4/20/2008

April 20 Game Notes

ABOUT SATURDAY: The Timber Rattlers rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Snappers 5-3. Alex Liddi hit a solo home run with one out in the top of the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie. Liddi had a pair of RBI and scored twice for the Rattlers.

BRAVO, LIDDI! Liddi’s homer was his first of the season. The last longball for the third baseman was on August 13, 2007 against West Michigan.

EARLY POWER: For the second game in a row, the Snappers used the home run to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Joe Benson singled, stole second, and scored on Steve Singleton’s home run off Rattler starter Nathan Adcock. Benson and Singleton went back-to-back to start the bottom of the first inning on Friday night.

NOT ENOUGH INSURANCE: Beloit tacked on a run in the third inning against Adcock. Garrett Olson drove in a run with a two out single. After that, Beloit managed three hits over the last 6-1/3 innings.

A SMALL FIRST STEP: Edilio Colina received a bit of good luck to collect the first Rattler hit off Beloit starter David Bromberg. He started the fourth inning with a routine fly ball to center. But, Benson lost the ball in the sun. Colina wound up on second with a double when the ball dropped about ten feet to the left of Benson. Liddi would drive in Colina with an infield ground out.

SEVENTH: Bromberg left the game after walking Liddi to start the seventh inning. Reliever Spencer Steedley gave up a bunt single to Gerardo Avila, a sacrifice bunt to Juan Diaz, and a sacrifice fly to Joe Dunigan. Ron Garth’s two-out RBI single tied the game.

A MAN OF QUALITY: Adcock pitched his second consecutive quality start (At least six innings with three or fewer earned runs). Yesterday, he allowed three runs on seven hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

RELIEF WORK: Justin Souza, Travis Mortimore, and Bryan Harris combined to pitch three scoreless innings out of the Rattler bullpen. Harris worked a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts to earn his second save of the season.

WALK DIFFERENTIAL: The four Timber Rattler pitchers issued one walk on Saturday. Rattler hitters coaxed nine walks from three Beloit pitchers.

IT’S OVER: Wisconsin ended an 11-game losing streak in Beloit with the win yesterday. Wisconsin had not beaten the Snappers at Pohlman Field since April 12, 2006.

REVERSE VAMPIRES: All five Timber Rattler wins this season have been in day games.

SNAPPERS IN 2008: The Snappers are 6-10 to start this year. In their most recent series, the Snappers went 1-2 in a three-game series with the Dayton Dragons at Pohlman Field. They are 4-8 at home this season under new manager Nelson Prada.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: Beloit is hitting .251 as a team and has scored 63 runs (3.9/game). They have hit 12 home runs this season. Beloit’s pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.35. The Timber Rattlers are hitting .225 as a team; have scored 32 runs (2.7/game); and have hit two home runs this season. Wisconsin’s pitching staff has a combined ERA of 2.98.

WE’LL MEET AGAIN: The Rattlers host Beloit on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium April 25-27.

BELOIT STARTING PITCHER: Michael McCardell was the sixth round pick of the Twins out of Kutztown (PA) University in the 2007 draft. In his final season there, McCardell went 7-3 with five saves over 21 games (5 starts). He had an ERA of 2.00 and struck out 86 batters over 67-1/3 innings pitched. As a pro in ‘07 he split time between the Gulf Coast League Twins and the Elizabethton Twins of the Appalachian League. In the GCL, McCardell went 2-0 in four games (two starts) with a 2.50ERA. He was promoted to Elizabethton and was 5-1 with a 2.00ERA in eight starts. In his previous start for the Snappers, McCardell allowed three runs on seven hits over seven innings and struck out nine against the Dayton Dragons on April 15. McCardell had a no decision in that game. Today is McCardell’s first appearance against the Rattlers and against an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

It could be a Roy Oribson song or a Sugar Ray song. In know which one I prefer.

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