ABOUT MONDAY: The Timber Rattlers defeated the Burlington Bees 4-2. Cameron Garfield, D’Vontrey Richardson, and Khris Davis each had solo homers for the Rattlers. Damon Krestalude, Jon Pokorny, and Andre Lamontagne combined to hold the Bees to a pair of runs.
EARLY ON: The Bees scored two runs with two outs in the top of the first inning on Monday. Carlo Testa hit a two run homer off Damon Krestalude. In seven games against the Timber Rattlers this season, the Bees have scored 21 first inning runs.
LOOKOUT: Bees starter Tyler Sample pitched a scoreless first inning, but was removed from the game before the bottom of the second. Richardson smashed a line drive off the right foot of the Burlington pitcher on the second pitch of the first inning.
COMEBACK: Garfield hit a solo homer in the second and Richardson hit his homer in the third inning to tie the game.
OUT FRONT: Scooter Gennett plated the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. Davis hit his homer three pitches later for a 4-2 lead.
STRANDED: Krestalude left the game with runners at second and third with no outs in the top of the seventh inning. Pokorny entered the game and got a pair of strikeouts and a popout to end the threat. Pokorny has inherited 14 base runners this season and allowed just one to score.
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER: The win was the third straight by the Rattlers. They had missed on their first four opportunities to get three straight wins. The Rattlers also hit three homers in a game for the first time this season. The Rattlers hit three home runs in a game three times in 2009 and turned the trick last on May 26, 2009 at Dayton.
SAVINGS PLAN: Lamontagne pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his fourth save of the season. He has converted four straight saves and has not allowed a run in those save opportunities.
OUT OF THE CELLAR: The Rattlers moved out of eighth place in the Western Division of the Midwest League with their win yesterday. This is the first time since April 29 that the team has been free of last in the division.
END OF THE STAND: The Rattlers went 6-6 on their recently completed 12-game homestand. Wisconsin starts a 13-game road trip today.
BAKER’S DOZEN: Gennett singled in his second plate appearance on Monday. That extended his hitting streak to 13 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 .351 (20-for-57) during this streak.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Kane County Cougars are the Midwest League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are 20-25 and in sixth place in the Midwest League’s Western Division. In their most recent series, Kane County was swept in four games at Clinton. The Cougars have lost six in a row and are 2-8 in their last 10 games.
2009 SEASON SERIES: Wisconsin went 7-12 against the Cougars in 2009. The Rattlers were 4-7 in 11 games between the teams at Elfstrom Stadium last season.
2010 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers are 2-1 against Kane County this season. Wisconsin won two of three from the Cougars at Time Warner Cable Field to start the 2010 season. The Rattlers swept a doubleheader on Opening Night (4/9) by scores of 3-2 and 6-3. Kane County won the final game of the series 10-5.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .258 as a team. They have scored 223 runs (5.1/game) and hit 20 home runs. The Cougars are hitting .236 as a team. They have scored 204 runs (4.5/game) and hit 19 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.64 while allowing a total of 235 runs (5.3/game) this season. Kane County pitchers have a team ERA of 4.65 while allowing 213 runs (4.7/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 70 errors. The Cougars defense has committed 63 errors. Wisconsin is 4-11 in road games this season. Kane County is 12-7 at Elfstrom Stadium this season.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed six members of the current Kane County roster on their top 30 list of Athletics prospects. Catcher Max Stassi (#4) is the highest rated Cougar. Pitchers Ian Kroll (#16), Connor Hoehn (#22), Jonathan Joseph (#23), and Justin Marks (#27) are joined by outfielder Tyreace House (#28) on the list.
KANE COUNTY STARTING PITCHER: RHP Robert Gilliam was selected by Oakland in the 8th round of the 2009 draft out of the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. He was 4-6 with a 5.76 ERA in 26 games (4 starts) for the Spartans. Gilliam made two relief appearances with the AZL A’s and six relief appearances for Vancouver. In his first pro season, he was 2-1 with a 3.86ERA with five walks and 13 strikeouts in 11-2/3 innings. In his start prior to this evening, Gilliam lost at Beloit. He gave up four runs on six hits with three walks, two wild pitches, a balk, and one strikeout in five innings. Tonight is his second appearance against the Timber Rattlers. Gilliam made the start in game two of the doubleheader on April 9, 2010 at Time Warner Cable Field. He allowed five runs on four hits with three walks and a strikeout over 2-2/3 innings. Gilliam took the loss as the Rattlers won 6-3.
No comments:
Post a Comment