TheCrew07

Reds’ Billy Hamilton Gives Minors First Record Chase In Decades

Final: Wisconsin 8, Beloit 7 Not a rerun, Rivera gives Wisconsin a walkoff win Rattlers shortstop drives in winning run for second day in a row By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - This is getting to be a habit for Wisconsin Timber Rattlers shortstop Yadiel Rivera. For the second day in a row, Rivera delivered a walkoff hit for the Milwaukee Brewers Midwest League affiliate. On Monday, Rivera lined a single to left to score the winning run and break a 7-7 tie in an 8-7 win over the Beloit Snappers at Time Warner Cable Field. The hit completed a comeback from a 6-2 deficit and a three-game sweep for Wisconsin over their in-state rivals. Rivera, who hit a three-run, walkoff home run in the bottom of the tenth in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Snapper, picked up on Monday where he left off on Sunday. He tripled to drive in Brandon Macias from first base in his first at bat on Monday. One out later, Nick Ramirez drove in Rivera with a single to left for a 2-0 lead. Beloit (36-28) stormed back to take the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Rattlers starting pitcher David Goforth walked in the first two runs of the inning. Goforth got the second out of the inning, but gave up a grand slam to Miguel Sano and the Snappers went up 6-2. The home run was the fifteenth of the season for Sano, who leads the league in homers and RBI (49). Cameron Garfield started Wisconsin's comeback in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two-run home run to left field. That cut Beloit's lead to two runs. But, Jhon Goncalves hit a solo homer in the top of the seventh inning and made the score 7-4. The Rattlers (41-23) came right back after the seventh inning stretch. Garfield singled with one out and John Dishon drew a walk against Beloit reliever AJ Achter. Achter got the second out of the inning with a strikeout, but he couldn't get the third out before the Rattlers tied the game. Macias lifted a high fly to left on a 2-1 pitch from Achter. The ball carried over the wall for a three-run homer to tie the game 7-7. Beloit had an opportunity to take the lead in the top of the ninth. Chad Pierce walked Eddie Rosario with one out and Wisconsin called for closer Seth Harvey to come out of the bullpen. Harvey threw a wild pitch with Drew Leachman at the plate and Rosario took second base. The Rattlers decided to walk Leachman intentionally to bring Sano to the plate. The strategy worked perfectly as Harvey got Sano to ground into an inning ending 1-6-3 double play to keep the game tied 7-7. Dishon started the winning rally in the bottom of the ninth. He reached on a bunt single and took second on a wild throw by pitcher Corey Williams. Beloit got the first out on a strikeout to keep Dishon at second base. Then, they elected to walk Macias to set up the double play possibility with Rivera at short. The strategy backfired on Beloit. Rivera smacked the first pitch from Williams past shortstop Tyler Grimes, who made a diving stab at the ball. The ball rolled into the left-centerfield gap as Dishon raced home with the winning run. Monday was the last home game of the first half for the Rattlers. Wisconsin improved their home record to 25-10 on the season. Monday was also the seventh walkoff win of the season for the team. Wisconsin clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2005 on Sunday. The win on Monday lowered their magic number to win the first half Western Division title to one. A Timber Rattlers win or a Beloit Snappers loss over the final six games of the half gives the Rattlers the division title. Wisconsin ends the first half of the season with a six game road trip that starts Tuesday night in Clinton. Will West (1-1, 7.63) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. The LumberKings have Brent Shankin (1-2, 3.71) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 7:00pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280,WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:40pm. HOME RUNS: BELOIT: Miguel Sano (15th, grand slam in 6th inning off David Goforth, 2 out) Jhon Goncalves (2nd, none on in 7th inning off Chad Pierce, 0 out) WIS: Cameron Garfield (1st, 1 on in 5th inning off Jason Wheeler, 0 out) Brandon Macias (3rd, 2 on in 7th inning off AJ Achter, 2 out) WP: Seth Harvey (4-0) LP: Corey Williams (2-2) TIME: 3:05 ATTN: 2,228 Wisconsin Box Score Mass used "Relentless" in the thread title and that's the perfect adjective for this team. I thought the game was over twice, in the 5th and then in the 9th but the T-Rats just keep finding ways to win. David Goforth was... well... he's just kind of all over the place, and I didn't notice any appreciable difference from the last time I watched him pitch. There was a sequence that caused the game to be temporarily delayed for discussion when David threw strike 1, then ball 1 that was almost uncatchable low and away, then strike 2, then ball 2 which was so high Garfield couldn't reign it in even though he jumped, then ball 3 which was in the exact same place as ball 1. The TV crew and scoreboard operator thought the count was 2-2 but the home plate ump and Beloit dugout had it right, I was thinking about how horrible the 3 balls were so I was surprised Erickson even came out of the dugout for discussion. Goforth was especially bad in that 5th inning with the bases loaded, I thought there was a glimmer of hope after the pop up but there was no way he was going to be able to put Sano away with breaking stuff when he wasn't throwing strikes to begin with. Predictably the Grand Slam was an absolute bomb. Chad Pierce looked pretty good again and would have had an excellent outing without that one mistake pitch. I was completely against the intentional walk in the 9th to put 2 on with Sano at the plate, I was sure Sano was going to put the game out of reach. Seth Harvey made Erickson's strategy payoff yet again, Matt has pushed all the right buttons so far this season. Cameron Garfield earned a ton of respect from me today, he had to work his butt off behind the plate chasing Goforth's stuff, threw behind 2 runners for huge POs, hit the HR that immediately swung some momentum back to the Rattlers after that horrible 5th, and went 2-4 in the game raising his BA to .310. Yadiel Rivera also had a big day going 3-5 with a RBI producing 3B as well as the walk off single. Brandon Macias had another excellent day going 2-4 with that HR and a BB, Ben McMahan went 2-4 also raising his BA to .310, and finally Jason Rogers smoked a double down the left field line. The T-Rats had 4 starters in the line-up today who finished the game with BAs over .300, I'm not sure that's happened this late in the season since they've been a Brewer's affiliate. The Rattlers played clean defense and turned 3 double plays in addition to the 2 POs from Garfield I mentioned earlier. Wisconsin Play By Play I know Chris covered this above but here it is again. Beloit Top of the 5th Matthew Koch singles on a soft line drive to left fielder Ben McMahan. Jairo Rodriguez singles on a line drive to left fielder Ben McMahan. Matthew Koch to 2nd. Tyler Grimes ground bunts into a force out, first baseman Nick Ramirez to third baseman Brandon Macias. Matthew Koch out at 3rd. Jairo Rodriguez to 2nd. Tyler Grimes to 1st. Nate Roberts singles on a ground ball to right fielder John Dishon. Jairo Rodriguez to 3rd. Tyler Grimes to 2nd. Jonathan Goncalves walks. Jairo Rodriguez scores. Tyler Grimes to 3rd. Nate Roberts to 2nd. Eddie Rosario walks. Tyler Grimes scores. Nate Roberts to 3rd. Jonathan Goncalves to 2nd. Drew Leachman pops out to catcher Cameron Garfield in foul territory. Miguel Sano hits a grand slam (15) to left field. Nate Roberts scores. Jonathan Goncalves scores. Eddie Rosario scores. Pitcher Change: Chad Pierce replaces David Goforth. Adam Bryant grounds out, pitcher Chad Pierce to first baseman Nick Ramirez. After Garfield closed the gap in the 5th, Macias brought WI all the way back in 1 swing. Wisconsin Bottom of the 7th Ben McMahan called out on strikes. Cameron Garfield singles on a ground ball to pitcher A. J. Achter. John Dishon walks. Cameron Garfield to 2nd. Chadwin Stang strikes out swinging. Brandon Macias homers (3) on a fly ball to left field. Cameron Garfield scores. John Dishon scores. Yadiel Rivera singles on a line drive to left fielder Nate Roberts. With Jason Rogers batting, wild pitch by A. Achter, Yadiel Rivera to 2nd. With Jason Rogers batting, wild pitch by A. Achter, Yadiel Rivera to 3rd. Jason Rogers walks. Pitcher Change: Corey Williams replaces A. J. Achter. Nick Ramirez strikes out swinging.

I don't know, for statistical oddities Weeks' 2012 has to be right up there, especially if it continues. We're long past calling his problems a slump, we're into the 2nd full week of June.

I was wondering when Taveras would get some love again, after over 240 PAs he's still sporting a .581 SLG. There is video in the middle of the story at the link. Also odd image choice no? Taveras tops Springfield's hit parade Cardinals score 20 runs on franchise-record 24 hits in rout By Jonathan Raymond / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/06/11/FLvFbpuF.jpg Oscar Taveras had four of Springfield's franchise-record 24 hits Sunday. (Shawn E. Davis/MiLB.com) Things went so well offensively for Double-A Springfield on Sunday, that even if you took away Oscar Taveras' team-leading four hits from the Cardinals' output, they still would have had 20 to fall back on. St. Louis' No. 3 prospect went 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored, adding to Springfield's franchise-record 24 hits for a franchise-record tying 20 runs in a 20-3 rout of Arkansas. Taveras raised his average to .323 with the four-hit effort. After Sunday's game, he also sports a .376 on-base percentage and a .581 slugging percentage with 12 home runs this season. The Dominican Republic native has 42 RBIs for Springfield. The output from Taveras came nearly one week after the outfielder went 5-for-5 with a home run June 4 against Corpus Christi. MLB.com's No. 93 overall prospect obviously wasn't the only one to get in on the action against Arkansas pitching, though. The Cards' No. 4 prospect, Kolten Wong, went 2-for-2 with his sixth home run of the season and two RBIs out of the leadoff spot. First baseman Xavier Scruggs homered twice, going 3-for-5 with four runs scored and five RBIs. Left fielder Chris Swauger and center fielder Adam Melker also both homered. Melker added two doubles, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs, while Swauger also went 3-for-5, driving in two runs. Catcher Audry Perez rounded out the three-hit efforts at 3-for-5 with two runs scored. In all, each of Springfield's nine starters and two pinch-hitters managed to get at least one hit, while there were seven multi-hit efforts throughout the Cards' lineup. Five batters posted multi-RBI games and the team hit five home runs in total. Springfield's pitching did its part, as well, with starter Tyler Lyons (5-4) surrendering three runs on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts over six innings to earn the win. Reliever Kevin Thomas tossed the next two frames, not allowing a hit or a walk while striking out two. Chris Corrigan finished things off with a scoreless ninth.

yuck. Rizzo, Jackson blasts drive I-Cubs rout Top Chicago prospects combine for three homers, seven RBIs By Sam Dykstra / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/06/10/Ww6g9LBx.jpg Anthony Rizzo and Brett Jackson are MLB.com's No. 32 and 33 prospects. (Allison Rhoades/MiLB.com) The Iowa Cubs knew they had something special at the beginning of the season when Anthony Rizzo and Brett Jackson joined the Triple-A squad's roster. Sunday provided a glimpse of just how special the pairing could be. Rizzo homered twice and plated four runs while Jackson went deep and added three RBIs to fuel the Cubs' 14-3 win over Nashville in front of 7,042 at Principal Park. The Cubs' top two prospects hit RBI singles in a five-run third inning and kicked off a six-run fourth with back-to-back shots. Rizzo scored Jackson with another home run that struck the right-field scoreboard in the seventh inning to wrap up Iowa's scoring. "I hit that one well," Rizzo told The Des Moines Register. "I don't know if I've hit many balls harder than that one." Sunday marked Rizzo's fifth multiple home run game of the season. The 22-year-old slugger, who finished 3-for-5, leads the Pacific Coast League and ranks third in the Minors with 20 homers on the season. His 1.143 OPS leads all Minor Leaguers. While Rizzo has by all accounts met or even exceeded expectations, Jackson has not done quite as well. After going 2-for-4 with a stolen base Sunday, the outfielder is batting .265 with eight home runs and 12 steals through 60 games for Iowa this season. Those numbers are more or less are on par with the .274 average, 20 home runs and 21 steals through 115 games between Iowa and Double-A Tennessee in 2011. Jackson and Rizzo weren't the only big contributors to the Cubs offense on Sunday. Juan Apodaca was 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. The two-run blast in the fourth inning was the catcher's first homer since Sept. 6, 2010. Iowa starter Chris Rusin surrendered two earned runs on six hits through seven innings and improved to 5-4 with a 3.81 ERA. "Rusin was outstanding," Rizzo told the newspaper. "The wind was blowing out hard, but he kept the ball down and in the park." After ending a six-game losing streak with a victory Thursday, the Cubs won four out of the six games in their series with the Sounds, which featured back-to-back doubleheaders Friday and Saturday. Their record stands at 29-35, 10 games behind Omaha for first place in the PCL American Northern Division. But the current record didn't seem to bother the team's first baseman. "We just took four of the last six against Nashville," Rizzo said. "We've got some momentum."

No doubt Fernandez has been getting a ton of pub but to answer your question in reading what Seid has said since the draft it appears that Brewers were looking for a RHP and LHP pitcher. For the RHP they zeroed on Jungmann prior to the draft and for the LHP they did the same with Bradley. Seid discussed the Bradley/Reed debate here this winter, it was easier to find the fangraphs article than the post here on the board with it and that discussion. I think my preference for ceiling over floor is pretty obvious by the way I've posted about prospects/Melvin/trades since 2008, but we do need some high floor players in the system as well, the system needs to be well rounded. If I were the SD I'm just not sure I could bring myself to take those guys prior to round 10 and in doing such I would miss out on a ton of productive MLB players. I thought on draft day that both Brewers picks were pretty "safe" in that they were likely to contribute to MLB and had decent upside, but I don't think either pick was one that I would have made in that position. In terms of the players drafted around them it will be pretty interesting to see who makes it to MLB and how they ultimately perform. I think given the Brewer's history with college pitchers who were pegged as needing significant polish it's pretty understandable why they drafted the way they did. I think objectively the 3 biggest questions right now out of that entire group of players is how Jungmann's stuff will play at higher levels, what's going on Bradley's velocity/lack of results, and Grey's overall performance. Since Bradley's game on 4/23 when he gave up his first runs of the season he's made 8 starts and only posted an ERA under 4 in 2 of them. Sonny Grey is getting a bit of a pass from the prospect gurus because he jumped right into AA but Oakland's prospect followers have to be concerned, I would be with such a high BB rate and low K rate. Not that Bradley's K/9 of 6.4 is awe inspiring, but his BB rate is still solid, he's just getting hit hard with 66 hits allowed in 59 innings. Bradley only had 10 hits allowed in his first 19 innings pitched this season, it's been quite the negative turn around.

Nine after 9 for June 10, 2012 While the 9 is always a must read, today's version is especially good. Rivera foreshadowed his day and the video highlights are just awesome. And yes I'm still basking in the glow of this victory, it made my day.

Final: Wisconsin 5, Beloit 2 (10 Innings) Rivera's tenth inning blast beats Beloit Rattlers are playoff bound By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/images/2012/06/10/IzSpcGaZ.jpg The Timber Rattlers greet Yadiel Rivera at home plate after his walkoff home run on Sunday afternoon. (Ann Mollica/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) GRAND CHUTE, WI - Yadiel Rivera couldn't get a bunt down in the bottom of the tenth, but everything turned out okay for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Sunday afternoon. Rivera would hit a three-run, walkoff homer to beat the Beloit Snappers 5-2 at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. As an added bonus, the Peoria Chiefs beat the Kane County Cougars about 45 minutes after the Rattlers win. Wisconsin clinched their first playoff appearance since 2005 when the Cougars lost that game in Peoria. Wisconsin (40-23) loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first inning. They scored a run when cleanup hitter Nick Ramirez grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Ramirez put the Rattlers up 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning. Jason Rogers dumped a single into right field with two outs to keep the inning alive. Ramirez lined a double to right and Rogers hustled home to beat the throw. Beloit (36-27) pulled to within a run in the top of the fifth inning on a two-out RBI single by Matt Koch. That was the only run allowed by Rattlers starting pitcher Chad Thompson. The tall right-hander struck out four over five innings before turning the ball over to Mark Williams in the sixth. Koch tied the game in the seventh with a sacrifice fly, but the Rattlers had a great chance to retake the lead in their next turn at the plate. Wisconsin loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning and Rivera came to the plate to face Michael Tonkin, a Beloit reliever who had just come into the game. Rivera took a swing at the first pitch he saw from Tonkin and grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. The score stayed tied 2-2 until the bottom of the tenth. Chadwin Stang singled to start the inning against Clint Dempster, the fourth Beloit pitcher of the game. Brandon Macias was asked to bunt Stang over, but the sacrifice was called off with a 3-2 count. Macias would reach and Stang went to second on an error to bring Rivera to the plate. The Brewers shortstop prospect took a ball, then bunted the next two pitches from Dempster foul. Rivera got his shot at redemption with the bunt play off and he made the most of his chance by lining a home run over the left field wall. The homer, Rivera's seventh of the season, cut Wisconsin's magic number to clinch a playoff spot to one. The Peoria Chiefs lowered the Rattlers magic number to zero by defeating the Kane County Cougars 4-1 Sunday afternoon in Peoria. The Rattlers have a seven game lead over the Cougars with seven games left in the half. The top two teams in the Western Division at the end of the first half will qualify for the playoffs. Wisconsin holds the tiebreaker over the Cougars. Wisconsin pushed their lead over Beloit to four games with the win on Sunday. The Timber Rattlers still have some work to do to win the West. The final game of the series is Monday afternoon at 12:05pm. David Goforth (5-4, 5.25) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Jason Wheeler (7-2, 3.39) is scheduled to start for Beloit. Monday is also the final day of Miller Summer Kickoff at Time Warner Cable Field with $1 Miller products and ticket giveaways to Noah's Ark, Summerfest, Country USA, Rock USA, and the EAA Fly-In will be given away during all six games. The weekday day game also means a Baker Tilly Business Persons Special. Show your business card when you purchase a ticket and for $11.50 you will receive a box seat ticket, a beverage and your choice of brat or hot dog. This special is also available to senior citizens. As part of B104.7 Qdoba Q*Monday, fans may receive a free ticket to any Monday home game on the 2012 schedule when they purchase a lunch entrée at the Qdoba by the Fox River Mall tomorrow. If you can't make it out to the ballpark, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 11:45am. Monday's game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. Sports32 will televise Monday's game, too. The television broadcast will be available to subscribers of Time Warner Cable. HOME RUN: WIS: Yadiel Rivera (7th, 2 on in 10th inning off Clinton Dempster, 0 out) WP: Mark Williams (4-4) LP: Clinton Dempster (2-3) TIME: 2:55 ATTN: 3,529 Wisconsin Box Score I almost waited for the 9 After 9 to post the summary but it's been hard to contain my excitement as I've found myself pulling very hard for Yadiel Rivera lately and I'm not able to exactly explain why. Arcia is my guy (couldn't tell you why I latched onto him either as I'm generally very slow to latch on to players out of the DSL), but Rivera has really grown on me. Yadiel is a pretty bad bunter from what I've seen in person and on TV so I was actually happier when he was going to swing away, and boy what a swing. Chad Thompson was just what the doctor ordered and proved my fears about the pitching match up today wrong. Chad went 5IP allowing 4H, 1BB, 1WP, and 1ER against 4SO throwing 43 of 70 pitches for strikes and posting a 3:4 ratio. Mark Williams wasn't as sharp as he has been at times but was also extremely effective going 5 innings though he was tagged with a BS (which is just dumb given the circumstances of tandem starters), Mark allowed 6H, 1BB, and 1ER against 1SO throwing 45-72 pitches for strikes while posting 4:6 ratio. The Rattlers played excellent defense behind both pitchers. Speaking of defense you probably naturally assume it was Rivera, but in this game Brandon Macias was making highlight reel plays and Brandon teamed up with Jason Rogers on a DP that I hope Chris will cover in the 9 After 9. It was just an awesome play at 3rd and a wonderful scoop on the other end. Yesterday I mentioned Yaddy was coaching 1B with Carlos George, the mental holiday must have been the trick because he was 3-5 today. John Dishon and Chadwin Stang also posted multi-hit games each going 2-3 with Dishon adding a walk. Nick Ramirez and Macias each added a double to the cause. Max Walla who was the other player I mentioned yesterday got his day off today, so hopefully he's a beast in tomorrow afternoon's affair. Dishon and Stang were both picked off going on first movement but the T-Rats once again played clean defense and both Cameron Garfield (atta boy!) and Rafael Neda gunned the only runners who tried to take a base against them. In the last 2 games I'm not sure Twins uber prospect Miguel Sano has gotten a decent FB to hit, it was a steady diet of off speed this afternoon, we'll see what happens with that tomorrow. He went 4-13 with 2 doubles and HR off Rattler pitching in the series at Beloit last weekend. Wisconsin Play By Play Bases loaded and no outs in the 1st, I kept going back to this all game. Wisconsin Bottom of the 1st Brandon Macias doubles (15) on a line drive to center fielder Jonathan Goncalves. Yadiel Rivera singles on a ground ball to left fielder Drew Leachman. Brandon Macias to 3rd. Jason Rogers walks. Yadiel Rivera to 2nd. Nick Ramirez grounds into double play, second baseman Eddie Rosario to shortstop Adam Pettersen to first baseman Adam Bryant. Brandon Macias scores. Yadiel Rivera to 3rd. Jason Rogers out at 2nd. Gregory Hopkins strikes out swinging, catcher Matthew Koch to first baseman Adam Bryant. Great Defense saved runs in the 3rd and 5th! Beloit Top of the 3rd Adam Bryant walks. Matthew Koch flies out to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Wang-Wei Lin singles on a ground ball to right fielder John Dishon. Adam Bryant to 3rd. JaDamion Williams called out on strikes and Adam Bryant caught stealing home, catcher Cameron Garfield to shortstop Yadiel Rivera to catcher Cameron Garfield. Beloit Top of the 5th Drew Leachman doubles (4) on a line drive to left fielder Ben McMahan. Jonathan Goncalves singles on a ground ball to pitcher Chad Thompson. Adam Bryant grounds into double play, third baseman Brandon Macias to first baseman Jason Rogers. Drew Leachman out at 3rd. Jonathan Goncalves to 2nd. Matthew Koch singles on a line drive to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Jonathan Goncalves scores. With Wang-Wei Lin batting, wild pitch by Chad Thompson, Matthew Koch to 2nd. Wang-Wei Lin grounds out, first baseman Jason Rogers to pitcher Chad Thompson. Yaddy time! Wisconsin Bottom of the 10th Pitcher Change: Clint Dempster replaces Michael Tonkin. Chadwin Stang singles on a ground ball to shortstop Adam Pettersen. Brandon Macias reaches on throwing error by second baseman Eddie Rosario. Chadwin Stang to 2nd. Yadiel Rivera homers (7) on a fly ball to left field. Chadwin Stang scores. Brandon Macias scores.

Huntsville Postponed, double header tomorrow.

Final Game 2: Mobile 7, Huntsville 6 (7 innings) Huntsville Game 2 Box Score The Stars get swept as Evan Anundsen gives up 7ER in his first 2 innings, he went 3 total. The 2 best Stars' pitchers gave up a combined 13 runs in 14 innings today. R.J. Seidel, Mitch Stetter, and Jesus Sanchez all pitched scoreless innings of relief with Sanchez striking out the side around a single and walk. With Khris Davis on the DL yet again the Stars only have 1 player on the roster with an OPS over .800 in Hunter Morris. Scooter Gennett is sitting around .760 and then it drops to Josh Prince and Tommy Manzella each with .709s coming into today's action. Having lost Gibbons, Gonzalez, Bianchi, and Davis this is a completely different offensive team than the club that temporarily took over the division lead in the first half. That being said they had a nice game in the night cap pounding out 13 hits and continually trying to rally back to take the lead. Morris led the way with yet another HR, he went 3-4 and added a double as well. Lee Haydel, Manzella, and Kentrail Davis each went 2-4 with Manzella adding a double while Anderson De La Rosa added a double of his own. Davis did steal his 8th base on the season. Huntsville Game 2 Play By Play This was the game. Mobile Bottom of the 1st Evan Frey singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Evan Anundsen. David Nick doubles (13) on a line drive to left fielder Lee Haydel. Evan Frey to 3rd. Matt Davidson homers (13) on a fly ball to left field. Evan Frey scores. David Nick scores. Marc Krauss walks. Alfredo Marte doubles (14) on a ground ball to left fielder Lee Haydel. Marc Krauss scores. Yazy Arbelo flies out to center fielder Josh Prince. Alfredo Marte to 3rd. Rossmel Perez grounds out, third baseman Matt Cline to first baseman Hunter Morris. Alfredo Marte scores. Daniel Kaczrowski grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Mobile Bottom of the 2nd Bryan Henry grounds out, third baseman Matt Cline to first baseman Hunter Morris. Evan Frey singles on a ground ball to center fielder Josh Prince. David Nick strikes out swinging. Matt Davidson homers (14) on a fly ball to left center field. Evan Frey scores. Marc Krauss lines out to left fielder Lee Haydel. After scoring 1 in the 2nd the Stars put up a crooked number in the 4th. Huntsville Top of the 4th Hunter Morris homers (7) on a fly ball to right center field. Tommy Manzella doubles (5) on a fly ball to right fielder Alfredo Marte. Kentrail Davis bunt pops out to pitcher Bryan Henry. Anderson De La Rosa doubles (5) on a fly ball to right fielder Alfredo Marte. Tommy Manzella scores. Matt Cline singles on a ground ball to first baseman Yazy Arbelo. Anderson De La Rosa to 3rd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Domnit Bolivar replaces Evan Anundsen. Domnit Bolivar flies out to right fielder Alfredo Marte. Lee Haydel singles on a line drive to center fielder Evan Frey. Anderson De La Rosa scores. Matt Cline to 3rd. Pitcher Change: Bryan Woodall replaces Bryan Henry, batting 9th. Josh Prince strikes out swinging. The comeback came up 1 run short in the 7th. Huntsville Top of the 7th Pitcher Change: Matt Gorgen replaces Bryan Woodall, batting 9th. Josh Prince walks. Scooter Gennett grounds into double play, shortstop Daniel Kaczrowski to second baseman David Nick to first baseman Yazy Arbelo. Josh Prince out at 2nd. Hunter Morris doubles (22) on a line drive to left fielder Marc Krauss. Tommy Manzella singles on a fly ball to right fielder Alfredo Marte. Hunter Morris scores. Kentrail Davis strikes out swinging.

Nine after 9 for June 9, 2012

Rattlers shutout Beloit; Close in on playoff spot By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - A trio of Wisconsin Timber Rattlers all-stars combined to inch the team closer to a Midwest League playoff spot with a 4-0 win over the Beloit Snappers Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Pitchers Drew Gagnon and Tommy Toledo combined for twelve strikeouts and held the potent Beloit offense to no runs on five hits. Greg Hopkins homered and doubled to pace Wisconsin's offense. Beloit (36-26) entered Saturday's game with a .263 batting average and with 306 runs scored. They were tied for the league lead in team batting average and are second in the league in runs scored. They threatened to score in the second inning as they put runners on first and second with back to back singles. Gagnon got Adam Bryan to ground into a force out at second base and Kyle Knudson to ground into an inning ending 6-4-3 double play. Wisconsin (39-23) grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second. Hopkins launched his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot with one out, to left field. After the home run, Ben McMahan and Chadwin Stang singled. Then, Rafael Neda walked to load the bases. Adrian Williams drew a four pitch walk to force in a run. Wisconsin got their third run of the inning when Beloit starter Tyler Jones hit Brandon Macias to force in run. Jones settled in after the second inning and would strike out nine over six inning, but the damage had been done. Plus, Gagnon had settled into a groove of his own. Beloit would not get another hit off Gagnon until the sixth inning. The Snappers had a runner at first with one out when Nate Roberts singled to put runners at first and second. The play also brought two big Minnesota Twins prospects - Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano - to the plate as the potential tying runs. In the first 62 games of the season, Rosario and Sano combined for 21 home runs and 84 RBI. Gagnon, a top prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, was not bothered by the prospect of facing that duo of Beloit batters. The Rattlers right-hander struck out Rosario on three pitches and got Sano to pop out to short to end the inning. Drew Leachman doubled to lead off the Snappers seventh inning. Gagnon retired Jhon Goncalves, but paid a bit of a price doing it. A grounder back to the mound hit Gagnon in the chest. He got the out at first, but Goncalves was the final batter Gagnon would face. That last pitch was also number 100 on the night for Gagnon and he turned the game over to Tommy Toledo. The Rattlers reliever stranded Leachman at second base by retiring the final two batters of the seventh. Wisconsin tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh. Macias knocked in Chadwin Stang with a infield grounder and Wisconsin's lead was 4-0. Toledo worked a 1-2-3 eighth and finished the game with a flourish by striking out the side in order in the top of the ninth. The win moved Wisconsin's lead in the Western Division to three games over the Snappers with eight games remaining in the first half. Additionally, Peoria beat Kane County 4-1 on Saturday night. Each half the top two teams in both divisions in the Midwest League qualify for a playoff spot. Wisconsin now has a six game lead on Kane County with eight games to play in the first half. Wisconsin's magic number to clinch their first playoff spot since 2005 was lowered to two with the Kane County loss. Game two of the series is Sunday afternoon. Chad Thompson (2-1, 6.16) is the scheduled starter for the Timber Rattlers. Beloit has David Hurlbut (2-0, 1.35) as their scheduled starting pitcher. Game time is 1:05pm. The Timber Rattlers and the Fox Valley Humane Association presents Mutts on the Mound on Sunday. The left field berm seating area will be set aside for pets and their owners. Admission is $5 for humans and pets. Proceeds from pet tickets will be donated to the FVHA. Before the game fans can play catch on-field courtesy and Timber Rattlers players will be available for an autograph session after the game. 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. Finally, players will be wearing Brewers-themed jerseys on-field during the game as part of Brewers Sunday courtesy of 107.5 The Fan. If you can't make it out to the game, 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 to subscribers of MiLB.TV. HOME RUN: WIS: Greg Hopkins (8th, 0 on in 2nd inning off Tyler Jones, 1 out) WP: Drew Gagnon (5-1) LP: Tyler Jones (0-2) SAVE: Tommy Toledo (2) TIME: 2:32 ATTN: 5,424

Final: Wisconsin 4, Beloit 0 Wisconsin Box Score Typically I wouldn't mention something like this as Chris usually covers it in the 9 After 9 but of the 5 hits Drew Gagnon gave up, 3 came in the first 2 innings and 2 were pop ups into shallow right field that somehow managed to find grass and the 3rd was a broken bat liner that just got over Hopkins' head. Drew was just fantastic given the stakes as the rest of the pitching match-ups for the series don't look to favor the T-Rats. Gagnon went 6.1IP reaching his pitch count in the 7th allowing the 5H, 1HBP, and 1BB against 8SO throwing 61 of 100 pitches for strikes while posting a 7:1 ratio. He was climbing the ladder again this evening getting those swinging strike outs, there was never doubt. I love that Erickson went right to and stuck with Tommy Toledo after he pulled Gagnon. Toledo one-upped Gagnon retiring the final 8 batters in order and struck out 4 in his 2.2IP. If the pitching wasn't great I would have been a tad nervous as this game had all the makings of a come from ahead to lose sort of the game, the offense should have gotten more in the 2nd and went very quiet until the 7th when they finally pushed across another insurance run. With Rosario and Sano the Snappers can put up runs in a hurry, it only takes one mistake and the game is much closer than it should be. Gregory Hopkins has just been a beast these last 2 months, his success has definitely surprised me, he went 2-4 with a 2B and a HR, Chadwin Stang had the other multi-hit effort going 2-4. Rattler batters struck out 12 times and every single hitter had at least 1. Max Walla is enduring a tough stretch which has killed his stat line, he's only batting .128 over his last 10 games, Yadiel Rivera is also prone to extended slumps enduring his 2nd of the season which has dropped his BA to .222 as he's gone for a .105 average over his last 10 games. Yaddy got the night off and coached a little first base with George. The T-Rats played clean D once again and Rafael Neda gunned a runner at 2nd to end the 5th. Wisconsin Play By Play Bases loaded and 1 out... could have much more. Wisconsin Bottom of the 2nd Nick Ramirez flies out to center fielder Jonathan Goncalves. Gregory Hopkins homers (8) on a fly ball to left field. Ben McMahan singles on a soft line drive to right fielder Wang-Wei Lin. Chadwin Stang singles on a sharp ground ball to center fielder Jonathan Goncalves. Ben McMahan to 2nd. Rafael Neda walks. Ben McMahan to 3rd. Chadwin Stang to 2nd. Adrian Williams walks. Ben McMahan scores. Chadwin Stang to 3rd. Rafael Neda to 2nd. Brandon Macias hit by pitch. Chadwin Stang scores. Rafael Neda to 3rd. Adrian Williams to 2nd. Max Walla strikes out swinging. Jason Rogers strikes out swinging. I'm sure Chris will cover the rest when his game story pops.

Final Game 1: Mobile 7, Huntsville 3 (7 Innings) Huntsville Game 1 Box Score Before getting into any of the pitching it looks like Tyler Thornburg induced a brawl in the 5th after he hit Alfredo Marte for the 2nd time. Marte doubled in the 2nd and Thornburg hit him in both the 4th and 5th innings. I wish I would have been listening to this game... dang it. Mobile Bottom of the 5th Evan Frey singles on a line drive to left fielder Lee Haydel. David Nick grounds into a force out, pitcher Tyler Thornburg to shortstop Tommy Manzella. Evan Frey out at 2nd. David Nick to 1st. Matt Davidson strikes out swinging. Mobile BayBears first baseman Matt Davidson ejected by HP umpire Spencer Flynn. With Marc Krauss batting, David Nick steals (7) 2nd base. Marc Krauss walks. Alfredo Marte hit by pitch. David Nick to 3rd. Marc Krauss to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Darren Byrd replaces Tyler Thornburg, batting 9th. Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Raoul Torrez replaces Alfredo Marte. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Kyle Greene replaces Yazy Arbelo. Huntsville Stars shortstop Matt Cline ejected by HP umpire Spencer Flynn. Huntsville Stars shortstop Juan Sanchez ejected by HP umpire Spencer Flynn. Huntsville Stars pitcher Tyler Thornburg ejected by HP umpire Spencer Flynn. Mobile BayBears center fielder Alfredo Marte ejected by HP umpire Spencer Flynn. Mobile BayBears first baseman Yazy Arbelo ejected by HP umpire Spencer Flynn. Kyle Greene hit by pitch. David Nick scores. Marc Krauss to 3rd. Raoul Torrez to 2nd. Ed Easley doubles (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Josh Prince. Marc Krauss scores. Raoul Torrez scores. Kyle Greene scores. Wladimir Sutil flies out to left fielder Lee Haydel in foul territory. Obviously Darren Byrd didn't help Thornburg's line but Tyler wasn't great regardless. He went 4.2IP allowing 4H, 2BB, 6R, 4R, and 2HBP against 5SO while throwing 53 of 80 pitches for strikes and posting a 5:4 ratio. I believe this was Tyler's 2nd ejection in as many weeks, he's got some orneriness in him. Santo Manzanillo gave up a 3B in the 6th but got out of the inning. The Stars mounted a nice comeback in the 7th but obviously came up short. No Star batter had a multi hit or an XBH, but Thornburg did single pushing his BA to .278. Domnit Bolivar had the error which appeared to be during a run down which cost the 2 unearned runs. Huntsville Game 1 Play By Play Thornburg's 2nd. Mobile Bottom of the 2nd Marc Krauss walks. Alfredo Marte doubles (13) on a ground ball to left fielder Lee Haydel. Marc Krauss to 3rd. Yazy Arbelo reaches on a fielder's choice, fielded by pitcher Tyler Thornburg. Marc Krauss scores. Alfredo Marte to 3rd. Yazy Arbelo to 2nd. Throwing error by third baseman Domnit Bolivar. Ed Easley singles on a ground ball to shortstop Tommy Manzella, deflected by pitcher Tyler Thornburg. Alfredo Marte scores. Yazy Arbelo to 3rd. Wladimir Sutil out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Lee Haydel. Yazy Arbelo scores. Brett Lorin out on a sacrifice bunt, catcher Adam Weisenburger to first baseman Hunter Morris. Ed Easley to 2nd. Evan Frey flies out to right fielder Kentrail Davis. The Stars rally in the top of the 7th. Huntsville Top of the 7th Pitcher Change: Eric Smith replaces Eury De La Rosa, batting 9th. Domnit Bolivar called out on strikes. Adam Weisenburger walks. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Scott Krieger replaces Santo Manzanillo. Scott Krieger singles on a line drive to center fielder Evan Frey. Adam Weisenburger to 3rd. Lee Haydel walks. Scott Krieger to 2nd. Josh Prince walks. Adam Weisenburger scores. Scott Krieger to 3rd. Lee Haydel to 2nd. Scooter Gennett singles on a ground ball to right fielder Marc Krauss. Scott Krieger scores. Lee Haydel scores. Josh Prince to 2nd. Hunter Morris lines out to left fielder Daniel Kaczrowski. Tommy Manzella grounds into a force out, shortstop Wladimir Sutil to second baseman David Nick. Scooter Gennett out at 2nd Edit. It was a Brawl. Stuff like this is convincing me that I should maybe create a Twitter account.

It's really hard to project him but I was thinking more in that .340 range? If he can sit in the .360s OBPing like he did in Japan with an OBP 75 points higher than his BA that makes the discussion much more interesting, but I'd still prefer him in CF long-term. I'm pretty happy the Brewers accidentally ended up with him.

I find this Khris Davis situation especially irritating, how about sending him back to AZ where he can get regular treatment and rehabilitation?

Odorizzi is a B prospect? Really? Even Sickels who's a notoriously bearish grader has him as a B+. In terms of BA's top 100 his season has put him firmly in the top 40 and he might jump into the top 25. He will supplant Montgomery as KC's #1 overall and while he's not enjoying the success of Bundy early in the year or the tear Hultzen is currently on, he's in the discussion to be in the top 10 pitching prospects in baseball and slots nicely in that Turner to Martinez range from last year's 100. I'm not sure why you left out Escobar who was no longer prospect eligible but he'll be an average MLB SS if not better for the remainder of his career even though he's 0 for this week. In terms just pure talent KC got the best arm in the Brewer system at the time, the best pitcher in the system, a capable MLB SS, and one of two 5 tool prospects at the time of the trade in Cain. While Jeffress who's still just 24 hasn't made an impact and Cain hasn't been able to get past the injury bug, Escobar and Odorizzi have been everything KC could have hoped for if not more. Based on just Escobar and Odorizzi KC has to feel pretty good about the deal and call me a homer but I still like Cain to be productive MLB CF for years.

I didn't see this posted anywhere yet but may have missed it on the draft forum. BA Draft Chat

I do understand that Aoki hit 2 HRs the other day, but our OF OPS is going to be terrible playing 2 CFs every day and Hart at first base, especially with Braun being continually nicked up and missing games here and there. I realize that Nyjer and Carlos currently have different lines but Morgan has a career .710 OPS, Gomez has a career .650 OPS, and if Aoki can sustain his .846 OPS that would be great but looking at his swing I'd peg him around the low .800s which is awesome in CF and pretty average in either corner. If we're talking short term I don't have a problem with Aoki in RF but if I'm building a team I'd like to move him back to CF and hopefully slide Gamel back into 1B.

This has bearing on Huntsville so I thought I'd share considering the streak he's on, Evan Anundsen gets a mention in the middle. Also "The Incredible Hultz" isn't as T-Shirt worthy as "Downhill Thunder" but it's a decent enough nickname. Hultzen continues dominant stretch Mariners prospect strikes out eight, extends scoreless streak By Jonathan Raymond http://www.milb.com/images/2012/06/08/gnuhEEYO.jpg Danny Hultzen leads the Southern League with a 1.28 ERA and 75 strikeouts. (John Shadrick) At the University of Virginia, Danny Hultzen and his teammates had a saying: "Comfort is your enemy." At Double-A Jackson, he's beginning to stretch its limits. The Mariners' top prospect allowed two hits and struck out eight over eight innings Friday as the Generals edged the Jacksonville Suns, 1-0. It was Hultzen's third straight scoreless start and extended his shutout streak to 21 2/3 innings. Still, he wants to stress he hasn't grown complacent. "We had that saying in college, 'Comfort was your enemy.' Just stay hungry, never get comfortable," the 22-year-old left-hander said. "When you get comfortable, you get lackadaisical, get away from what's been working." Southern League opponents haven't offered anything to divert Hultzen (7-3) from what's been working. After Friday's outing, the second overall selection in last year's Draft leads the league with a 1.28 ERA and 75 strikeouts against 31 walks over 70 1/3 innings. His ERA is 40 points lower than Trevor Bauer's before the D-backs prospect was promoted to Triple-A and a full run better than Huntsville's Evan Anundsen, who ranks third. The only challenge that may be left for Hultzen at Double-A is whether he can get his ERA below 1.00. "Watching some of these hitters throughout the league, some of them are really, really good, so you have to be on your game," he said. "It's not that hard to stay hungry because of how good some of them are." It's not hard to envision a scenario in which Hultzen follows Bauer to the Pacific Coast League or makes it all the way up to Seattle. For now, however, that kind of thinking is more of a distraction for MLB.com's No. 13 overall prospect. "I haven't really thought about [a promotion] like that," he said. "I just go out and pitch, and the rest will take care of itself. I've been trying to avoid that kind of thinking. "I feel good about how I've done, but I've been walking too many people, and that's one of the big things I need to work on." Following Friday's game, the Generals' official Twitter referred to Hultzen as "The Incredible Hultz." "Seen that before, had that in college," he said. "It's pretty cool to have that." Mariners' No. 8 prospect Carter Capps, picked up his seventh save by striking out two ina perfect ninth. Denny Almonte doubled home No. 3 prospect Nick Franklin with the game's lone run in the first inning.

Cingrani notches first Double-A win Reds prospect strikes out nine over six shutout innings By Robert Emrich / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/06/09/DwzQ2Xi4.jpg Tony Cingrani is tied for sixth in the Minor Leagues with 86 strikeouts. (Chris Nelson) Eight words changed things for Tony Cingrani on Friday. Those eight words could be the key to getting him to Triple-A and beyond. The Reds' No. 11 prospect recorded nine strikeouts and gave up five hits over six innings for his first Double-A win as the Pensacola Blue Wahoos blanked the Birmingham Barons, 3-0. Cingrani was on his game early, recording six of his first nine outs via strikeouts. He walked two while throwing 59 of 99 pitches for strikes in his second Southern League start. "I was throwing the fastball in and out [of the zone] and I found my slider tonight," Cingrani said. A third-round pick in last year's Draft, he credited Blue Wahoos pitching Tom Brown for helping him with his slider during a bullpen session earlier this week, saying the advice helped him "tremendously." "Brown said one phrase to me and it made my slider start working how it's supposed to work," Cingrani said. "'Come across my face when I throw it.' It was crazy. I've never had command of my slider and today, I didn't throw it in the zone for a strike, but it had the action. It was a good two-strike pitch." Cingrani heaped praise on his teammates for helping him notch his first win since being promoted from Class A Advanced Bakersfield. "I'm pretty happy, everybody played well," the 22-year-old left-hander said. "[Ryan] LaMarre made a nice catch in the outfield and [shortstop] Didi [Gregorious] in the sixth made a nice play to save a run, it was pretty nice." Overall, Cingrani is 6-1 with a 1.17 ERA in 12 starts across two levels. He's struck out 85 batters over 69 1/3 innings while limiting opponents to a .194 average. So it comes as no surprise when the Illinois native said he's feeling "pretty confident" right now. "I always have confidence when I go out there," Cingrani said. "I think I'm better than the hitter every time I go out there. I just throw strikes and go after them." Asked what he needs to work on to continue climbing the ladder in the Reds organization, he said, "Just my command of the slider and that's pretty much it. Just keep throwing my fastball the way I've been throwing it and I should be good." Justin Freeman fanned four and allowed a hit over two innings before Drew Hayes tossed a hitless ninth for his first save. Brodie Greene went 3-for-4 with a homer and two runs scored for the Blue Wahoos.

While I'm extremely happy for them I feel the sting of regret that both players got away for nothing. I'm not sure Luetge has all that much of a future but I guess that's a reflection of how far we've come, our cast off players are having MLB success elsewhere. Paying K-Rod $8mil to fill a role that Wilhelmsen could be filling for 480K really sticks in my craw, why exactly did we let him go the 2nd time without an appearance? I was thinking about the MLB bullpen the other day so I checked in on Rob Bryson too just see how he was doing, his ERA and K rates are still nice and shiny but his BB rate has spiked over 7 for whatever reason, he's never made it out of AA for Cleveland but still seems to have health problems. Obviously with Odorizzi he's been really easy to keep tabs on considering BA and MiLB seem to have an article or blog post about him every 5th day and he's been on the Hot Sheet just about every week. A couple of weeks ago I happened to catch Brantley robbing someone of a HR, I didn't even realize it was him until the reverse camera angle showed the back of his jersey. I forget who Cleveland was playing but they're a favorite of mine for personal reasons so when I come across them playing a game and the Brewers aren't on I'll watch. In this case I was out with the other coaches and our trainer at my brother's restaurant for wings so there was no sound, but when he came up to bat I saw he was having a nice season, I'm happy he's having success as well. I also checked in on LaPorta last week even though I never got attached to him, he's still tearing up AAA, his OPS is over 1 so far this season and his career MiLB OPS is .964. Actually, I think he was listed in one of the AAA round posts on MiLB.com and that's where I saw it... whatever the case for Cleveland's sake I hope he figures out how to be more selective in MLB because there's really no reason he shouldn't be able to hit MLB pitching. If people would like me to post updates on our alumni in the minors I certainly can as I do keep tabs and check on them occasionally, I don't quit rooting for guys just because they got traded. I just haven't been posting anything (or very little in Odorizzi's case) about them because of my well known stance in opposition of Melvin's trading policies, I didn't want to appear to be forcing an agenda down everyone's throat.

My thought I'm shocked at how many draft picks around baseball have signed already, including 1st rounders. The slotting has worked way better than I had hoped.

Schafer has a pretty respectable OPS for a CF, shave maybe 40 points off that when he bumps up to MLB and he's still about league average for his position. He does make Morgan completely redundant, having 3CFs on the MLB roster and 1 with nothing left to prove in AAA seems like a waste of resources. Schafer is 25 and will be 26 in Sept, it's not like he needs more MiLB seasoning...

Final: Wisconsin 7, Clinton 4 Miller time for the Timber Rattlers By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers offense scored six times in the second inning and starting pitcher Matt Miller ran with that lead to a 7-4 victory over the Clinton LumberKings Friday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Miller went 8-1/3 innings, struck out five, and sprinkled eight hits in his longest outing as a professional. The Rattlers (38-23) took the lead with an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning. Max Walla struck out, but reached on a dropped third strike. Jason Rogers followed with a double to move Walla to third base. Nick Ramirez drove in Walla with a sacrifice fly to left field. Miller retired the first two batters in the top of the second inning. But, a single by Mike Dowd extended the inning for Clinton (23-38). A passed ball got Dowd into scoring position. Then, Dillon Hazlett drove in Dowd with a single to tie the game. The next two LumberKings batters reached on a single and a walk to load the bases, but Miller escaped without another run scoring when he got Nate Melendres to ground back to the mound to end the inning. Ben McMahan got the Rattlers rolling in the bottom of the second inning. He singled in his first at bat after being activated off the disabled list earlier on Friday night. An errant pickoff throw sent McMahan around to third base. After Clinton starter Trevor Miller got the first out, a walk to Rafael Neda and a bunt single by Chadwin Stang loaded the bases. Brandon Macias put the Rattlers in front with an infield single to score McMahan and keep the bases loaded. Walla was next and his two-run single to left-center put the Rattlers up 4-1. Rogers kept the pressure on with an RBI single. Ramirez finished the scoring in the inning with a two-run double for a 7-1 lead. Miller went into cruise control with the big lead. He retired the side in order in the third and fourth innings. He allowed base runners in the fifth and sixth innings, but both were erased on double plays. Miller was under 90 pitches through eight inning and came back out to try for a complete game. The right-hander out of the University of Michigan retired the first batter of the top of the ninth inning, but gave up a single and a double to the next two hitters and was removed from the game. Dowd greeted Rattlers reliever Stephen Peterson with a home run to left-center to make the score 7-4. Peterson would finish the game without allowing any more runs for the LumberKings. The Timber Rattlers maintained their two game lead atop the Western Division over the Beloit Snappers. Wisconsin also held their five game lead for the second playoff spot in the division over the Kane County Cougars. Kane County beat Quad Cities 4-1 at home and Beloit shutout Burlington 7-0 on the road. There are nine games left in the first half. Wisconsin starts a big three game series with the Beloit Snappers at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium on Saturday night at 6:35pm. Drew Gagnon (4-1, 2.92) is the scheduled starter for the Timber Rattlers. Beloit has Tyler Jones (0-1, 1.38) as their scheduled starting pitcher. This pitching matchup is a rematch of a game at Pohlman Field in Beloit on June 3. The Rattlers won that game 3-1 as Gagnon allowed one run over eight innings. Jones gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits over six innings. Saturday night is Star Wars ™ Night at the ballpark. Movie characters from the Wisconsin Garrison will be on hand to throw out a first pitch and pose for pictures. A silent auction for the special Star Wars ™ jerseys worn by the players during the game will be held with proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It's also a Fly Away Saturday, which means that one lucky fan will win charter airfare for two from Funjet Vacations and Fox World Travel at this game. There will also be a postgame fireworks display. If you can't make it out to the game, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. Saturday's game is also available to MiLB.TV subscribers. HOME RUN: CLN: Mike Dowd (1st, 2 on in 9th inning off Stephen Peterson, 1 out) WP: Matt Miller (4-5),br> LP: Trevor Miller (3-4) TIME: 2:26 ATTN: 4,291 Wisconsin Box Score Matt Miller's line looked a heck of a lot better before that HR which Stephen Peterson gave up in the 9th but 3 runs over 8+ is still pretty darn good. Apparently young Mr. Peterson was pretty down in the dumps about how badly the Celtics were destroyed yesterday so I blame Boston for the gopher ball Stephen gave up. Matt's final line 8.1IP, 8H, 3ER, 2BB, and a Balk against 5SO. Speaking of the Balk, it's been a bit of an epidemic for lately for Rattler pitchers, most of the balks have been hotly contested like Jacob Barnes' from the other night (which didn't look at all like a balk to me) so I haven't mentioned it because it's tough to get a read on what's going on. I will say that I'm certain the opposing managers are making the T-Rat pick off moves a point of emphasis with the umpires. On the offensive side of the coin the Rattlers pounded out 11 hits with Jason Rogers 2-4 with a double, Ben McMahan 2-4 with a SB, Rafeal Neda 2-3, and Chadwin Stang 2-4 all collecting multiple hits. Nick Ramirez also had that big double to top off the 2nd as mentioned above. Unfortunately Neda had his 3rd PB of the season and I say it's unfortunate because he's done some tremendous work back there given how beat up he's been. Wisconsin Play By Play The 6R 2nd again because it was so much fun to listen to. Wisconsin Bottom of the 2nd Ben McMahan singles on a line drive to left fielder Nathan Melendres. With Yadiel Rivera batting, throwing error by Trevor Miller on the pickoff attempt, Ben McMahan to 3rd. Yadiel Rivera grounds out, shortstop Anthony Phillips to first baseman Ji-Man Choi. Rafael Neda walks. Chadwin Stang singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Trevor Miller. Rafael Neda to 2nd. Brandon Macias singles on a ground ball to third baseman Ramon Morla. Ben McMahan scores. Rafael Neda to 3rd. Chadwin Stang to 2nd. Max Walla singles on a line drive to center fielder Jamal Austin. Rafael Neda scores. Chadwin Stang scores. Brandon Macias to 3rd. Jason Rogers singles on a line drive to center fielder Jamal Austin. Brandon Macias scores. Max Walla to 2nd. Nick Ramirez doubles (8) on a line drive to center fielder Jamal Austin. Max Walla scores. Jason Rogers scores. Gregory Hopkins flies out to right fielder Jabari Blash. Ben McMahan flies out softly to center fielder Jamal Austin. * Star Wars night tomorrow TLB! Unfortunately I'll miss it for the 2nd year in a row because of a lame graduation party.