eight second half starts. He has made one appearance against the Timber Rattlers this season. On June 2 at Time Warner Cable Field, Chatwood tossed 5-2/3 scoreless innings and picked up the victory in a 1-0 Kernels win. Chatwood allowed two hits, walked six, and struck out seven. Chatwood has walked 52 batters this season and is tied for fifth in the Midwest League for the most walks issued by a pitcher in 2009.
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