TheCrew07

I concur, it was to be expected in WI with the relative lack of experience there but I would hope that group would improve significantly in that regard over the course of the season. I do find it difficult to be too down on the hitting between A and AAA, we have players who mostly project to be utility players if they make the show. The one guy WV Brew didn't mention was Mitch Haniger, who I've always viewed as more of a high floor type of guy (right or wrong) but he's definitely grown on me through the first month of the season. I don't think Tyrone Taylor's batting line reflects how well he's played, he doesn't chase out of the zone much and has a nice line drive swing at the plate. I'm not sure he'll ever have opposite field HR power but when he turns on one it's like a Weeks' screamer HR to left/left center as opposed to those towering majestic HRs from many power hitters. If Morris will catch fire I think we can feel pretty good about the prospect trio at AAA as well. None of those guys will be super stars but they could prove valuable down the road.

No divisional mentions but remember the name Yordano Ventura. He's a Royals pitching prospect and has as much helium as anyone in MiLB, he was #3 in the Royals system and #85 in BA's top 100 after 2012. Wednesday Prospect Notebook: Zack Wheeler Rights The Ship

Cubs RHP prospect Zach Cates Cubs' Cates holds Cards hitless

My response would be... "Who Cares?". I would think he's in AZ getting into shape.

South Bend sweeps Wisconsin with 12-3 decision Silver Hawks collect 17 hits on the way to three-game series sweep By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Brandon Drury went 5-for-6 to lead the South Bend Silver Hawks to a 12-3 rout of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Tuesday afternoon at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The 17-hit attack gave South Bend a win and their first ever sweep at Wisconsin. South Bend (16-6) scored first for the third straight game in the series. Socrates Brito scored from third on a wild pitch. The Silver Hawks added to their lead in the top of the fourth. Fidel Pena singled to drive in two runs for a 3-0 advantage. Wisconsin (5-13) had South Bend starter Jesse Darrah on the ropes in the bottom of the fifth inning. Adam Giacalone singled and Orlando Arcia walked to start the inning and the top of the order was due to hit. Tyrone Taylor bunted the runners over to scoring position for Michael Reed, who had extended his hitting streak to seven games with a first inning double. Reed sent a smash down the third base line that looked like a two-run double. However, Drury made a diving back-handed stab and clean stop of the ball. Then, Drury threw home to get Giacalone for the second out. Darrah got a strikeout - his sixth of the game - to end the Rattlers threat. Wisconsin reliever Eric Semmelhack was not as lucky as Darrah. In the top of the sixth, the leadoff batter reached on an error. Semmelhack would get a grounder, but the Rattlers defense could only get the lead runner and were unable to turn the double play. Drury was next and he had two consecutive wind-blown pop-ups drop in foul territory behind Wisconsin defenders. Drury made the Rattlers pay with an RBI double. He would score later in the inning on a single by Brito for a 5-0 South Bend lead. Darrah pitched six shutout innings and struck out eight while walking four, hitting one, and allowing three hits for the Silver Hawks. The Rattlers staged a rally once Darrah left the game. It was the bottom of the order that got the Rattlers going again in the bottom of the seventh. Both Giacalone and Arcia were hit by Will Locante to start the inning. Taylor singled to center to drive in Giacalone and an errant throw to third allowed Arcia to score and Taylor to take third base. An error on a grounder off the bat of Reed allowed Taylor to score and Wisconsin was within 5-3. But, they could not push another run across the plate. Meanwhile, South Bend pushed a lot more runs over the plate. Drury homered over the batter's eye in center with two outs in the top of the eighth inning to make it 6-3. Then, the Silver Hawks sent eleven men to the plate in the top of the ninth. The scored six runs on two walks, five hits, and another Wisconsin error. The outburst in the eighth put the Hawks up by the final score of 12-3. Taylor was the only Timber Rattlers batter to have a multi-hit game as he had two. The Timber Rattlers are off on Wednesday. They begin a six-game road trip with a doubleheader on Thursday at Lansing. Game time for the first game of the twinbill is 4:05pm CDT. HOME RUN: SB: Brandon Drury (3rd, 0 on in 8th inning off Eric Semmelhack, 2 out) WP: Jesse Darrah (2-1) LP: Preston Gainey (0-3) TIME: 3:22 ATTN: 1,001 A nifty Robert Frost quote leads off today's post game on Chris' blog. End of the homestand Wisconsin Boxscore I listened to the game through the top of the 4th before I had to dig back in at work as I was lamenting this audit which is coming next week and I'm preparing for. I really wanted to take a personal day and head to ballpark for the first beautiful spring day, it eventually topped out at 84 up here in NE WI, but there's just no way I could get away from work this week. Little did I know that things would turn very ugly and I'd be thankful I wasn't able to get out to TWC Field in the end. Orlando Arcia committed 2 errors in the game and Adam Giacalone had the other. The team mustered just 6 hits, played shoddy defense, and pitched poorly... this is just one of those games you forget about and move on. Wisconsin Recap There's no way to sugarcoat this... it is ugly. South Bend Top of the 9th Alex Glenn walks. Frazier Hall singles on a line drive to right fielder Mitch Haniger. Alex Glenn to 2nd. Michael Lang singles on a ground ball to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Alex Glenn scores. Frazier Hall to 2nd. Kevin Medrano flies out to left fielder Victor Roache. Frazier Hall to 3rd. Fidel Pena singles on a line drive to right fielder Mitch Haniger. Frazier Hall scores. Michael Lang to 3rd. Brandon Drury singles on a line drive to right fielder Mitch Haniger. Michael Lang scores. Fidel Pena to 2nd. With Ryan Court batting, wild pitch by Eric Semmelhack, Fidel Pena to 3rd. Brandon Drury to 2nd. Ryan Court walks. Socrates Brito reaches on a force attempt, throwing error by shortstop Orlando Arcia. Fidel Pena scores. Brandon Drury to 3rd. Ryan Court to 2nd. Roidany Aguila singles on a line drive to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Brandon Drury scores. Ryan Court to 3rd. Socrates Brito to 2nd. Pitching Change: Rodolfo Fernandez replaces Eric Semmelhack. Alex Glenn out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Ryan Court scores. Socrates Brito to 3rd. Frazier Hall flies out to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Wisconsin Gameday

Stetson Allie covered yet again and Dan Vogelbach of the Cubs gets some love. Tuesday Prospect Notebook: Berrios Coming Back Strong

Subscriber piece, and I think that prospect swaps make more sense than buying 1 MLB player for 3 or 4 legit prospects. Don’t Expect To Ever See A Jurickson Profar For Oscar Taveras Swap

With my avatar choice this should require little explanation, hooray for MiLB teams that do wonderful Star Wars promotions! Star Wars Promotions Bring The Force To The Ballpark

Cards LH relief prospect Kevin Siegrist highlighted here. Texas notes: Siegrist settling into role

...and I thought he was pretty much finished after his hitting line last year... boy I nailed that one. West Virginia enjoying 'Power' Allie

FIP doesn't really strip defense out of the equation, rather it backwards calculates the what ERA should be largely off of the rate stats. I hate fangraphs version of WAR for pitching but I do like fangraphs version of WAR more for hitters. I don't want to get into a debate about the best way to derive a true result but if we can't agree on quality measure of defense over 1 year span how accurate will any version of FIP be doing it game by game? Trying to derive a different result than what actually happened is the worst part of sabermetrics in my opinion. logan's link will give you the base difference in the various versions out there and we've debated basically every metric used in all of the calculations at some point on this site. Older fielding metrics like TZ were still being used on the MiLB side up until Minor League Splits shutdown not that long ago simply because there isn't zone data available for minor league games. Like most things in life it comes down to what you personally want to believe, WAR is just different ways of coming up with an opinion on a given players performance over a certain time frame. I think it's a useful comparison tool especially when talking about roster building concepts.

Hall's double tops Rattlers South Bend gets last comeback to beat Wisconsin 6-5 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - In a game that featured five lead changes, the South Bend Silver Hawks got the last one. Frazier Hall hit a two-run double in the top of the eighth inning to put the Silver Hawks up 6-5 on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Monday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Fidel Pena put South Bend (15-6) up right away. The second baseman lifted a 3-1 pitch from Rattlers starting pitcher Jorge Lopez over the wall in right for a leadoff homer and a 1-0 lead. Wisconsin (8-12) responded with two runs in the bottom of the first. Tyrone Taylor and Michael Reed had back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners. Mitch Haniger drove in Taylor with a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Later in the inning, Clint Coulter's infield single knocked in Reed to make it 2-1. The Rattlers added to their lead in the third inning. Reed walked and Haniger doubled to put runners at second and third with no outs. Victor Roache drove in Reed with a grounder to short for a 3-1 lead. South Bend rallied against Lopez in the top of the fifth. A hit batsman and a walk started the inning. Fidel Pena doubled in the first run of the inning and that put runners at second and third. Socrates Brito singled to center to drive in the tying run. Pena tried to score from second, but was thrown out at the plate by Taylor. However, the Silver Hawks would take the lead later in the fifth. Brito took second on the throw to the plate to get Pena. Then, he stole third. Brito would score on a ground out and that run put the Hawks up 4-3. Wisconsin answered in the bottom of the sixth inning. Coulter walked on four pitches, moved to second on a balk, and took third on a wild pitch. Chris McFarland singled on a 3-2 pitch to score Coulter with the tying run. McFarland was at first base with one out and Orlando Arcia at the plate. Arcia delivered a single to right on the hit-and-run and McFarland raced for third. But, Arcia rounded first base too far and got caught in a run down. Arcia managed to stay in the rundown long enough to allow McFarland to break for the plate and score to go ahead run. South Bend loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh inning against reliever Ryan Gibbard. But Gibbard escaped without a run scoring. His luck would run out in the eighth. Gibbard walked the first two Silver Hawks he faced in the top of the eighth. Hall couldn't get a sacrifice bunt down successfully and had a 1-2 count against him. Hall fouled off the first 1-2 pitch from Gibbard. Hall lined the next pitch down the line in right. The ball kicked up chalk on the foul line and the double plated two runs to put the Hawks up 6-5. Reed singled to start the bottom of the ninth inning against Silver Hawks closer RJ Hively. That was the fifth time Reed reached base on the evening. He had three singles and two walks. But, Hively got Haniger to ground into a force play at second for the first out. Hively retired the next two Rattlers to end the game and pick up his Midwest League leading sixth save of the season. The final game of the three game series is Tuesday afternoon. Preston Gainey (0-2, 10.80) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Jesse Darrah (1-1, 3.20) is set to start for South Bend. Game time is 12:05pm. Tuesday is a Baker Tilly Business Person's special with WVBO and AM1280, WNAM. Show your business card at the box office and receive a ticket for a box seat, your choice of beverage, and your choice of brat or hotdog for $11.50. This deal is also available to seniors 55 & older. If you can't make it to the ballpark, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 11:45am. Tuesday's game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. HOME RUN: SB: Fidel Pena (1st, 0 on in 1st inning off Jorge Lopez, 0 out) WP: Chris Capper (2-0) LP: Ryan Gibbard (1-1) SAVE: RJ Hively (6) TIME: 3:12 ATTN: 763 Chris notes that Gibbard registered a 98 on the gun, more tidbits, and of course the video highlights. This must be brief – Postgame post for April 29, 2013 Wisconsin Boxscore Michael Reed is on a nice hot streak, he was perfect for the evening with his 3 singles and 2 walks. After Clint Coulter's "excuse me" infield single which was a check swing that turned into well placed bunt on a high and outside pitch. Fortunately the pitcher and 2B collided trying to field and throw the ball and it was scored a single. Clint advanced to 2nd on the throwing error and even though he was standing on second when the smoke cleared he was visibly upset with himself. Orlando Arcia looks very bitter after every out, my guess is that he's pressing badly, but every time I've watched him play he's singled or doubled the opposite way on outside pitches which is generally a good sign for a hitter. Therefore, I'm not sure what to make of his struggles of late, it would be nice if he would look as relaxed at the plate as he does in the field. I think eventually Victor Roache is going to get the Miguel Sano treatment from last season, as in don't ever throw him a FB over the plate if you can help it... he's chased low and away breaking stuff in every game I've watched him hit so far. Coulter also had 2 more errors, well an error and a PB, his 4th and 6th respectively, and if I was the official scorer he would have had a 2nd PB charged to him. However he also picked off a runner at 2B, he does have a very nice arm, he just needs to iron out the rest of his defensive game. If he doesn't stick at C, depending on how he fields he'd make a nice 3B or RF as well. Wisconsin Recap 2nd & 3rd with no outs but only managed a single run. Wisconsin Bottom of the 3rd Michael Reed walks. Mitch Haniger doubles (6) on a fly ball to center fielder Breland Almadova. Michael Reed to 3rd. Victor Roache grounds out, shortstop Pedro Ruiz to first baseman Frazier Hall. Michael Reed scores. Jose Sermo walks. Clint Coulter strikes out on a foul tip. Christopher McFarland strikes out swinging. Runner on 2nd with no outs and nothing in the 5th. Wisconsin Bottom of the 5th Pitching Change: Blake Perry replaces Cody Wheeler. Michael Reed walks. With Mitch Haniger batting, Michael Reed steals (4) 2nd base. Mitch Haniger strikes out swinging. With Victor Roache batting, Michael Reed caught stealing 3rd base, catcher Ronnie Freeman to third baseman Ryan Court. Victor Roache walks. Jose Sermo flies out to center fielder Breland Almadova. Wisconsin Gameday

Lopez just threw a 96 MPH FB on the stadium gun during the 2nd inning, it was up and out of the zone for a ball. Later in the AB he also dropped in a very sharp curve. On the other hand he has flipped some hangers up there already and his mechanics and control need a ton of work, he's all over the place. He's gotten away grooving a couple when he was behind in the count, and the HR he gave up to the first batter of the game was a no doubter. However the arm is there and with consistency that curve could be special.

No divisional winners. Pitchers of the Week

Mike O'Neill of the Cards and Javier Baez of the Cubs are the divisional winners this week. Offensive Players of the Week

PG started their draft preview by state series last week, it would get messy to link all of those articles so I'm linking the news archive in which you can search for a particular state of interest. News Archives So far they've covered: Georgia California Alabama Mississippi Florida All of these articles are also linked in PG's extensive Draft Section.

College Draft Prospects Stat Roundup: Week 11

For those of you that would like the Brewers to promote more aggressively... Indians Promote Luigi Rodriguez, Anthony Santander

Ask BA: The 2013 Draft’s “True First-Rounders”

Nick Kingham of the Pirates covered again and also Mike O'Neill of the Cards. O'Neill doesn't get talked about much but check out his hitting line and that ridiculous BB:SO ratio he has going on. Monday Prospect Notebook: Anthony Ranaudo’s Resurgence

Pirates RHP prospect Nick Kingham... Marauders' Kingham fans baker's dozen edit. I should add that this performance came at the expense of BC which bkrause2 covered previously.

Final: South Bend(D-Backs) 6, Wisconsin 3 Hawks homer late to stop Wisconsin Court and Glenn go back-to-back in ninth to snap 3-3 tie By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Ryan Court and Alex Glenn hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the ninth inning to provide the South Bend Silver Hawks with the winning margins in a 6-3 victory over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Sunday at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. South Bend (14-6) scored an unearned run in the top of the first inning. Kevin Medrano reached on an error to start the frame and a balk on Wisconsin starter Austin Blaski moved Medrano into scoring position. Brandon Drury knocked in Medrano with a one out single for a 1-0 lead. Tyrone Taylor tied the game on the second pitch of the bottom of the first inning. The Rattlers centerfielder lined an 0-1 offering over the wall in left field for a leadoff homer to tie the game. Michael Reed was next. Reed singled, went to second on a passed ball, and took third on a ground out. Victor Roache gave Wisconsin (8-11) the lead with a sacrifice fly to left that drove in Reed. The Silver Hawks had runners on first and third with no outs in the top of the third inning. Medrano grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but the run from third scored to tie the game 2-2. South Bend took the lead on a run off reliever Taylor Mangum in the top of the fifth inning. The Hawks had runners on first and second with no outs. Clint Coulter tried to pick the runner off second base Pedro Ruiz took a pitch for a ball, but the throw sailed into center and allowed both runners to advance. Mangum got the first out of the inning without a run scoring, but Medrano's fly ball to center was deep enough to score the runner from third and put the Hawks in front 3-2. Wisconsin had trouble against South Bend starter Brandon Sinnery after the first inning. Sinnery gave up four hits and did not allow a Rattlers runner past second base in his final six innings of work. In all, Sinnery left the game after seven innings with the 3-2 lead after striking out three and walking none. The Rattlers rallied in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Enrique Burgos. Mitch Haniger singled - his third of hit of the game - with one out to start the rally. Victor Roache followed with a single and Adam Giacalone walked to load the bases with one out. Clint Coulter blooped a single to center to score Haniger. Roache was sent home after a slight bobble by Breland Almadova in the outfield, but he was out on a strong throw to the plate. Rodolfo Fernandez took over on the hill in the top of the ninth inning and allowed a leadoff single to Drury. Then, Court cracked a home run to left-center to make it 5-3 in favor of the Silver Hawks. Glenn followed with a home run to deep right field and South Bend was up 6-3. RJ Hively pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save of the year. Game two of the series with the Silver Hawks is Monday night on a Qdoba Q*Monday. Purchase a lunch entrée at either Appleton Qdoba location Monday and receive a free ticket good for any Monday home game during the 2013 season. The Timber Rattlers have Ryan Gibbard (1-0, 1.15) as their scheduled starting pitcher. The Silver Hawks will send Cody Wheeler (1-0, 1.15) to the mound. Game time is 6:35pm. If you can't make it out to Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium on Monday, you catch the game on several different media outlets. My NEW32's Sports Showdown will have the game on television. The radio call is on AM1280, WNAM and timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. Monday's game will also be available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. HOME RUNS: SB: Ryan Court (2nd, 1 on in 9th inning off Rodolfo Fernandez, 0 out) Alex Glenn (3rd, 0 on in 9th inning off Rodolfo Fernandez, 0 out) WIS: Tyrone Taylor (2nd, 0 on in 1st inning off Brandon Sinnery, 0 out) WP: Enrique Burgos (2-0) LP: Rodolfo Fernandez (0-1) SAVE: RJ Hively (5) TIME: 2:18 ATTN: 4,934 Chris busts out the Johnny Cash for today's postgame. So Close – Postgame post for April 28 Wisconsin Boxscore I'll say this for our young T-Rats, their games are rarely boring. Mitch Hainger's 3 hits today bumped his BA up to .309 on the season. He's walked more than he has struck out 8/7 so he's sporting a robust .388 OBP and he is slugging an even .500 to put his OPS at .888, not too shabby. Tyrone Taylor almost made another great catch in CF coming up just short to trap the ball, instead we'll have to settle for his laser beam HR (which wasn't in the highlights for some reason). Alfredo Rodriguez started in place of slumping Orlando Arcia today and made some nice defensive plays, the Rattlers turned 3 DPs total during the contest. Michael Reed's 2 hits jumped his average up to .298, he's been a slow and steady climb upwards for some time now hitting .314 over his last 10. His full slash line at this moment is .349/.421/.770 which if he can sustain it will be big improvement over his first 2 seasons. Wisconsin Recap Here are the bookend innings, I honestly thought the T-Rats were going to come all the way back for the W after tying it in the 8th, I had a good vibe, but it wasn't meant to be. South Bend Top of the 1st Kevin Medrano reaches on a fielding error by first baseman Adam Giacalone. With Socrates Brito batting, Kevin Medrano advances to 2nd on a balk. Socrates Brito lines out to left fielder Michael Reed. Brandon Drury singles on a line drive to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Kevin Medrano scores. Ryan Court grounds into a double play, second baseman Christopher McFarland to shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez to first baseman Adam Giacalone. Brandon Drury out at 2nd. Wisconsin Bottom of the 1st Tyrone Taylor homers (2) on a fly ball to left field. Michael Reed singles on a ground ball to center fielder Breland Almadova. With Mitch Haniger batting, passed ball by Roidany Aguila, Michael Reed to 2nd. Mitch Haniger grounds out, third baseman Brandon Drury to first baseman Ryan Court. Michael Reed to 3rd. Victor Roache out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Alex Glenn. Michael Reed scores. Adam Giacalone doubles (2) on a fly ball to center fielder Breland Almadova. Clint Coulter strikes out swinging, catcher Roidany Aguila to first baseman Ryan Court. South Bend Top of the 9th Orlando Arcia remains in the game as the shortstop. Defensive switch from third base to first base for Mike Garza. Defensive switch from shortstop to third base for Alfredo Rodriguez. Pitching Change: Rodolfo Fernandez replaces Taylor Mangum. Brandon Drury singles on a line drive to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Ryan Court homers (2) on a fly ball to left center field. Brandon Drury scores. Alex Glenn homers (3) on a fly ball to right field. Ronnie Freeman flies out to right fielder Mitch Haniger. Breland Almadova grounds out, second baseman Christopher McFarland to first baseman Mike Garza. Roidany Aguila doubles (5) on a fly ball to left fielder Michael Reed. Pedro Ruiz pops out to third baseman Alfredo Rodriguez. Wisconsin Bottom of the 9th Pitching Change: RJ Hively replaces Enrique Burgos. Mike Garza flies out to right fielder Socrates Brito. Alfredo Rodriguez lines out to first baseman Ryan Court. Tyrone Taylor grounds out, shortstop Pedro Ruiz to first baseman Ryan Court. Wisconsin Gameday

Well, yes and no. There's a lot more that goes into it than just the velocity, such as workload (potential abuse like the Japanese kid who threw nearly 800 pitches in a 10 day span this spring), mechanics, and so on. The Brewers haven't exactly hit any home runs thus far drafting safer "workhorse" college pitching in the first round either. I thought the main point of the article was interesting though, looking more for projection than actual velocity at that age. Unfortunately the Brewers just haven't done well drafting and developing pitching for over 30 years and without a first rounder this year I would expect them to take a shot at least 1 high upside HS pitcher in rounds 2-5. The Brewers don't have enough pitching, especially LHP, to play it safe. Honestly, I think the high floor safe strategy is poor anyway as you need upside to get star players and in that sense I still favor a well rounded system from a ceiling and floor standpoint.

Man the Pirates are getting a ton of run as an organization, right up there with the Twins and the Cards, just about every day they have someone written about. We've known for a while how good the Pirates system is but with Taillon and Cole ascending plus the re-emergence of Allie as a legitimate bat... cripes. That's in addition to the break out prospects from last year like Polanco... well, it's a tad disheartening. The story is worth reading and includes video. Tribe's Cole 'sick of walking people'

Final: Wisconsin 7, West Michigan(Tigers) 6 Rattlers rally in seventh to break Whitecaps Wisconsin plates five runs in the seventh inning By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Mitch Haniger drove in the go ahead runs and scored an important insurance run as the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers rallied for a 7-6 victory over the West Michigan Whitecaps Saturday afternoon at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The victory allowed the Timber Rattlers to win the three-game series with the Whitecaps. West Michigan (9-11) loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first inning against Wisconsin starting pitcher Damien Magnifico. But, the Whitecaps only scored one run. A sacrifice fly by Jeff Holm gave them a 1-0 lead. Wisconsin (8-10) loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of first inning on three straight singles. An error on a grounder to first off the bat of Chris McFarland let a run in to tie the game. Parker Berberet drew a walk to force in a run and put the Rattlers up 2-1. The Whitecaps put together a rally against Magnifico to take the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Bennett Pickar drove in the tying run with a single. David Gonzalez put West Michigan up 4-2 with a two-out, two-run double. Jake Stewart made it 5-2 with a two-out solo home run in the top of the seventh against Wisconsin reliever Leonard Lorenzo. Berberet started the Rattlers on the road back with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the seventh. Mike Garza singled with one out and Orlando Arcia drew a walk to put two runners on base. Tyrone Taylor sent a grounder up the middle that was bobbled for an error instead of a force out at second. That error was compounded by a missed catch on a throw to first base. By the time the dust had settled, Garza had scored and Arcia was at third base. The Whitecaps got the second out of the inning on a strikeout, but Taylor stole second on the play to get into scoring position with the go ahead run. Haniger blooped a 2-1 pitch into shallow center to chase both Arcia and Taylor home to give Wisconsin a 6-5 lead. Victor Roache was next and he singled to right-center for his third hit of the game. The ball was bobbled and Haniger raced for home. He scored the insurance run with a headfirst dive that got him in under the tag. West Michigan would get to within a run on a sacrifice fly by Pickar in the top of the eighth. They had runners at first and second with two outs when Taylor Wall came on in relief of Leonard Lorenzo. Wall got the final out of the eighth and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to nail down Wisconsin's 7-6 victory. The Timber Rattlers begin a new home series on Sunday afternoon with a game against the South Bend Silver Hawks. Game time is 1:05pm. Sunday is Girl Scout Day at the ballpark. The Rattlers and Troop 2355 are holding a "Write to Recover" Journal Drive to benefit the Christine Ann Center & Harbor House as part of Girl Scout Day. Sunday is also a Brewers Sunday presented by 107.5, The Fan. Timber Rattlers players and coaches will be wearing Brewers-themed jerseys during the game. These jerseys will be up for auction after the final home game of the Sunday home game of the regular season on August 25. Before the Rattlers and Silver Hawks play the game on Sunday, fans may play catch on-field. After the game, Timber Rattlers players will be available for an autograph session. Also, Time Warner Cable customers can receive up to four half-priced reserved bleacher tickets when showing their TWC bill at time of ticket purchase. If you can't make it out to Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium on Sunday, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 12:45pm. Sunday's game is also available on MiLB.TV. HOME RUNS: WMI: Jake Stewart (2nd, 0 on in 7th inning off Leonard Lorenzo, 2 out) WIS: Parker Berberet (1st, 0 on in 7th inning off Julio Felix, 0 out) WP: Leonard Lorenzo (1-1) LP: Julio Felix (0-1) SAVE: Taylor Wall (1) TIME: 2:39 ATTN: 3,644 Filled with Chris' usual extra insight, pictures, and of course game highlights. Rattler Radio Blog - Comeback Wisconsin Boxscore The early returns on Victor Roache have been extremely encouraging. In addition to his .900 OPS he's walked 3 times against just 5 strike outs. Things might change for Victor as the opposing teams start to put a book together on him but he's been everything I hoped he'd be out of the gate. This is the first time that this T-Rat group hung in there and slugged it out when the momentum changed which was also extremely uplifting. I'll give Mitch Haniger his well deserved props in addition to Chris' praise in the blog, that OF assist after the bobble which Mehring described was perhaps the biggest moment in the game. Wisconsin Recap Tyrone Taylor with a huge play in the 1st, did you watch the game highlights and see it?. West Michigan Top of the 1st David Gonzalez walks. Jake Stewart singles on a line drive to left fielder Victor Roache. David Gonzalez to 2nd. Devon Travis singles on a line drive to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. David Gonzalez to 3rd. Jake Stewart to 2nd. Jeff Holm out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Victor Roache. David Gonzalez scores. Lance Durham lines out to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Zach Kirksey strikes out swinging. Double play killed the rally... Wisconsin Bottom of the 1st Tyrone Taylor grounds out, second baseman Devon Travis to first baseman Lance Durham. Jose Sermo singles on a ground ball to center fielder Austin Schotts. Mitch Haniger singles on a line drive to right fielder Jake Stewart. Jose Sermo to 2nd. Victor Roache singles on a ground ball to third baseman Mario Martinez. Jose Sermo to 3rd. Mitch Haniger to 2nd. Christopher McFarland reaches on a fielding error by first baseman Lance Durham. Jose Sermo scores. Mitch Haniger to 3rd. Victor Roache to 2nd. Parker Berberet walks. Mitch Haniger scores. Victor Roache to 3rd. Christopher McFarland to 2nd. Alfredo Rodriguez grounds into a double play, shortstop David Gonzalez to second baseman Devon Travis to first baseman Lance Durham. Parker Berberet out at 2nd. Not the best pitcher/catcher sequence in the 2nd... but it worked out. West Michigan Top of the 2nd Bennett Pickar flies out to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Mario Martinez grounds out, third baseman Jose Sermo to first baseman Mike Garza. Austin Schotts singles on a line drive to right fielder Mitch Haniger. With David Gonzalez batting, Austin Schotts steals (5) 2nd base. With David Gonzalez batting, Austin Schotts steals (6) 3rd base. David Gonzalez flies out to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Slightly surprised Chris didn't mention this, some very good fortune to get out of the 4th allowing just 3 runs, the young Tigers certainly helped the Rattlers out making outs on the bases in this game. West Michigan Top of the 4th Lance Durham doubles (9) on a fly ball to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Zach Kirksey lines out to right fielder Mitch Haniger. Lance Durham to 3rd. Bennett Pickar singles on a line drive to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Lance Durham scores. Mario Martinez flies out to left fielder Victor Roache. Austin Schotts singles on a ground ball to left fielder Victor Roache. Bennett Pickar to 2nd. David Gonzalez doubles (1) on a fly ball to left fielder Victor Roache. Bennett Pickar scores. Austin Schotts scores. Jake Stewart singles on a ground ball. David Gonzalez out at 3rd, hit by batted ball, third baseman Jose Sermo unassisted Big innings make me, Wisconsin Bottom of the 7th Defensive switch from right field to center field for Jake Stewart. Defensive switch from left field to right field for Jeff Holm. Defensive Substitution: Danry Vasquez replaces center fielder Austin Schotts, batting 9th, playing left field. Pitching Change: Julio Felix replaces Chad Smith. Parker Berberet homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Alfredo Rodriguez grounds out, pitcher Julio Felix to second baseman Devon Travis to first baseman Lance Durham. Mike Garza singles on a ground ball to center fielder Jake Stewart. Orlando Arcia walks. Mike Garza to 2nd. Tyrone Taylor reaches on a fielding error by second baseman Devon Travis. Mike Garza scores. Orlando Arcia to 3rd. Missed catch error by first baseman Lance Durham. With Jose Sermo batting, Tyrone Taylor steals (4) 2nd base. Jose Sermo strikes out swinging. Mitch Haniger singles on a line drive to center fielder Jake Stewart. Orlando Arcia scores. Tyrone Taylor scores. Victor Roache singles on a line drive to center fielder Jake Stewart. Mitch Haniger scores. Victor Roache to 2nd on the throw. Fielding error by center fielder Jake Stewart. Pitching Change: Joshua Turley replaces Julio Felix. Christopher McFarland grounds out, pitcher Joshua Turley to first baseman Lance Durham. Wisconsin Gameday