5/24/2008

May 24 Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Peoria Chiefs beat the Timber Rattlers 5-2. Leon Johnson and Nate Samson each contributed two RBI to help the Chiefs win their fourth straight game.

AUMONT UPDATE: Phillippe Aumont made his third start of the season last night. Seattle’s #1 pick in the 2007 draft pitched a career high 5-2/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts as he took the loss.

IN THE LEAD: A misplay on a single to right off the bat of Blake Ochoa with two outs in the second inning allowed Ron Garth to score all the way from first to give the Rattlers a 1-0 lead.

HOWEVER: On the play, Ochoa was out trying to go to third base to end the inning.

7-8-9: Aumont retired the first six batters he faced, but in the bottom of the third, Dylan Johnston singled and Mario Mercedes doubled to open the inning. Leo Johnson followed with a two-run single and the Chiefs were up 2-1. The bottom third of the Peoria lineup were 4-for-8 with a walk, two RBI, and four runs scored.

*CHANCES ARE: The Rattlers had a chance to tie the game in the top of the sixth. Maximo Mendez doubled to right with one out and Alex Meneses at first base. Meneses tried to score on the play, but was thrown out at the plate.

**BIG SHOT: Marquez Smith hit a two-out, solo homer off Aumont in the bottom of the sixth for a 3-1 Chief lead. Wisconsin pitchers have allowed 20 homers this season.

FROM GOAT TO HERO: Johnson had trouble with a wind blown fly ball to center off the bat of Alex Liddi in the top of the seventh. The play turned into a double and put Rattlers on second and third with one out. Ron Garth was next and he hit a sinking line drive to left-center. Johnson made a diving catch and instead of a two run single to tie the game, it was a sacrifice fly to score one run. Kevin Kreier retired the final batter of the inning to keep the Chiefs in front by a run.

LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR: The Chiefs got a little insurance on a two-run single by Nate Samson in the seventh.

ROAD TO PERDITION: The Rattlers are 1-4 on the first five games of their current 12-game, 13-day road trip.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Peoria Chiefs are the Midwest League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Chiefs went 71-68 in 2007. They missed out on the Midwest League playoffs on a tie-breaker despite a 40-30 record in the second half. Baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg is in his second season as the manager of the Chiefs.

CHIEFS IN 2008: The Chiefs are 18-30 and in eighth place in the Midwest League Western Division. They trail first place Clinton by 16 games. The Chiefs are 8-13 at O’Brien Field. Peoria is currently on a four game winning streak after they won the final three games of a four game series at Quad Cities against the River Bandits.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .233 as a team and have scored 143 runs (3.3/game). Wisconsin has hit 11 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.34. Peoria is hitting .241 as a team and has scored 180 runs (3.8/game). The Chiefs have hit 24 home runs this season. Their pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.64.

2007 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers and Chiefs played 17 times in 2007. Wisconsin went 8-9 against the Peoria. The Rattlers went 4-5 in nine games at O’Brien Field last season.

2008 SEASON SERIES: Peoria leads the series 1-0. These are the first four meetings of the season between the Rattlers and Chiefs. Wisconsin and Peoria will play a total of 15 times this season. Seven times at O’Brien Field and eight times on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

PEORIA STARTING PITCHER: Alberto Cabrera was signed by the Cubs as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2005. He made nine starts for Boise in the Northwest League in 2007 and went 3-3 with a 5.40ERA and 33 strikeouts in 38-1/3 innings. Cabrera made a pair of starts against the Everett AquaSox, Seattle’s Northwest League affiliate, in 2007. He went 2-0 allowing two runs on six hits over 12-1/3 innings with one walk and 13 strikeouts. On July 17 at Everett, Cabrera pitched six shutout innings, gave up one hit, and struck out eight batters. In his start prior to tonight, Cabrera took the loss at Quad Cities on May 19. He allowed five runs on five hits over five innings with three walks and four strikeouts. Cabrera has lost six straight decisions and is 0-6 with two no decisions in his last eight starts.

*-Yes, this is from the show you might remember
**-Oh, you had to be a big shot, did you? You had to open up your mouth.

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