LAST ACTION: The Beloit Snappers spoiled a Timber Rattlers comeback on a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon at Time Warner Cable Field with a 7-5 win. Sunday’s matchup with the Snappers was rained out and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on May 14.
SULTANS OF SWING: Beloit snapped a 2-2 tie in the top of the sixth inning with a pair of home runs. Aaron Hick hit a solo homer off Nick Bucci with one out. Later in the inning, Angel Morales hit a two-out, two-run homer to give the Snappers a three run lead.
DIRE STRAITS: Wisconsin trailed 5-2 when rain halted the game after the bottom of the seventh inning. After an 81 minute delay – and a scoreless top of the eighth – the Rattlers rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth.
WALK OF LIFE: The Rattlers had scored one run in the eighth on an RBI double Scooter Gennett. Beloit got the second out, but proceeded to walk Pete Fatse and hit Sean Halton to load the bases. Cameron Garfield and Joey Paciorek drew back-to-back walks to force in the tying runs.
SKATEAWAY: Hiram Burgos had two outs and a runner at first base in the top of the ninth inning. He allowed three straight hits and tossed a wild pitch to allow two runs and Beloit had a 7-5 lead.
MONEY FOR NOTHING: The Snappers scored twice on wild pitches in Saturday’s game. Both wild pitches came with two outs.
SO FAR AWAY: The Rattlers scored twice on three hits in the bottom of the first inning off Beloit starting pitcher Daniel Osterbrock. Over the next six innings, Osterbrock allowed two hits and no Rattler base runner made it past second base. Osterbrock struck out eight and walked one. In four starts against the Rattlers, Osterbrock has struck out 30 Wisconsin hitters over 26 innings.
BROTHERS IN ARMS: D’Vontrey Richardson and Sean Halton each extended their hitting streaks. Richardson was 2-for-5 on Saturday and is on a seven game streak. Halton was 1-for-3 and is on a six game streak.
YOUR FACT OF THE DAY: The rainout on Sunday was the second home rainout of the season for the Rattlers. The Rattlers were rained out twice at home during the entire 2009 season.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Peoria Chiefs are the Midwest League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are 10-8 and in third place in the Western Division. In their most recent series, were swept in a three game series at Quad Cities. Last year, the Chiefs went 81-57. They qualified for the playoffs as the second half Western Division Champions when they finished the second half at 43-26. Peoria was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round courtesy of a sweep at the hands of the Cedar Rapids Kernels.
FAMILIAR FACE: The Chiefs are managed by Casey Kopitzke. Kopitzke was a 27th round pick of the Cubs in the 1999 draft out of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Kopitzke, a native of Green Bay, Wisconsin played in the Cubs organization from 1999-2006 and made it as high as Triple-A Iowa. Kopitzke played against the Timber Ratters when he was a member of the Lansing Lugnuts in 2000.
2009 SEASON SERIES: Wisconsin and Peoria met 15 times last season. The Timber Rattlers edged the Chiefs 8-7 in the season series. Wisconsin went 1-6 in seven games at O’Brien Field last season. All of the games at O’Brien Field in 2009 were played in the second half.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .267 as a team. They have scored 93 runs (5.5/game) and hit 9 home runs. The Chiefs are hitting .242 as a team. They have scored 77 runs (4.3/game) and hit one home run. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.62 while allowing a total of 94 runs (5.5/game) this season. Peoria pitchers have a team ERA of 3.67 while allowing 72 runs (4.0/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 28 errors. The Chiefs defense has committed 19 errors. Wisconsin is 2-4 away from Time Warner Cable Field this season. Peoria is 6-0 at O’Brien Field this season.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook placed four members of the current Peoria roster on their list of Top 30 Prospects in the Chicago Cubs organization before the 2010 season. Shortstop Hak-Ju Lee (#6) and second baseman Logan Watkins (#7) are both in the top ten. Pitchers Trey McNutt (#16) and Jeff Antigua (#19) are both on the list.
PEORIA STARTING PITCHER: RHP Trey McNutt was a 32nd round pick of the Cubs in the 2009 draft out of Shelton State Community College in Alabama. He split time between the Arizona League Cubs and the Boise Hawks of the Northwest League. In his two stops in the Cubs’ system, McNutt went 3-1 with a .98 ERA over 13 games (six starts). He walked 15 and struck out 28 over 27-2/3 innings pitched. Tonight is his first appearance against the Timber Rattlers and his first appearance against an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.
No comments:
Post a Comment