ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers and the Peoria Chiefs went deep into the night before the Chiefs beat the Rattlers 9-6 in 15 innings. Catcher Mario Mercedes was pressed into service and tossed 1-2/3 innings in relief to get the win.
HOW WE GOT THERE: The Chiefs had a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning against Jordan Latham, the Chiefs’ closer. Michael Marseco doubled in the first run, a sac fly by Pete Fatse, and a wild pitch by Latham allowed the Rattlers to tie the game. The teams traded runs in the twelfth inning. Peoria scored four runs in the top of the fifteenth. The Rattlers got a run and had the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifteenth. Larry Suarez came in and got a strikeout for the final out of the inning.
WHAT WE LEFT OUT: Rattlers relievers Efrain Nieves and Santo Manzanillo combined to retire 15 straight Peoria batters from the seventh through the eleventh inning.
WHAT WE LEFT OUT PART TWO: The Rattlers had the potential winning run thrown out at the plate in the eleventh and fourteenth innings.
NUMBER NINE: Scooter Gennett was 0-for-3 in his first four plate appearances last night. He singled in the tenth, twelfth, and fourteenth innings to finish 3-for-6 on the night and extend his hitting streak to nine games.
A BIT MORE ON THAT: Gennett has at least one hit in 17 of his last 18 games. An eight-game hitting streak was stopped in game one of a doubleheader on May 11 at Quad Cities. The current nine-game streak started in game two of that doubleheader on May 11. Gennett also has one hit in 23 of his last 25 games.
MENTIONING IT TO MENTION IT: The Rattlers stranded 15 runners last night. They were 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position in the game.
NOW THAT’S JUST WEIRD: Jake Odorizzi was the starting pitcher for the Rattlers last night. Wisconsin has gone extra innings in each of Odorizzi’s last four starts.
REHABBING: Milwaukee Brewers’ outfielder Carlos Gomez went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in his rehabilitation start for the Rattlers last night. Gomez batted leadoff and played center for nine innings. He was 2-for-7 in his two games with the Rattlers. He will join the Brewers in Minnesota tonight for the start of a series with the Twins.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Burlington Bees are the Midwest League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are 14-25 and in seventh place in the Midwest League’s Western Division. The Bees are 3-7 in their last 10 games. In 2009, the Bees went 29-41 in the first half, but qualified for the playoffs with a 35-34 second half record to win the wild card. Burlington advanced to the Midwest League Championship Series, but lost in three games to Fort Wayne. The Bees have won two straight Western Division titles. They were the Midwest League Champions in 2008.
2009 SEASON SERIES: Wisconsin went 5-9 against the Bees in 2009. The Rattlers were 1-2 in three games between the teams at Time Warner Cable Field last season.
2010 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers trail the season series with the Bees 1-2. Burlington won two out of three from the Timber Rattlers at Community Field April 14-16. Burlington won 8-6 and 11-4 in the first two games of the series. Wisconsin won 9-0 in the series finale.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .257 as a team. They have scored 196 runs (4.9/game) and hit 17 home runs. The Bees are hitting .228 as a team. They have scored 162 runs (4.2/game) and hit 20 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.58 while allowing a total of 211 runs (5.3/game) this season. Burlington pitchers have a team ERA of 4.55 while allowing 208 runs (5.3/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 66 errors. The Bees defense has committed 51 errors. Wisconsin is 9-16 at home this season. Burlington is 6-12 away from Community Field this season.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed six members of the active Burlington roster as Top 30 Prospects in the Kansas City Royals organization. Catcher Wil Myers (#3) is the highest ranked player on the list. Pitchers Tyler Sample (#14), catcher Jose Bonilla (#21), pitchers Keaton Hayenga (#23) and Matt Mitchell (#28), and outfielder Hilton Richardson (#30) are all on BA’s list of Royals prospects. Pitcher John Lamb (#7) started the season with Burlington, but he was promoted. Pitcher Kelvin Herrera (#18) is also on the list, but he in on the disabled list.
BURLINGTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP Nick Wooley was a 12th round pick of the Royals in the 2009 draft out of William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri. Wooley was 8-1 with a 3.31ERA in 13 games (12 starts) with 89 strikeouts in 70-2/3 innings in his final season at WWU. He pitched for Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League last season and was 3-2 with a 4.78ERA in 13 games (9 starts) for the Chukars. In his appearance before tonight, Wooley pitched two innings of scoreless relief against Peoria on May 14. Wooley is 1-2 in seven appearances (three starts) for the Bees this season. Tonight is the first time he is facing the Rattlers. In 2009, he faced Helena, the Pioneer League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, twice. Wooley pitched nine innings, allowed ten hits and five runs (four earned) with eight strikeouts. He was 1-0 against Helena in 2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment