ABOUT SUNDAY: The Rattlers beat the Bees 11-2. Nick Bucci pitched seven innings for the win. Khris Davis had four hits to pace Wisconsin’s 14-hit attack.
EARLY ON: The Bees scored a run with one out in the top of the first inning. Wil Myers drove in the run with a double. That run snapped Bucci’s scoreless streak at 15 innings. The Bees have scored 19 first inning runs in the six games against the Timber Rattlers.
ANSWERS: The Rattlers scored twice in the bottom of the first inning to take a 2-1 lead. But, the Bees rallied for a run in the top of the second. Wisconsin rallied for three runs in the bottom of the second inning to take the lead for good.
THREE TIMES FOUR: Sunday was the third 4-hit game of the season for Davis. He collected four hits at Burlington on April 14 and against Quad Cities on May 5.
TURKEY*: Bucci has won three straight starts. He has also made three straight quality starts for the Rattlers. In those three starts, Bucci has allowed two runs on 11 hits over 19 innings. He has struck out 16 and walked eight in his last three starts.
VAULTING INTO THE TOP TEN: Bucci also tossed enough innings on Sunday to qualify for the Midwest league ERA race. His 1.82 ERA is good for fifth in the league in that category.
ROLL TIDE: Del Howell pitched two more innings without allowing an earned run. That marks the fourth time in five starts Howell has not allowed an earned run.
TWO IN A ROW: The Rattlers won their second straight game with the victory on Sunday. The Rattlers have won two in a row five times this season.
A DOZEN: Scooter Gennett singled in his first plate appearance last night. That extended his hitting streak to 12 games. This is the longest hitting streak by a Timber Rattler in 2010. It is the longest hitting streak by a Rattlers player since Edilio Colina (2008) and Joe White (2007) had 15 game hitting streaks. This is the longest current streak in the Midwest League. Mike Trout of Cedar Rapids had a 16-game hitting streak earlier this season for the longest in the MWL in 2010. Gennett is hitting .352 (19-for-54) during this streak.
A BIT MORE ON THAT: Gennett has at least one hit in 20 of his last 21 games. An eight-game hitting streak was stopped in game one of a doubleheader on May 11 at Quad Cities. The current ten-game streak started in game two of that doubleheader on May 11. Gennett also has one hit in 26 of his last 28 games. He has been held hitless in six of the 41 games he has played this season. Gennett has only been held out of the hit column in consecutive games one time this season (April 18 & 19).
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Burlington Bees are the Midwest League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are 15-27 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 3-3. 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 .259 as a team. They have scored 219 runs (5.1/game) and hit 17 home runs. The Bees are hitting .237 as a team. They have scored 184 runs (4.4/game) and hit 21 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.71 while allowing a total of 233 runs (5.4/game) this season. Burlington pitchers have a team ERA of 4.70 while allowing 231 runs (5.5/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 70 errors. The Bees defense has committed 55 errors. Wisconsin is 11-17 at home this season. Burlington is 7-14 away from Community Field this season.
BURLINGTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP Tyler Sample was the 3rd round pick of the Royals in the 2008 draft out of Mullen High School in Denver, Colorado. In the two seasons prior to 2010, Sample is 4-8 with a save, and a 5.07ERA in 24 games (19 starts). He pitched in the Arizona League in 2008 and briefly in 2009. He spent most of last year with Burlington (NC) in the Appalachian League. In his start prior to this afternoon, Sample allowed three runs on seven hits over six innings and took the loss against Clinton on May 18. He has made one appearance against the Rattlers this season. On April 15, he started and went 4-2/3 innings allowed two runs on two hits with six walks and four strikeouts. He was not involved in the decision. Baseball America lists him as the #14 prospect in the Kansas City organization and notes that he throws a knuckle-curve to accompany a fastball of over 90mph.
*-For our non-bowlers out there, this is the definition we were looking for with this use of turkey.
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