ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers beat the Kane County Cougars 8-0. Kyle Heckathorn tossed six shutout innings and allowed one hit for the win. Wisconsin’s offense scored two runs in the first, one in the second, and five in the ninth.
MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: Last night was the seventh consecutive quality start for Heckathorn. Since May 16, Heckathorn has tossed at least six innings in each of his starts and has not allowed more than three earned runs. He is 4-1 with a 1.17 ERA and 33 strikeouts over those seven starts.
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN RIDE AGAIN: Heckathorn struck out seven over six innings last night to set a new single-game, professional high.
FOUR: The Rattlers got on the board with four straight singles in the top of the first inning. Khris Davis and Hunter Morris had the final two singles of the inning to drive in a run each. The hit for Morris was his first as a professional.
PEDAL TO THE METAL: The Rattlers scored five times in the ninth inning. Pete Fatse’s suicide squeeze bunt knocked in the first run. Later in the inning, Scooter Gennett doubled in three runs and Kentrail Davis doubled in the last run to put the Rattlers up 8-0.
EVEN DOZEN: Three Rattlers pitchers combined to record twelve strikeouts last night. Heckathorn’s seven plus one by Brian Costello, and four by Jon Pokorny meant the Rattlers struck out 12 opposing batters in a game for the second time on this road trip.
IN THE SWING OF THINGS: Wisconsin is 3-1 in the first four games of this road trip. The Rattlers have outscored their opponents 25-6 in the four games and 23-3 in their wins.
OF NOTE: Wisconsin won 13 games at home in the first half. A win today would give the Rattlers 13 victories on the road in the first half.
PERSPECTIVE: The Rattlers enter play today with a 25-42 record and one game remaining in the first half. Here are the first half records for the team for the previous five seasons: 2005: 39-31; 2006: 27-43; 2007: 22-46; 2008: 31-35; 2009: 34-36.
STARTING OVER: The Timber Rattlers are off for the Midwest League All-Star Break until Friday, June 25. On that date, they will start the second half of the season against the Burlington Bees.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Kane County Cougars are the Midwest League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are currently 32-36 and in sixth place in the Western Division.
2010 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers are 5-2 in the first seven games of the season series with the Cougars. Wisconsin opened the 2010 season by taking two out of three from the Cougars at Time Warner Cable Field. The Rattlers also took two out of three from Kane County at Elfstrom Stadium from May 25-27.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .247 as a team. They have scored 312 runs (4.7/game) and hit 31 home runs. The Cougars are hitting .240 as a team. They have scored 310 runs (4.6/game) and hit 32 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.42 while allowing a total of 333 runs (5.0/game) this season. Kane County pitchers have a team ERA of 4.10 while allowing 319 runs (4.7/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 106 errors. The Cougars defense has committed 92 errors. Wisconsin is 12-20 on the road this season. Kane County is 18-15 at Elfstrom Stadium.
KANE COUNTY STARTING PITCHER: LHP Justin Marks was selected in the 3rd round of the 2009 draft by the Athletics out of the University of Louisville. He was the Big East Pitcher of the Year in his final season with the Cardinals as he went 11-3 with a 3.77ERA and 129 strikeouts in 105 innings. Marks made one appearance for the Arizona League affiliate of the Athletics in 2009. Then, he was shut down for the remainder of the regular season due to a groin injury. In 2010, Marks is 2-7 with a 5.67 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 66.2 innings pitched. In his start prior to today, Marks took the loss at Quad Cities on June 15. He allowed five runs on eight hits and two walks over 4.2 innings. He struck out five and allowed his ninth home run of the season. Today is the first time that Marks is facing the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. It is also the first time he is facing an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Baseball America rates Marks as the #27 prospect in the Oakland system.
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