July 12, 2010: Game Notes

ABOUT SUNDAY: The Timber Rattlers beat the Burlington Bees 4-1. Jake Odorizzi struck out nine over seven shutout innings for the win. Khris Davis homered twice and Scooter Gennett hit a two-run homer for the offense.

USING THE LONG BALL: The Rattlers has three home runs yesterday to account for all four of their runs. Gennett hit his two-run homer in the first inning. Davis hit solo homers in the sixth and eighth innings. The Rattlers have hit 16 homers in 15 games against Burlington this season.

DOUBLE DIP: Davis became the first Timber Rattler to hit two homers in a game this season. The last Wisconsin hitter to hit a pair of homers in a game was Chris Dennis, who had a pair at Dayton on May 27.

SWATTING THE BEES: Davis is 26-for-59 (.441) in 15 games against Burlington this season. He has hit six of his 15 homers against the Bees.

BIG JAKE: Odorizzi’s nine strikeouts yesterday put his season total to 96. Odorizzi is 3-0 in four starts against Burlington this season. He has allowed one run and struck out 35 in 25 innings against the Bees. Odorizzi has an ERA of 0.36 against the Bees.

THE SAVE: Caleb Thielbar tossed the final two innings for his third save of the season. Two of his three saves this season have been recorded after his got the final six outs of the game.

GETTING CLOSER: The Rattlers are 5-2 in seven home games in the second half of the season. They have moved their season record at Time Warner Cable Field to 19-24.

FAREWELL TO THE WEST: After today, the Rattlers will play twelve straight games against the Eastern Division. The Lansing Lugnuts and the Great Lakes Loons are at Time Warner Cable Field for three games each from June 14 to June 19. The Rattlers will hit the road to face West Michigan and South Bend for three games each from July 21 to July 26. The Rattlers are 4-8 against the Eastern Division this season, 1-5 at home and 3-3 on the road.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Burlington Bees are the Midwest League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They finished the first half with a record of 22-47 and in eighth place in the Midwest League’s Western Division. 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. Burlington is 8-8 in the second half. They took two out of three from the Cedar Rapids in their most recent series.

2010 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers lead the season series with the Bees 9-6. 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. The Rattlers went 3-1 against the Bees in a four game series at Time Warner Cable Field from May 21-24 and swept three games from Burlington June 25-27. Wisconsin had won six straight in the series before the Bees’ swept a three game series from the Rattlers at Community Field on June 25-27. Wisconsin and the Bees meet again in Burlington August 25-27.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .250 as a team. They have scored 402 runs (4.7/game) and hit 49 home runs. The Bees are hitting .235 as a team. They have scored 354 runs (4.2/game) and hit 43 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.37 while allowing a total of 420 runs (4.9/game) this season. Burlington pitchers have a team ERA of 4.99 while allowing a total of 482 runs (5.7/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 121 errors. The Bees defense has committed 114 errors. Wisconsin is 19-24 in home games this season. Burlington is 15-29 away from home in 2010.

BURLINGTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP Keaton Hayenga was selected in the 31st round of the 2007 draft out of Eastlake High School in Sammamish, Washington. Hayenga did not pitch professionally until 2009 due to a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder during his senior season. He turned down a basketball scholarship to Washington State to play baseball. Hayenga made his professional debut in 2009 with the Burlington (NC) Royals of the Appalachian League. He went 4-7 with a 3.66 ERA in 13 starts. In his start prior to this evening, Hayenga had a no decision against Cedar Rapids on July 7. He allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits over five innings. Hayenga has faced Wisconsin three times in 2010. He lost at Wisconsin on June 26. The Rattlers scored eight runs on six hits over 5-1/3 innings and went on to an 11-7 win. The Rattlers also beat Hayenga on May 23 at Time Warner Cable Field. They got to him for seven runs (five earned) on nine hits and three walks over 4-1/3 innings. On July 1 at Community Field, Hayenga had a no decision, but allowed four runs on seven hits over five innings. Hayenga, Baseball America’s #23 rated prospect in the Kansas City organization, struck out four in that game. Hayenga has lost six straight decisions.