ABOUT SUNDAY: The Timber Rattlers defeated the Burlington Bees 6-3. Kentrail Davis singled in a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie. Del Howell picked up his first win with the Timber Rattlers and Jon Pokorny tossed a scoreless ninth for his fourth save. The Rattlers have beaten the Bees in six straight meetings.
FIVE! By winning on Sunday, the Timber Rattlers picked up their fifth straight victory. The current winning streak matches the longest of the 2010 season for Wisconsin. The Rattlers also won five straight from May 22 to May 26.
WELL PLAYED: The Rattler outscored the Bees 26-13 in the three-game sweep. Wisconsin also committed just one error in the three games. All three Wisconsin starting pitchers against Burlington tossed a quality start (6IP with three or fewer earned runs allowed). Additionally, the Rattlers trailed for just one of the 27 innings played against the Bees. Burlington took a 3-2 lead in the top of the third inning on Friday. The Rattlers went back in front 4-3 with two runs in the bottom of the fourth.
GET GOING: The Rattlers grabbed a 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and second innings. Khris Davis doubled in Scooter Gennett with two outs in the first. Cutter Dykstra tripled to start the second and scored on a Chris Dennis RBI grounder.
TIED UP: Howell allowed two runs on three hits in the top of the sixth inning. Back-to-back RBI singles by Carlo Testa and Rene Oriental put the Bees back on level ground.
BACK IN FRONT: Kentrail Davis singled in the tie-breaking runs in the bottom of the sixth. Wisconsin strung together five straight hits and scored three runs in the inning to retake the lead.
FINISH THEM: Efrain Nieves worked two innings in relief and allowed a run. Pokorny gave up a leadoff double in the ninth, but retired the next three batters. Pokorny is 4-for-4 in save opportunities with the Rattlers.
CONGRATULATIONS: Rattlers outfielder Khris Davis was named the Midwest League hitter of the week earlier today. Davis went 5-for-11 (.455) with two doubles, two homers, and four RBI in the three games after the All-Star Break. The reigning Midwest League Home Run Derby Champion homered in his first two games after the break. Davis becomes the first Timber Rattler to be named a MWL Hitter of the Week since Ron Garth won the award on June 16, 2008.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Quad Cities River Bandits are the Midwest League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They have qualified for the 2010 Midwest League playoffs as the first half Wild Card in the Western Division. Quad Cities finished the first half with a 40-29 record. They are 42-30 overall after taking two out of three games from the Kane County Cougars in the first series of the second half. Johnny Rodriguez is in his first season as the manager of the River Bandits.
2010 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers are 3-5 against the River Bandits this season. Wisconsin dropped two out of three at Quad Cities from April 17-19. The Rattlers also lost two out of three to Quad Cities at Time Warner Cable Field May 5-7. Wisconsin and the River bandits split a doubleheader at Modern Woodmen Park on May 11. The game that was scheduled for May 12 was rained out and not made up on the schedule.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .248 as a team. They have scored 341 runs (4.8/game) and hit 34 home runs. The River Bandits are hitting .252 as a team. They have scored 361 runs (5.0/game) and hit 45 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.36 while allowing a total of 347 runs (4.9/game) this season. Quad Cities pitchers have a team ERA of 3.85 while allowing 341 runs (4.7/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 108 errors. The Bandits defense has committed 100 errors. Wisconsin is 16-22 at home this season. Quad Cities is 17-18 away from home this season.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed four members of the current River Bandits roster on their list of top 30 prospects in the St. Louis organization. Pitcher Shelby Miller, a first round pick out of Brownwood (TX) High School in 2009, is rated as St. Louis’ #1 prospect. Catcher Robert Stock, the Cardinals second round pick out of the University of Southern California in 2009, is #10. Pitcher Joe Kelley (#21) and shortstop Ryan Jackson (#25) are also on the list.
QUAD CITIES STARTING PITCHER: RHP Deryk Hooker was a seventh round pick of the Cardinals in the 2007 draft out of Mira Mesa High School in San Diego, California. In his first three seasons as a professional, Hooker has pitched for the Gulf Coast League Cardinals (’07), the Johnson City Cardinals of the Appalachian League (’08), the River Bandits (’08), and the Batavia Muckdogs of the New York-Penn League (’09). He was 3-9 with a save and a 3.15ERA in 40 appearances (25 starts) in his pro career coming into 2010. In his appearance prior to this evening, Hooker pitched three innings of relief against Kane County at home on June 17. He allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and a walk. Hooker is 3-3 with a save in 14 games (seven starts) for the River Bandits this season. He has appeared in two games (one start) against the Timber Rattlers in 2010 and has no record. Hooker has pitched five scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out six in those two appearances against the Rattlers.
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