ABOUT YESTERDAY: The Kane County Cougars beat the Timber Rattlers 10-5. The Cougars broke a scoreless tie with five runs in the top of the fourth inning. Each of the starters in the Kane County lineup had at least one hit. Cougars starting pitcher Dan Straily struck out six over five innings for the win.
THAT ESCALATED IN A HURRY: Rattlers starting pitcher Efrain Nieves had not allowed a hit over the first three innings. He walked the leadoff batter in the fourth and Rashun Dixon followed with an RBI double. After getting the first out, Nieves allowed another walk and a single to load the bases. An error and a fielder’s choice plated two more runs and chased Nieves. Myrio Richard made the score 5-0 when he doubled in two runs against Rattlers reliever Caleb Thielbar. The Cougars added two more runs in the top of the fifth for a 7-0 lead.
CHANCE: The Rattlers loaded the bases with one out against Straily in the bottom of the fourth, but the Cougars righty struck out the next two batters to end the threat.
GETTING CLOSE: Wisconsin would get to within two runs as they scored twice in the fifth and three times in the sixth inning. Franklin Romerio, Jr. tripled in a run in the fifth and doubled in another in the sixth.
PULLING AWAY: Kane County catcher Max Stassi hit his first pro homer in the seventh and the Cougars added two more runs in the eighth to account for the final score.
TURNING TWO: The Rattlers defense turned three double plays yesterday. Wisconsin defenders have turned six double plays and lead the Midwest League in that category.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Clinton LumberKings are the Midwest League affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They missed the 2009 Midwest League Playoffs. They finished the first half with a 40-30 record to tie Cedar Rapids for the Wild Card spot, but the Kernels held the tie-breaker. IN the second half last season, the L-Kings went 29-38. John Tamargo is in his first season as the manager of the Cougars.
BRINGING THE LUMBER: Clinton is off to a 2-1 start in 2010. The LumberKings dropped opening night at home against the Peoria Chiefs but won the final two games of the series with the Chiefs. Clinton hit six home runs in the series.
2009 SEASON SERIES: Wisconsin won the season series with the LumberKings. The Timber Rattlers went 7-5 in 12 games with Clinton. Wisconsin was 7-2 against the LumberKings at Time Warner Cable Field.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: In 2009, the Timber Rattlers hit .236 as a team. They scored 546 runs (3.9/game) and hit 62 home runs. The L-Kings hit .253 as a team. They scored 627 runs (4.6/game) and hit 77 homers. Wisconsin pitchers had a team ERA of 4.34 while allowing a total of 691 runs (5.0/game) last season. Clinton pitchers had a team ERA of 3.35 (best in the MWL) while allowing 577 runs (4.2/game). The Timber Rattler defense committed 169 errors. The LumberKings defense has committed 195 errors. Wisconsin was 37-34 at home. Clinton was 33-36 on the road in 2009.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed six member of the current Kane County roster on their top 30 list of Mariners prospects. Infielder Nick Franklin, the 2009 first round pick of Seattle, is ranked at #9. Fellow infielder Marion Martinez is #12. Outfielder James Jones (#20), infielders Dennis Raben (#21) and Gabriel Noriega (#24), and catcher Steven Baron (#25) are also on the list.
YOU LOOK FAMILIAR: Three members of the current LumberKings roster played for the Timber Rattlers when Wisconsin was affiliated with Seattle: Pitcher Jose Jimenez and outfielders Daniel Carroll and Kalian Sams are the Rattlers alums. Terry Pollreisz, the Clinton hitting coach, was the manager of the Timber Rattlers in 2008.
CLINTON STARTING PITCHER: LHP Jon Hesketh was Seattle’s 20th round pick in the 2009 draft. He was selected out of the University of New Mexico. In his final season with the Lobos, Hesketh went 6-4 with a 3.45ERA over 15 starts. He pitched at three levels in the Seattle system in his first pro season. He split time between the Arizona League, the Northwest League, and the Midwest League. Hesketh went 1-1 with a 12.60ERA in three games for Clinton. He was 4-1 with a 2.93ERA in 15 games (five starts) as a pro in 2009. Hesketh struck out 64 and walked eight 43 innings in the Seattle system last year. Tonight is his first ever appearance against the Rattlers and against an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.
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