MWL1 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

Salas sails Rattlers to 8-3 win at Clinton

August 20, 2014 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers News Release


CLINTON, IA - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers needed a strong start from Javier Salas on Wednesday night against the Clinton LumberKings. The got one as the Rattlers beat Clinton 8-3 at Ashford University Field. Salas set new single game highs as a professional for innings pitched and strikeouts to help the Rattlers get a much needed victory in their playoff push.

The Timber Rattlers (67-60 overall, 31-27 second half) scored first, something they had not done in their previous six games. Omar Garcia started the game with a single and was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Chris McFarland. Michael Ratterree followed with a single to put runners at the corners. David Denson hit a high chopper to first off home plate. Denson was out at first, but the high bounce allowed Garcia to score and Ratterree to take second. Clint Coulter followed with a line drive double to the wall in left to drive in Ratterree for a 2-0 lead.

Wisconsin doubled their lead with two runs in the top of the second. Rafael Neda walked and Angel Ortega reached on a bunt single. Jose Pena moved the runners into scoring position. Then, Garcia singled to score Neda. An errant pickoff throw to by Jose Flores allowed Ortega to score for the 4-0 advantage.

The Rattlers added a run in the top of the third as Denson and Coulter both singled to start the inning. Flores was injured on a pitch to Matos and left the game. Reliever Ricardo Pereira took over and Matos bunted both runners into scoring position. Neda hit a fly ball to left that was deep enough to score Denson for a sacrifice fly and a 5-0 lead.

Clinton (56-70, 26-32) got to Salas in the bottom of the third. Luis Caballero reached on a double with one out. Brett Thomas singled with two outs to knock in Caballero to make it 5-1.

But, the Rattlers came back with a run in the fifth. Ratterree started the inning with a double and went to third on a grounder to the right side by Denson. The LumberKings brought the infield in with Coulter at the plate and Caballero made a diving stop at short on a hard grounder. However, Caballero's only play was to first as Ratterree scored and Wisconsin was up 6-1.

That run in the third inning was the only run the LumberKings would get off Salas in the game. The right-hander, a tenth round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2014 draft out of the University of Miami, allowed five hits, walked one, and struck out six to earn his first professional win.

Clinton would score twice in the bottom of the eighth inning against Chris Razo, who walked the first two batters of the inning before giving up a two-out, two-run double to Joe DeCarlo.

The Rattlers tacked on a couple of runs in the top of the ninth. McFarland drove in Pena with a single after Garcia had bunted Pena to third with Wisconsin's fourth sacrifice bunt of the night. Coulter earned his third RBI of the evening with a two-out single to knock in McFarland.

Razo pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to close out Clinton.

In the second half Western Division Wild Card chase, the Rattlers maintained their three game lead over the Peoria Chiefs and their four game lead over the Quad Cities River Bandits. Both the Chiefs and the River Bandits won on Wednesday night. Wisconsin pushed the LumberKings five games back in the Wild Card standings with twelve games to play.

The Timber Rattlers continue their road trip with game one of a huge series with playoff implications at Peoria on Thursday night. Tristan Archer (6-5, 3.67) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Peoria has named Rob Kaminsky (6-2, 1.83) as their starting pitcher. Game time is 6:30pm at Dozer Park. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or IHeartRadio starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:10pm.

Check out the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Statistics



Midwest League Stories from August 20, 2014


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