High Desert Mavericks game notes for 6/8/2008
(courtesy Alex Freedman, High Desert Mavericks)
In case you missed it…
For the first time this season, the Mavs lost in extra innings, falling
6-5 in 11 against Modesto Wednesday night. The Nuts loaded the bases
with none out in the 11th. David Asher got Mike Paulk to pop out to
shallow center for the first out, keeping the winning run at third.
Victor Ferrante was down in the count at 0-2, but delivered a single up
the middle to bring home Travis Becktel. It was redemption for
Ferrante, who came up in the same situation in the ninth. With the
bases loaded and one out, he grounded into an inning ending double
play, sending the game to extras. The Mavs had plenty of chances to
take a late lead, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position with one
out in each of the last three innings. They even loaded the bases with
two outs in the 11th, but Greg Halman lined out to short to end the
inning. The Mavs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single
by Carlos Peguero and made it 2-0 in the third when Tyson Gillies
scored on a wild pitch. In the fourth they added two more on a solo
homer by Peguero and an RBI single by Travis Scott. Modesto scored its
first run of the game in the fourth when Matt Repec delivered a two-out
RBI single to make it 4-1. The Mavs answered with one in the fifth on
yet another RBI single by Peguero, but he committed a baserunning error
and was taken out of the ballgame. The Nuts staged a huge four-run
rally in the fifth, as every hitter worked Anthony Varvaro deep into
the count. Paulk had a two-run double to pull Modesto within one and
Repec connected on another two-out RBI single to tie it. David Patton
(1-1) earned the win by getting in and out of trouble in the top of the
11th. Asher (2-1), in a rare case of being used for multiple innings,
got the loss.
Getting To Know…Alfredo Venegas (3-3, 4.25 ERA)
Venegas will immediately follow Anderson Garcia who will pitch 3-4
innings
Last Time Out: 4 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K @ MOD, 6/1 (L)
After walking only one batter through his first 25.1 IP, he has walked
7 in his last 10.2…however, is he averaging better than one
strikeout per inning, with 37 in 36 IP
Has pitched well in the hitter-friendly High Desert, going 2-2 with a
2.78 ERA in 5 app.
Traditionally a starter, he has had to piggyback various pitchers this
season…ERA is 4.91 out of the bullpen, opposed to just 3.21
as a starter
From Guayaquil, Ecuador, the largest city in the country
Against the Storm…
2008 Record: 4-5 Home/Road: 2-1/2-3
2007 Record: 10-13 Home/Road: 6-6/4-7
Next Series: June 13-15 @ Lake Elsinore
Total Games: 28 (13 H/15 R)
The last time the Mavs played the Storm, it was a rather forgettable
game. Despite having a 11-5 lead in the 7th inning, the
Quakes scored twice in the seventh and then six more times in the
eighth to win 13-11 on May 4. The game cost the Mavs a rare road series
victory as well as a share of first place.
Fact of the Day…
The Mavs are last in the league with a .224 road batting average, but
first with a .303 home average. The road woes continued on
their 2-6 road swing, hitting .212 and averaging 3 runs per
game. Without their 15 hit performance in the last game, the
Mavs hit .184 over the other 7.
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers game notes for 6/8/2008
(courtesy Chris Mehring, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers)
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers beat the Quad Cities River Bandits 4-3 in 10 innings. Gavin Dickey, who had three hits, hit a game-winning home run to lead off the bottom of the tenth inning. The Rattlers have won four straight games.
IN THE HOLE: Quad Cities scored twice in the top of the first inning off Rattler starting pitcher Juan Ramirez. A two-run single by Juan Ramirez plated both runs.
COMEBACK: The Rattlers scored single runs in the second and fifth innings to tie the game 2-2.
TWO WITH THREE: Wisconsin had a pair of hitters with three hits in the game last night. Calvin Beamon had three singles, an RBI, and a run scored. Dickey had a single, double, and home run.
BAKER’S DOZEN FOR DICKEY: The Rattlers trailed 3-2 with one out and Beamon at first base in the bottom of the eighth inning. Dickey fell behind Quad Cities reliever Josh Wilson 0-2, but worked the count to 3-2 and fouled off five pitches. On the twelfth pitch of the at bat, Dickey popped a pitch up into foul territory up the first base line, but catcher Luis De La Cruz could not make the catch. On the thirteenth pitch of the at bat, Dickey lined a double into the left field corner to drive Beamon home with the tying run.
END OF THE DROUGHT: The home run by Dickey was the first by a Rattler since Mendez hit a lead-off homer against the Peoria Chiefs on May 26. The last time a Rattler homered at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium before last night was May 17, when Scott Robinson hit a game winning homer in the bottom of the ninth to beat Kane County.
BAKER’S DOZEN FOR MENDEZ: Rattler outfielder Maximo Mendez went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks last night to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. He is 21-for-51 (.412) during the streak. The 13-game streak is the longest current hitting streak in the Midwest League.
MORE ZEROS: The Timber Rattler bullpen pitched four scoreless innings last night. Travis Mortimore (3IP) and Jake Wild (IP) have extended the Rattler pen’s scoreless streak to nine innings.
EXTRA MILE: The Rattlers are 1-1 in extra innings this season. Their prior extra inning game in 2008 was a 1-0 loss in ten innings against Burlington on May 12 at home.
SWEET SIXTEEN: The Rattlers are 12-4 in their last 16 home games.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Quad Cities River Bandits are the Midwest League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are currently 30-28 and in fourth place in the Midwest League Western Division. Both Quad Cities trails division leading Clinton by 10 games. The River Bandits are 4.5 games behind the Kane County Cougars for the first half wild card spot in the Western Division. Quad Cities is 15-16 in 31 road games this season.