8/17/2009

August 17, 2009: Game notes

ABOUT SUNDAY: The Timber Rattlers beat the Snappers 3-1. Daniel Meadows gave up one unearned run over seven innings for the win. Brett Lawrie had three hits, including his thirteenth home run of the season. The Rattlers are 4-1 in their last five games.

STRIKING DISTANCE: Meadows’ win was his thirteenth of the season. That moves him to within two of the franchise record. Bobby Livingston had 15 wins in 2003 to set the Timber Rattlers record. Meadows is could make four more starts this season. The only run Meadows allowed yesterday scored in the top of the third inning on a throwing error.

THE SIXTH SENSE: Brock Kjeldgaard singled in the tying run for the Timber Rattlers in the bottom of the fourth. That single extended Kjeldgaard’s current hitting streak to six games. He is 10-for-25 during the streak.

MERCURY RISING: Corey Kemp followed with a double to drive in Kjeldgaard with the go-ahead run. Kemp leads the Timber Rattlers in two-base hits with 29.

OVER THE HEDGE: Lawrie’s homer came with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Wisconsin an insurance run. In his last 10 games, Lawrie has hit three homers, driven in 12 runs, and is hitting .381 (16-for-42).

DIE HARD 2: The Timber Rattlers defense turned two double plays yesterday. Derrick McPhearson made a diving catch in right-center and doubled a runner off first. Josh Prince, Lawrie, and Kjeldgaard combined on a game-ending 6-4-3 double play. Wisconsin has turned 115 double plays this season. Only Burlington with 127 has turned more twin killings this season.

ARMAGEDDON: Brandon Ritchie closed down the Snappers with two scoreless innings. He is 3-for-4 in save opportunities. The Snappers had one hit in six tries against Ritchie and opponents are now hitting .182 against him this season.

THE STORY OF US: The crowd of 3,100 for yesterday’s Timber Rattlers game pushed the season attendance for Wisconsin to 210,762 for an average of 3,572. The franchise record for single season attendance is 233,797. If the Rattlers just draw their average attendance of the last 9 home games they will have a total attendance of 242,910.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Beloit Snappers are the Midwest League affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They missed the playoffs in the first half of the season and are currently 21-29 in the second half of the season. Beloit is in seventh place of the Western Division and they are 1-1/2 games ahead of the Timber Rattlers. They trail division leading Peoria by 8-1/2 games and are 2-1/2 games behind Clinton and Quad Cities for the Wild Card. The Snappers have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games.

SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers are 5-4 against the Snappers in 2009. Wisconsin took two out of three from the Snappers at Pohlman Field in late May. The teams split a four game series at Time Warner Cable Field in early June.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .239 as a team. They have scored 479 runs (4.0/game) and hit 57 home runs. The Snappers are hitting .253 as a team. They have scored 517 runs (4.3/game) and hit 58 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.32 while allowing a total of 589 runs (4.9/game). Beloit pitchers have a team ERA of 4.42 while allowing 617 runs (5.1/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 137 errors. The Snappers defense has committed 140 errors. Wisconsin is 33-29 at home this season. Beloit is 27-35 on the road in 2009.

BELOIT STARTING PITCHER: RHP Brad Tippett was signed by the Twins as a non-drafted free agent in January of 2006 out of Australia. He spent time in the Gulf Coast League in 2006 and with Elizabethton – where he was 7-1 with three saves and a 0.93ERA in 21 relief appearances – in the Appalachian League in 2007. Last year, Tippett began his season with Beloit and he went 2-1 with a save in 13 relief appearances. He was sent back to Elizabethton after the Appy League season started and went 8-3 in 14 starts with nine walks and 63 strikeouts in 74 innings. So far in 2009, Tippett is 8-5 with a 2.74 ERA in 21 games (20 starts). In his appearance prior to this evening, Tippett allowed two runs on three hits in 6-2/3 innings against Clinton on August 12 and took the loss. Tippett walked one, struck out five, and gave up a home run. He has made two appearances (one start) against the Timber Rattlers in 2009. On May 24 at Pohlman Field, Tippett was the scheduled starter, but arrived late to the ballpark and would come on in relief. He tossed six scoreless innings of one-hit relief with a walk and five strikeouts to pick up the win in that game. Tippett made the start against the Rattlers on June 9 at Time Warner Cable Field and took the loss. He gave up two runs on five hits with a walk and nine strikeouts over six innings.

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