Results tagged ‘ Matt Miller ’
Lucroy Not Rattled About Return To The Bigs
by Kevin Kimmes
On Thursday, Jonathan Lucroy made the all important first step on the road back to The Show, making a rehab appearance for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and sharing the kind of experienced advice with the team that only a tenured player can.
“When the guy ahead of me, (Brandon) Macias, came up with a runner on third, I was like, look, you’ve got to get something out over the plate, be patient, and hit it the other way. For me, with a runner on third and nobody out or one out, you try to get a guy to roll over. I was trying to give the guy a tip, go the other way, hit the ball up in the zone, and he did. He got the ball up in the zone and drove it.”
Lucroy’s guidance was seen on defense as well. While behind the plate, Lucroy assisted starter Matt Miller in putting together a scoreless performance through 5 innings only allowing 2 hits and a walk.
“I just tried to help him through everything, help him with little stuff: keeping his elbow up, working down in the zone. If you can do that, you’re going to be successful. As far as you go up the ladder, if you stay down with those strikes, you’re going to be successful.”
Offensively, Lucroy looked sharp going 2-3 with a single and a double.
So, what is the next step for Lucroy?
“After my first two ABs, our trainer called Pax (Jeff Paxson), who is the trainer here, and said give him another at bat and another inning behind the plate. It let me get that last AB right there. Hopefully we just continue to move up and increase in at bats. I think one day I might DH, I’m not sure. Towards the end of this home-stand, Saturday and Sunday, I’ll probably be in there for the whole game. Then, I go to Nashville after this where I’ll be catching all nine.”
And for those wondering, he has no lingering resentment towards suitcases.
“I still carry one around, but it looks at me weird some times, so I’ve got to watch it.”
More pictures below.
Splitsville: Rattlers and Bees Split First Double Header of the Year
by Kevin Kimmes
“It’s a great day for a ball game; let’s play two!” – Ernie Banks
Tonight, the Timber Rattlers did exactly that as they faced off in the season’s first double-header against the Burlington Bees (Low A Oakland Athletics). The change of schedule was brought about by inclement weather on Monday which caused the scheduled series opener to be cancelled and rescheduled as one of two 7 inning games to be played on Tuesday night.
Game 1 saw the Timber Rattlers send Matt Miller (0-3, 6.75) to the mound to face off against the Bee’s Drew Granier (2-0, 1.69) in what would be a decidedly lopsided battle. Granier would pitch all seven innings of game 1 holding the Rattlers to a single run scored in the bottom of the 5th inning when 1st baseman Greg Hopkins scored on a sacrifice fly from 2nd baseman Carlos George.
However, the damage had already been done as the Bees had stung the Rattlers for 3 runs in the top of the 5th. They would put up two more insurance runs in the top of the 7th for a final score of 5-1.
Game 2 saw the Timber Rattlers send Drew Gagnon (1-0, 1.26) to the mound to face off against the Bee’s Jonathon Joseph (0-1, 5.93). The Rattlers, backed by a solid outing by Gagnon, would put up the only runs of the game in the bottom of the 4th inning when both designated hitter Brandon Macias and second baseman Carlos George would score to give the team a 2-0 lead.
Gagnon would pick up the win pitching 5.1 scoreless innings and striking out 6 batters in the process. Finding himself in trouble with one out in the 6th inning and the bases loaded, Gagnon would be replaced by Seth Harvey who would come on in relief and pick up his second save of the young season. Harvey would retire all five batters he faced in order, striking out four and improving his ERA to 1.50.
The split brings the Timber Rattlers record to 6-6 on the season tied with Beloit, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Peoria. The team will play the final game of this home stand Wednesday evening at 6:35pm before heading out on the road for 6 games starting Thursday.
One other note from tonight’s contest: Jason Rogers saw his streak of consecutive games reaching base end at 11 when he failed to get on base in the second game of tonight’s double-header. Rogers, however, continues to lead the team in Batting Average (.317), RBI (8), OBP (.417), and Slugging (.537). Additionally, he is tied with Chadwin Stang for the most homeruns on the team with 2 a piece.
Game(s) at a Glance:
Game 1:
Player(s) of the Game: Nick Rickels and Royce Consigli – Each with 2 runs scored for Burlington
WP: Drew Granier ( 2-0)
LP: Matt Miller (0-3)
Time: 1:52
Game 2:
Player of the Game: Seth Harvey
WP: Drew Gagnon (1-0)
LP: Jonathan Joseph (0-1)
Save: Seth Harvey (2)
Time: 2:07
Attendance: 482
Kernels Pop Rattlers Bubble With Opening Day Win
by Kevin Kimmes
The Timber Rattlers season officially kicked off last night as 4,576 fans packed in to Time Warner Cable Field for some early April baseball. Despite temperatures that quickly dipped as the sun went down, the crowd was in high spirits for the first game of the new season.
The Timber Rattlers’ starting pitcher, Matt Miller (L, 0-1), found himself in trouble right out of the gate as he walked the Kernels’ second baseman, Kevin Mosequit, on 4 straight pitches to start the game. Despite the struggles, he was able to put together 2 innings of scoreless ball.
In the 3rd inning, the Kernels’ put on a hitting clinic resulting in 4 runs scored including doubles from third baseman Kaleb Cowart, first baseman Frazier Hall, and catcher Abel Baker. The Timber Rattlers would fight back in the bottom of the 3rd, scoring their first run of the season when 1st baseman Jason Rodgers singled off Kernels starting pitcher Austin Wood, allowing shortstop Yadiel Rivera to score from third. Rivera had reached base earlier when he was hit in the helmet by a wild pitch to start off the bottom half of the inning.
The Kernels would tack on two more runs in the 7th inning as left fielder Ryan Jones scored from first on a Cowart triple. Later, Cowart would touch home after a wild pitch from Timber Rattlers reliever Kevin Shackelford got by catcher Rafael Neda allowing him to score from 3rd.
Not content with a five run lead, the Kernels would score one more run off of Timber Rattlers’ reliever Tommy Toledo in the top of the 9th inning off of yet another double by Hall.
Despite being down by six runs heading into the final half inning of play, the Timber Rattlers decided not to go quietly. Left fielder Ben McMahan lead off the bottom of the 9th with a double to center. Then after two quick outs by 3rd baseman Greg Hopkins and catcher Rafael Neda, designated hitter Brandon Macias would match McMahan’s double with one of his own bringing the score to 6-2. Unfortunately, this would be all the offense the squad could muster as Rivera would record the final out of the game in the next at bat.
The Timber Rattlers will play game two of this three game series tonight at Time Warner Cable Field with a 6:35 pm start time. The Timber Rattlers will bring Drew Gagnon to the mound to face Cedar Rapids’ Mike Clevinger in what should be an exciting contest.
Game at a Glance:
WP: Austin Wood (1-0)
LP: Matt Miller (0-1)
Star of the Game: Kaleb Cowart (Cedar Rapids) – 4/5 (.800) – 2 singles, 1 double, 1 triple, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI,
TIME: 2:48
ATTN: 4,576
