ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Rattlers beat West Michigan 4-3. Brett Lawrie’s three-run homer with two outs in the top of the seventh inning erased a 3-1 deficit to put the Rattlers ahead. Liam Ohlmann pitched the final three innings to preserve the lead.
MEADOW’S LAND: Timber Rattler pitcher Daniel Meadows made a spot start last night. He allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts over six innings. He was in position to take his first loss of the season, but Lawrie’s homer in the seventh put him in line for the win. When Ohlmann held the Whitecaps off the scoreboard for the final three innings, Meadows took the win to move his record to 8-0.
NOT JUST A LEAGUE LEADER: Meadows is the first pitcher in all of minor league baseball to reach eight wins.
AS A STARTER: Meadows is 3-0 in three starts. He has an ERA 2.81 and has allowed six runs (five earned) with two walks and 13 strikeouts over 16 innings as a starting pitcher.
SHOWING HIS QUALITY: Meadows tossed a professional career high six innings and by allowing just two earned runs picked up a quality start. This was the eight quality start (six innings with three or fewer earned runs) by a Rattler starter this season.
TRADING RUNS: Both teams scored runs in the first inning. Corey Kemp’s two-out RBI single in the top of the inning drove in the Wisconsin run. An RBI grounder by Brent Wyatt in the bottom of the inning tied the game.
BUILDING A LEAD: West Michigan got single runs in the fourth and sixth innings. The run in the sixth scored on a two out error by Lawrie.
REDEMPTION SONG: Sean McCraw walked with one out in the top of the seventh against West Michigan reliever Victor Larez. Erik Miller followed with a single. Larez got the second out and would face Lawrie. The Wisconsin second baseman lifted a high fly to left that carried out of the park for Lawrie’s seventh homer of the season and a 4-3 lead. Lawrie has 37 RBI on the season and is second in the Midwest League in that category.
LET’S HEAR IT FOR LIAM: Ohlmann walked the leadoff batter in the bottom of the seventh and had runners at the corners with one out in his first inning of work. He worked out of the jam in that frame; worked around a two-out double in the eighth; and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first professional save.
ROAD TRIP! The Rattlers began a 12-game, 12-day, 4-city road trip on May 20. Wisconsin is 6-5 so far with only today’s game at West Michigan remaining. The Rattlers return home on June 2 and begin a 12-game homestand against Cedar Rapids, Beloit, and Kane County.
A LITTLE HISTORY: The Timber Rattlers are 15-15 in the month of May with one game remaining. The team needs to win the final game of this series with West Michigan to give them their first winning month (in a month with more than 10 games) since the 2007 Rattlers went 17-12 in August of that season.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The West Michigan Whitecaps are the Midwest League affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They currently hold the best record in the Midwest League with a 31-17 mark. The Whitecaps lead the Midwest League Eastern Division by 1-1/2 games over the Fort Wayne TinCaps. The Timber Rattlers will face the Whitecaps at Time Warner Cable in a three-game series July 8-10.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .253 as a team. They have scored 218 runs (4.4/game) and hit 30 home runs. The Whitecaps are hitting .271 as a team. They have scored 240 runs (5.0/game) and hit 25 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.30 while allowing a total of 246 runs (5.0/game). West Michigan pitchers have a team ERA of 3.11 while allowing 168 runs (3.5/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 70 errors. The Whitecap defense has committed 35 errors. Wisconsin is 8-17 on the road this season. West Michigan is 14-8 at home this season.
WEST MICHIGAN STARTING PITCHER: LHP Mauricio Robles was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela by the Tigers in 2006. He spent all of the 2008 season with the Whitecaps and was 5-3 in 23 games (16 starts) with a 2.66ERA. Robles walked 54 and struck out 79 over 91-1/3 innings for the Caps. So far in 2009, Robles is 4-2 with a 3.24ERA in nine starts with the Whitecaps. In his start prior to this afternoon, he beat Quad Cities on May 26 at Fifth Third Ballpark. Robles allowed three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts over seven innings. Today is his first appearance against an affiliate of the Brewers, but Robles did beat the Timber Rattlers in a start on July 23, 2008. He pitched six shutout innings, gave up two hits, and struck out four.
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