5/26/2009

May 26, 2009: Game notes

ABOUT MONDAY: The Timber Rattlers beat Beloit 7-4. Daniel Meadows got out of a jam in the bottom of the fifth inning and won his seventh game of the season.

SERIES WIN: Wisconsin took two out of three games in the series at Pohlman Field. That marked the first time this season Wisconsin has won a road series/

REBOUNDING NICELY: The Timber Rattlers had just two hits in Sunday’s game, a 4-0 loss. In the first inning of Monday’s game Wisconsin collected two runs on three hits. Erik Miller started the game with a walk, Juan Sanchez, Brett Lawrie, and Brock Kjeldgaard followed with consecutive singles. The Rattlers had 11 hits in Monday’s game.

BACK IN THE SWING: Yesterday, Lawrie made his first start since a ground ball broke his nose at Kane County on May 21. Lawrie was 1-for-2 with an RBI and three walks.

JUST WHEN THEY NEEDED IT MOST: Corey Kemp doubled to drive in a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning to give the Rattlers a 4-0 lead.

BECAUSE: Beloit scored three times in the bottom of the fifth inning against Timber Rattler starting pitcher Cody Adams. Adams only got one out in the inning and left with the tying run at third and the go ahead run at second.

MEADOWS LAND: Meadows pitched around the first batter he faced in the bottom of the fifth with a walk to load the bases and set up a double play. He would end the inning with a pop out and a strikeout. He then pitched a scoreless sixth and his record moved to 7-0 on the season when the bullpen held on to the lead.

REWARD: Wisconsin added to their lead with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. A run scored on a wild pitch and Sanchez drove in the other run with a grounder to short.

AND AGAIN: Sean McCraw knocked in a run with a single in the top of the seventh to give the Rattlers a 7-3 lead.

SCRATCHING OUT A LIVING: Beloit had 11 hits in Monday’s game. All 11 were singles. In the three-game series with the Rattlers, the Snappers had 22 hits. They had 20 singles and two doubles.

OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM: Sunday’s game between the Rattlers and the Snappers clocked in at just over two hours at 2:02. Monday’s game at Pohlman Field took over three-and-a-half hours at 3:33. (Editor's note: The boxscore time was still wrong this morning. Trust me. I know the difference between a 2:33 game and a 3:33 minute game...especially on a getaway day.)

IT’S AN HONOR: Timber Rattler pitcher Wily Peralta was named the Midwest League pitcher of the Week today for the games played from May 18-24. Peralta struck out 17 batters without allowing a run over two appearances that totaled nine innings.

ROAD TRIP! The Rattlers began a 12-game, 12-day, 4-city road trip last Wednesday. Wisconsin is 3-3 so far with a three game series in Dayton and a three game series in West Michigan still ahead. The Rattlers return home on June 2.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Dayton Dragons are the Midwest League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Former major leaguer Todd Benzinger is the manager for the Dragons and they are 17-27 and in fifth place in the Midwest League Eastern Division. In their most recent series, the Dragons were 2-1 at Burlington against the Bees.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .254 as a team. They have scored 198 runs (4.5/game) and hit 24 home runs. The Dragons are hitting .252 as a team. They have scored 187 runs (4.3/game) and hit 23 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.28 while allowing a total of 219 runs (5.0/game). Dayton pitchers have a team ERA of 4.80 while allowing 234 runs (5.3/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 66 errors. The Dragon defense has committed 46 errors. Wisconsin is 5-15 on the road this season. Dayton is 5-12 at home this season.

PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed one member of the current Dayton roster on their top 30 list of Reds prospects. Pitcher Juan Carlos Sulabara is the #20 prospect in the Cincinnati organization.

OUT OF THE DRAFT 2008: The Reds have 11 members of the 2008 Cincinnati draft class on their current roster. Pitchers Matt Fairel (35th), Lance Janke (14th), J.C. Sulbaran (30th), and Mace Thurman (19th); catcher Kevin Coddington (44th); infielders Frank Pfister (17th) and Cody Puckett (8th); and outfielders Kyle Day (12th), Andrew Means (11th), Dave Sappelt (9th), and Byron Wiley (22nd) were all drafted last year.

RETURNING ALUMNI: There are seven members of the current Dayton team that played for the Dragons in 2008. Pitchers Andrew Bowman, Aguido Gonzalez, Steven Otterness, Curtis Partch, Josh Ravin, and Mace Thurman and infielder Humberto Sosa all were Dragons last season.

DAYTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP Lance Janke was selected by the Reds in the 14th round of the 2008 draft out of San Diego Christian College. Lawrie made 11 starts and was 3-2 with a 5.60 ERA for the Billings Mustangs last season. He walked 12 and struck out 35 in 45 innings pitched for the Mustangs. He is 1-1 with a 2.45ERA in eight appearances (three starts) for the Dragons this season. Janke has walked four and struck out 24 over 25-2/3 innings in 2009. In his start prior to this evening, Janke picked up his first Midwest League victory with a win at Quad Cities on May 21. He allowed three runs on seven hits over five innings for the win. Janke has never faced the Timber Rattlers, but he pitched three times against Helena, the Pioneer League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, in 2008. In those three games – all starts – Janke was 2-0 with a 4.15ERA. He allowed 13 hits, walked four, and struck out 12 over 13 innings against the Brewers in 2008.

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