Lucky Thirteen for the Rattlers
GRAND CHUTE, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers bats broke out in support of another sterling Stevin Cruz start with their biggest offensive output of the second half to beat the Lansing Lugnuts 13-5. Cruz was a bad break away from six no-hit innings and Ethan Murray went 3-for-3 with
GRAND CHUTE, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers bats broke out in support of another sterling Stevin Cruz start with their biggest offensive output of the second half to beat the Lansing Lugnuts 13-5. Cruz was a bad break away from six no-hit innings and Ethan Murray went 3-for-3 with five RBI to pace Wisconsin to the win on a picture-perfect Wednesday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.
Click here for the boxscore of this game
The first three Timber Rattlers to bat in the bottom of the second inning reached base. Eduardo García singled, Tayden Hall doubled, and Jose Acosta walked. Murray drove all three of his teammates in when he lined a 3-2 pitch off the top of the wall in left field for a double.
BASES LOADED 3-run double w/ play at the plate! 🚨 @1Emurray1 delivers 💪
— Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (@TimberRattlers) August 24, 2022
Top 3
🔩: 0
🐍: 3 pic.twitter.com/1MrDDiKHH4
The same trio of batters reached with two outs in the bottom of the third. García singled, Hall was hit by a pitch, and Acosta walked. Murray drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch and Wisconsin (60-55 overall, 24-26 second half) was up 4-0.
Ben Metzinger gave the Timber Rattlers a 5-0 lead with a long, solo home run to center in the fourth.
Metzinger MASHES a #homerun to straight away center. Watch out camera guy! 🎥👀 #tratnation #timberrattlers @benmetzinger2
— Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (@TimberRattlers) August 24, 2022
Top 5
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🐍: 5 pic.twitter.com/jPlelN4KAM
Lansing (47-69, 22-28) got their only hit off Cruz on a fluke. Gabriel Maciel sent a high fly to left that Reidy Mercado lost in the Sun. The ball dropped to the left of Mercado for a double. That was Lansing’s only hit off Cruz, who pitched six shutout innings, walked one, hit a batter, and struck out seven over six scoreless innings.
Cruz also allowed one hit over six innings in his Timber Rattlers debut, a start at Cedar Rapids on August 18. Unfortunately, that hit was a solo home run and the Timber Rattlers offense failed to score in a 1-0 loss to the Kernels. That was not the case on Wednesday, but the situation grew dicey after Cruz left the game.
The Lugnuts offense got on the scoreboard with a little help from Wisconsin in the top of the seventh inning. A single and a walk by Jeison Peña to the first two batters he faced set the table. Cooper Bowman sent a grounder to first that was missed by Hall to allow a run to score and a throw into third from Acosta skipped to the sidewall to let Bowman take second base. Sahid Valenzuela got the second run of the inning home with a grounder to the right side. Then, Peña walked the next batter to bring the tying run to the plate.
Taylor Floyd was called out of the Wisconsin bullpen and stranded both runners with a strikeout and a flyout to right to keep the Rattlers up 5-2.
Wisconsin boosted their lead with five unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh. Hall, who had two hits on the afternoon, singled with one out against Mac Lardner. The Lugnuts went to the bullpen for Brock Whittlesey to face Acosta and got a fly ball to left that was dropped by Armenteros to put runners on second and third. Murray knocked in Hall with a sacrifice fly.
Reidy Mercado singled to knock in Acosta. Then, Jace Peterson drew a walk. Metzinger singled to drive in Mercado. Wes Clarke capped the inning with a two-run double and the Rattlers were up 10-2, but they weren’t done yet.
García started the bottom of the eighth with a long home run that hit the upper left corner of the videoboard for his third homer since his promotion from Carolina. Mercado drove another run with a single. Zack Raabe drove in Wisconsin’s final run of the game. Raabe pinch-hit for Peterson in the eighth and drove in Murray with an RBI grounder.
Garcia gets ALL of this one! The scoring party continues 🎉#homerun #tratnation #timberrattlers
— Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (@TimberRattlers) August 24, 2022
Top 9
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🐍: 13 pic.twitter.com/pK9PoCoptq
Joey Matulovich pitched a scoreless ninth for the Rattlers and Wisconsin broke its three-game losing streak.
Peterson went 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a run scored as the designated hitter for the Timber Rattlers on Wednesday afternoon. He is 2-for-6 with two doubles in the first two games of his rehab assignment from the Milwaukee Brewers.
Wednesday marked the first time the Rattlers have reached double digits in the run column since July 8. It was the first time Wisconsin reached double digits at home since they beat Cedar Rapids 12-9 on July.
Game three of the series is Thursday night. Brady Schanuel (0-1, 3.50) has been named as the starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Joey Estes (2-6, 5.30) is set to start for the Lugnuts. Game time is 6:40pm.
The first 1,000 fans to attend this game will receive a bobblehead of Whiffer from Engage Orthodontics. The Timber Rattlers mascot is dressed and ready to go on a Dinosaur Safari on Dinosaur Night at the ballpark. There will be other prehistoric surprises and fun for fans, too. Once you are in the ballpark enjoy a Craft Brews & Brats Night from Fox River Brewing Company and The Score. Fans of legal drinking age may purchase 16-ounce craft beer for $3. All fans can purchase a Cher-Make brat for $2.
If you can’t make it out to the ballpark, the radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM and internet audio starting at 6:20pm. The game is also available on MiLB.tv for subscribers.