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Wichita Wingnuts Game Notes - June 11th, 2013

June 11, 2013 - American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release


GOLDEYES COMEBACK ON WINGNUTS: The Wichita Wingnuts lost 7-6 to the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the opener of a three-game series on Monday night. Wichita built a 5-1 lead in the fifth inning behind three RBI from CJ Ziegler and a two-run homer from Abel Nieves. Ziegler hit a solo home run in the fifth which tied Ryan Patterson's franchise mark of 26. Winnipeg's Casey Haerther tied the game with a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth. David Amberson homered in the sixth to put Wichita back in front before Haerther tied the game again in the bottom of the seventh. Haerther drove in the winning run with a bases loaded single in the bottom of the ninth. Junior Guerra took a no-decision for Wichita, allowing five earned runs on five hits in 6.0 IP. Amberson finished with three hits, and his homer in the sixth marked the first of his professional career. Daniel Bennett struck out the side in order in the eighth during 1.2 scoreless relief innings.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE GOLDEYES: The Wingnuts are 4-6 all-time against the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the regular season, including a 3-4 mark at Shaw Park. The Goldeyes beat the Wingnuts in last year's American Association Championship Series three games to none. It marked Winnipeg's first championship in 18 years since winning the Northern League title during their inaugural season in 1994. The Goldeyes have posted a winning record in 17 of 19 seasons, made the playoffs in 16 of them, and reached their league's championship series eight times. The Goldeyes made seven appearances in the Northern League Championship Series during a 10-year span from 1994-2003. Winnipeg is in its third season in the American Association after spending 17 years in the Northern League. Rick Forney is in his eighth season as Goldeyes' manager, and pitched four seasons for Winnipeg from 1997-2000. Forney was 89-56 with a 3.63 ERA in 10 professional seasons.

SERIES MATCHUP: The Wingnuts are 15-8 and lead the Lincoln Saltdogs by 2.5 games in the Central Division. The Wingnuts split a rain-shortened two-game series at St. Paul. The Goldeyes are 13-11 and in second place in the North Division, 0.5 game behind the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. Winnipeg was just swept in a three-game series at Fargo-Moorhead. The Wingnuts are tied for first in the league in batting (.291), first in pitching (3.26), and third in fielding (.978). The Goldeyes are fourth in hitting (.282), fourth in pitching (3.84), and ninth in defense (.969).

TONIGHT'S STARTERS: The Wingnuts go with right-hander Jon Link who is 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA in five starts. Link ranks fourth in the American Association in ERA. Link earned a win last Thursday vs. El Paso, allowing no runs on six hits in 6.2 IP. Link is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA on the road this season in two starts. Link has allowed two or fewer earned runs in four of five starts, and has not allowed more than four earned runs in any of them. Link has pitched at least 6.0 innings in five of five starts. Link has walked two or fewer batters in four of five starts.

Link split time with the Miami Marlins' and Baltimore Orioles' organizations last year, going 3-2 with 11 saves and a 2.78 ERA in 32 relief appearances at the Double- and Triple-A levels. Link struck out 28 and walked 13 in 35.2 innings. Link appeared in nine games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2010, totaling 8.2 IP. Link was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 26th round in 2005 out of Bluefield College. Link was the first Bluefield alumnus to reach the Major Leagues. Link entered 2013 with a 25-21 record with 93 saves and a 3.82 ERA in his career, and has reached double digits in saves in five different professional seasons. Prior to this season, Link had made nine career starts, the last of which came on April 13th, 2011 as a member of the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes (Los Angeles Dodgers).

The Goldeyes go with right-hander Matthew Rusch who is 4-1 with a 2.05 ERA in five starts. Rusch is third in the league in ERA. Rusch earned a win at Sioux Falls last Friday, allowing one earned run on eight hits in 7.2 IP. Rusch is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA in two starts at Shaw Park this season. Rusch has allowed three or fewer earned runs in five of five starts this season. Rusch has pitched at least 6.0 innings in four of five starts, and has pitched at least 5.0 innings in all of them. Rusch has walked two or fewer batters in five of five starts. Including the postseason, Rusch is 5-2 with a 2.27 ERA in 11 career starts at Shaw Park over the last two seasons.

Rusch was 10-4 for the Goldeyes last season in 21 starts and ranked first in the American Association in ERA (2.40) and tied for first in strikeouts (113). Rusch won the clinching game in both of Winnipeg's playoff series last year, including Game Three of the American Association Championship Series at Wichita. Rusch allowed three or fewer earned runs in 18 of 21 starts last season, and allowed more than four earned runs in a start in just one of them. Rusch walked two or fewer batters in 18 of 21 starts, and walked more than three batters in a start just once. Rusch pitched at least 6.0 innings in 18 of 21 starts, and pitched at least 5.0 innings in all of them.

Rusch is 54-26 in nine professional seasons with eight saves and a 3.21 ERA in 242 games, 69 of them starts. Rusch signed with the Detroit Tigers as a non-drafted free agent in 2005 out of Columbia-Greene Community College in Hudson, NY. Rusch reached Triple-A Toldeo twice while with the Tigers, and also spent parts of three seasons at the Double-A level. Rusch has averaged 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings against only 1.9 walks in 721.0 career frames.

ZIEGLER TIES FRANCHISE RECORD: Wingnuts' first baseman CJ Ziegler hit his eighth home run of the season on June 10th at Winnipeg. It was his 26th home run in a Wingnuts' uniform over the last two years, tying him with Ryan Patterson for the most in franchise history.

RAINOUT NOTES: Sunday's postponement at St. Paul was the Wingnuts' first of the season. Wichita's last rainout was on August 23rd, 2012 at El Paso, which was the Wingnuts' first (home or away) since August 8th, 2010. Including the postseason, the Wingnuts had gone 212 consecutive games without the full postponement of a game.

WINGNUTS SIGN KLIPP: The Wingnuts signed right-handed pitcher Justin Klipp on Sunday. Klipp was scheduled to start the series finale at St. Paul. Klipp was acquired from the United League's Edinburg Roadrunners in exchange for cash. Klipp was 2-1 with a 1.24 ERA for Edinburg, striking out 36 batters in 21.1 IP. Klipp is a 28-year-old true rookie who was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 22nd round in 2007 out of Cal State Fullerton, but did not pitch due to a back injury.

'AMBO' ROLLING: Wingnuts' rookie right fielder David Amberson has hit safely in 10 games in a row (15 for 34, .441). Amberson is also 19 for 43 (.442) over his last 13 games with nine runs scored and nine RBI.

ABEL HEATING UP: Wingnuts' third baseman Abel Nieves is 19 for 58 (.328) in his last 17 games with 13 runs scored and 14 walks. Nieves hit .320 for the Joliet Slammers last year, which ranked second in the Frontier League. On May 27th vs. Amarillo, Nieves picked up the 500th hit of his professional career.

PITCHING STRONG: The Wingnuts rank first in the American Association with a 3.26 team ERA. The Wingnuts ranked first in ERA in 2009 and 2010 while finishing third in 2011.

SWINGING STRONG: The Wingnuts rank tied for first in the American Association with a .291 team batting average. Over the last two seasons, the Wingnuts have finished first and second respectively in the league batting race.

500 FOR CAPRA: Wingnuts' left-hander Anthony Capra struck out five batters on Tuesday, June 4th vs. El Paso. Capra's third strikeout during the start was the 500th of his professional career. The former Shocker fanned 170 between two levels of the Oakland Athletics' farm system in 2009 en route to being named their Organizational Pitcher of the Year.

HINSON CLIMBING THE RANKS: Ryan Hinson won his 23rd game in a Wingnuts' uniform on June 8th at St. Paul. Hinson ranks second all-time in team history in victories, and trails Derek Blacksher (2009, 2011-12) for first place (26 wins). Hinson's 206 strikeouts rank second all-time, and are 12 shy of tying Blacksher for first place.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Wingnuts are 160-96 (.625) all-time at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. It is the highest home winning percentage for any American Association team since the Wingnuts began play in 2008.

FRONT LINERS PROTECTING THE HOME FRONT: Third-year Wingnuts' starter Ryan Hinson has excelled when pitching at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Including the postseason, Hinson is 14-6 with a 3.35 ERA (59 ER, 158.1 IP) over 24 starts and two relief appearances. Junior Guerra-who is in his second overall season with the Wingnuts-is 8-2 with a 2.78 ERA (30 ER, 97.0 IP) all-time at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in 14 starts.

FAMILIAR FACES: Nine players return from the Wingnuts' 2012 team that reached the American Association Championship Series. They include SS Ryan Khoury, 2B Jake Kahaulelio, DH John Rodriguez, 1B CJ Ziegler, CF Jared McDonald, LHP Ryan Hinson, LHP Anthony Capra, RHP Josh Dew, and LHP Nick Walters. RHP Junior Guerra, who starred for the Wingnuts in 2011, has also returned for 2013.

RETIREMENTS: Five players from last year's team have opted to retire from professional baseball. They include OF Mike Conroy, RHP Jared Simon, RHP James Baker, C Jessie Mier, and OF Steve Stanley.

ALL HE DOES IS WIN: Wingnuts' fifth-year manager Kevin Hooper is 237-178 (.571) since taking over in 2009. Hooper has guided the Wingnuts to four consecutive winning seasons, as well as three playoff berths. Hooper's .571 winning percentage is the highest among American Association managers over the last five years. His 237 wins are tied for first with Fargo-Moorhead's Doug Simunic during that same stretch. During his 10-year playing career, Hooper was a member of a team that made the playoffs in eight different seasons. Hooper was also a member of Wichita State University's College World Series team in 1996. The Shockers reached the NCAA tournament in all four of Hooper's collegiate seasons, and posted a composite .815 winning percentage.

ALUMNI REPORT: RHP Matt Nevarez (2011-12) has a 2.31 ERA for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay) with 13 strikeouts in 11.2 IP. RHP James Hoyt (2012) has a 4.75 ERA for the High-A Carolina League's Lynchburg Hillcats (Atlanta) with 69 strikeouts and just 35 hits allowed in 47.1 IP. RHP Andrew Aizenstadt (2012) is currently in extended spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies' organization. LHP and Wingnuts' co-owner Nate Robertson (2012) has a 2.81 ERA in 25.2 IP for the Triple-A Pacific Coast League's Round Rock Express (Texas). Outfielder Brent Clevlen (2011) hit .223 with four home runs and 17 RBI in 38 games for the Double-A Mobile Bay Bears (Arizona) before a mid-season promotion to Triple-A Reno.



American Association Stories from June 11, 2013


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