Top Five Tuesday: Scooter Gennett games as a Rattler
For the next few weeks, Top Five Tuesday is going to take a look at the best games of Timber Rattlers players who are going to be part of the 2014 Bobblehead Series.
To kick off the series, here are the Top Five games by Scooter Gennett from the 2010 season.
Honorable Mention:
Game two of the doubleheader on May 11 at Quad Cities. Gennett had just one hit, but it was a grand slam homer. That's pretty good. But, it's not in the top five.
5.) June 28 vs. Quad Cities: Gennett went 3-for-7 in a 14-inning game at home against the River Bandits. He had a pair of doubles and scored a run. This was the fourth game of the second half and Scooter had a four-game hitting streak in which he was 7-for-19.
4.) June 5 at Lake County: This day started with the conclusion of a suspended game from June 4, an eleven-inning game in which Gennett went 0-for-3 with three walks and three strikeouts. In the regularly scheduled game, Gennett went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI. But, first…the game started with Lake County scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Gennett put Wisconsin on the board in the third inning with a two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded. He came to the plate with the Rattlers down 4-3, two outs, and none on in the top of the fifth and doubled. In the seventh, Gennett singled to drive in D'Vontrey Richardson to make the score 7-4. Gennett would steal second, but was left stranded.
3.) July 3 at Burlington: This was a 14-inning game and Gennett was 3-for-6 with a homer, a double, a stolen base, two RBI, and an intentional walk. He doubled in the first, singled and stole second in the fourth, and hit a two-run home run in the sixth. His homer in the sixth got the Rattlers to within 4-3. In the twelfth inning, Richardson drew a leadoff walk and went to second on a wild pitch. That was when Burlington decided to intentionally walk Gennett. In the fourteenth, Richardson singled to start the inning, but was picked off and Gennett popped out for the second out of the inning. He would not get another chance. This also happened to be the ninth game in Gennett's 9-game hitting streak. His hitting streak would end at fourteen games.
2.) May 2 at Beloit: Gennett was 3-for-5 with a single, a double, a home run, two runs, and three RBI at Pohlman Field. He was retired in his first two plate appearances. In the sixth - with the Rattlers down 2-0 - Scooter doubled to knock in a run, but he was thrown out trying to go for his first triple of the season. He came back to the plate in the seventh with a runner on first, two out, and the Rattlers up 3-2. Gennett launched his first home run of the season to make it 5-2. In his final at bat of this game, Gennett singled in the ninth. He scored the final run of the Rattlers 8-3 win.
1.) August 16 vs. Cedar Rapids: Gennett went 4-for-6 with a homer, two runs, and two RBI. The night before this game he had a rare day out of the lineup. Gennett had gone 0-for-5 on August 14 and was in a 1-for-13 slump that saw his average drop from .322 to .314. The dry streak reached 1-for-14 - and hitless in his last nine at bats - after he grounded out to second in the first inning of the game on August 16. He ended his slump with a two-run home run in the second inning to give the Rattlers a 4-0 lead. He followed that with singles in the fourth, sixth, and seventh innings. The home run in the second inning was his ninth and final homer of the 2010 season.
One last thing: I was looking through all of Gennett's games from that 2010 to make this list and there was a stat that jumped out to me. Even though it is a small sample size, I just want to share it here for those inclined to stats. He had eight at bats with the bases loaded that season. He went 6-for-8 (.750) with three doubles, a home run, and no strikeouts. Gennett had 15 RBI in bases loaded situations during 2010…He drove in 55 runs during the entire season. I leave it to you to figure out his slugging percentage and his OPS with the bases loaded that season.