ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers defeated the Dragons 7-2. Corey Kemp, Brett Lawrie, and Brock Kjeldgaard each had homers for Wisconsin. Michael Bowman pitched eight innings and struck out eight for his second win of the season.
HAT TRICK: Last night was the third time this season Wisconsin hitters have hit three homers in a game.
ANOTHER FAST START: Kemp hit his homer, his third of the season, with a runner at first and two outs on a 3-2 pitch in the top of the first inning. Wisconsin has scored in the first inning of three of the last four games.
A FIRST: That homer hit by Kemp was the first homer off Dayton starting pitcher Lance Janke this season. All three Rattler home runs were hit off Janke.
MAKING THEM PAY: Janke committed an error with two outs in the top of the fifth inning to allow the Rattlers inning to continue. Janke got ahead of Lawrie 0-2, but the Rattler second baseman hit his sixth homer of the season for a 5-0 victory.
BACK IN THE FIELD: Lawrie made his first start at second base since breaking his nose in Kane County on May 21. Lawrie handled all four chances without a problem
YOUR TEAM LEADER: Kjeldgaard lead off the Rattler half of the sixth inning with a homer to right field. Kjeldgaard has hit eight homers in 2009.
MAKING THEM PAY AGAIN: Another Dayton error allowed Kjeldgaard to reach in the top of the eighth inning. Chris Dennis doubled with two outs to drive in Kjeldgaard for the final Rattler run of the game. Of the seven runs scored by the Rattlers, only three were earned. Also, six of the seven runs scored by Wisconsin came after two outs.
ENOUGH ABOUT THE HITTING: Bowman’s 8-inning outing last night was his longest as a professional. The previous longest outing in his career was six innings. That was on June 29, 2008.
K:BB: Bowman walked a batter with two outs in the first inning. That was the only walk he issued on the night. Bowman struck out eight over eight frames.
ONE RUN: Bowman gave up a lead-off triple to Cody Puckett in the seventh inning. Puckett scored on an RBI grounder by Kyle Day.
OUT OF THE PEN: Liam Ohlmann relieved Bowman to start the ninth inning for his first appearance since May 20. He loaded the bases on a walk, a single, and a hit batsman. A run scored on an RBI grounder and Ohlmann got the final two outs to close out the Dragons.
IT’S AN HONOR: Timber Rattler pitcher Wily Peralta was named the Midwest League pitcher of the Week on Monday 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 4-3 so far with two games left 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 17-28 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 .253 as a team. They have scored 205 runs (4.6/game) and hit 27 home runs. The Dragons are hitting .250 as a team. They have scored 189 runs (4.2/game) and hit 23 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.21 while allowing a total of 221 runs (4.9/game). Dayton pitchers have a team ERA of 4.76 while allowing 241 runs (5.4/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 66 errors. The Dragon defense has committed 49 errors. Wisconsin is 6-15 on the road this season. Dayton is 5-13 at home this season.
DAYTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP J.C. Sulbaran was selected in the 30th round of the 2008 draft by the Reds out of American Heritage High School in Plantation, Florida. He did not pitch professionally in 2008, but did pitch for the Dutch National team at the Beijing Olympics. Sulbaran also appeared in two games for the Netherlands in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Before the season, Sulbaran was rated as the #20 prospect in the Cincinnati organization by Baseball America. Since joining the Dragons on May 1, he is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA with 14 walks and 29 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched. In his start prior to this evening, Sulbaran won at Quad Cities on May 22. He allowed three runs on five hits over five innings. Sulbaran walked four and struck out six in that game. Tonight is Sulbaran’s first appearance against the Timber Rattlers and his first appearance against an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.
No comments:
Post a Comment