Yet habit – strange thing! What cannot habit accomplish? – Herman Melville

Chris McFarland singles to drive in the tying runs in the top of the eighth inning.

Victor Roache scores the tying run on McFarland’s game tying single.

Timber Rattlers 6
Great Lakes 4
Boxscore | Game Story

Just so we’re clear.  First 23 games of the season = 0…as in zero…9th inning runs for the Timber Rattlers.  Last two games = 8 9th inning runs for the Timber Rattlers.

Rodolfo Fernandez picked up his first professional win.  He tossed three scoreless innings, walked one, and struck out three.  He gave up a single, but erased that runner on a ridiculously good move to first base.

Austin Blaski should have only been down 1-0 when he left.  He made some really nice pitches when he was in there and kept the Rattlers in there until the Loons bullpen got in the game.

Mitch Haniger walked three times for the second game in a row.  He also had another single.  His slash line is at .314/.408/.524.

Victor Roache was hit twice by pitched.  The first one got him on his forearm and he had it wrapped in ice when we got back to the hotel.  The other grazed the shoulder of his jersey….The jersey appeared to be okay.

The Timber Rattlers have won three straight for the first time this season.  They go for their fourth straight on Sunday afternoon.

There was a point in 2012 where the Timber Rattlers came back to win some games and they started getting confident and believing that they were never out of a game no matter the deficit…Time will tell if the 2013 team looks back at these two May games in Michigan as a jumping off point for some really fun things this season.

File this under…I’ve made this type of mistake before and will again so it doesn’t make me feel bad when someone else does it…..Look closely.

Tonight’s lineup for the @timberrattlers. #Loons twitter.com/greatlakesloon…

— Great Lakes Loons (@greatlakesloons) May 4, 2013

Also filed under….That’s when I thought the Rattlers would win the game.

Photos:

Tyrone Taylor singles with two out in the seventh inning to drive in Wisconsin’s first run.

Oh…and this is the pressbox for Newspapers at Dow Diamond.

In baseball, you can’t kill the clock. You’ve got to give the other man his chance. That’s why this is the greatest game. – Earl Weaver

Rattlers 10
Lansing 8
Boxscore | Game Story

Dammit. That was beautiful.

But before I get to the comeback, David Chavarria may be a wizard.

Funny thing. Before the game today the Rattlers pitching coach and I were talking about pitchers needing to learn how to limit damage. Basically, he said that you’re not going to throw a no-hitter every time you pitch.

Once in awhile the other team is going to have the bases loaded and no outs. When that happens early in a game in the big leagues, that pitcher will not try to strike the next three guys out. That can sometimes get you in even deeper. Get the grounder for the double play. If that run scores, so what. Get the next guy and you only let in the one run. How many games are going to end 1-0? Do your job. Get out of the inning. Let the offense go to work.

Let’s look at Leonard Lorenzo’s third inning.

• Aaron Munoz walks.
• Kellen Sweeney walks. Aaron Munoz to 2nd.
• Dwight Smith singles on a fly ball to center fielder Mitch Haniger. Aaron Munoz to 3rd. Kellen Sweeney to 2nd.
• Dalton Pompey grounds into a double play, second baseman Christopher McFarland to shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez to first baseman Adam Giacalone. Aaron Munoz scores. Kellen Sweeney to 3rd. Dwight Smith out at 2nd.
• Christian Lopes lines out to first baseman Adam Giacalone.

I’m pretty sure I laughed at end of that inning because that’s when I knew that David Chavarria was a wizard.

After some quick research…. Friday night was the biggest comeback in a victory for the Timber Rattlers of the Brewers Era (2009-present).  They were down 8-2 after the bottom of the seventh inning.  Down six runs with six outs left to play and they won 10-8 in ten innings.

Wisconsin has rallied from five run deficits four times since 2009:

• July 12, 2010 – Down 12-7 after the top of the 7th vs. Burlington. Won 15-12 in regulation
• July 4, 2011 – Down 6-2 after the bottom of the 3rd at Beloit. Won 11-8 in 11 innings
• June 29, 2012 – Down 6-1 after the top of the 3rd vs. Peoria. Won 8-7 in regulation
• July 11, 2012 – Down 8-3 after the bottom of the 4th at Lake County. Won 11-8 in regulation

Those are wiped out of the books after Friday night in Lansing.

Tip of the cap to Jose Sermo.  He was 0-for-8 with four strikeouts in the series.  He had been hitless in 17 straight at bats.  Lansing walked Adam Giacalone to set up a double play in the top of the tenth.  That hitless streak did not reach 18.  I need to find the highlight on the radio broadcast because the sound of ball hitting bat for the triple that put the Rattlers up for the first time in the game was….wow…just wow.

Have a series Mike Garza!  He went 4-for-5 on Friday to put him at 8-for-12 with five RBI in the three games at Lansing.  Average moved from .173 to .250

Mitch Haniger stole three bases in the game (Now 8-for-8 in steals).  He also walked three times and was on base a total of five times.

Aside from Sermo’s triple, who had the hardest hit ball of the night for the Rattlers?  Alfredo Rodriguez…again.  He lined out to right to drive in the tying run in the top of the ninth.  That thing was a rope.  It was deep enough to get the run home, but I thought that ball had a chance to get to the wall.

I mentioned this last part in the game story, but it is worth bringing up again…In the first 23 games of the season, Wisconsin had not scored a run in the ninth inning.  They scored five in the ninth inning on Friday.

Last note on the game goes to Damien Magnifico.  The Rattlers comeback is wasted if he gives up a run in the bottom of the ninth.  He didn’t.  The possible winning run got to third base, but Magnifico did not allow a run.  That set up the tenth inning.

A few pictures.

Mike Garza drives in the run to make the score 8-7.

Alfredo Rodriguez drives in the tying run with a sacrifice fly.

Pinch runner Orlando Arcia heads for home and Jose Sermo streaks for third in the tenth inning.

 

I love doubleheaders. That way I get to keep my uniform on longer. – Tommy Lasorda

This is the start of Garza’s 2-out, 2-run single in the second game.

Game 1:
Rattlers 3
Lugnuts 5
Boxscore | Game Story

Game 2:
Rattlers 9
Lugnuts 3
Boxscore | Game Story

From the This Does Not Make Any Sense file: Timber Rattlers pitchers walked eight Lansing players in the first game of the doubleheader. NONE of those walks scored in the game. NONE. In the words of Ron Burgundy: I’m not even mad; that’s amazing.

Let’s select the start of the last homestand (April 21) to pick a totally arbitrary point in time. Since that game, there have been 11 games. Wisconsin is 4-7. Wisconsin had the lead in five of those losses.

Mitch Haniger showed off some speed by running down a ball in the gap in game one.  He showed off some power with a home run to left in game two.

Tyler Wagner’s night in game two: 6IP, 6H, 3R, 0ER,0BB, 6K.  Unofficially, I had him at 82 pitches/60 strikes.  That is pounding the zone, right?

Just putting it out there…Including the spot start by Ben White in game two, Lansing used five relievers to pitch thirteen innings of the twinbill.

Victor Roache with a 2-for-6 night to bump his average to .282.  He scored three runs, stole a base, and made a nice catch against the wall in foul territory.

Pictures from the games:

This 2-2 pitch from Mike Strong missed to make it 3-2 with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 4th in game one.

Tyler Wagner strikes out Carlos Ramirez in the bottom of the fifth inning in game two.

This guy….the guy in the black shirt who looks like he’s a ‘YUUUUUUUUUP’ hat shy of being Dave Hester.

Was doing this for about two straight innings during game two:

Not as bad as this:

I mean…look at this:

Klement’s should sue.

Game time on Friday is 6:05pm at Cooley Law School Stadium.

Only fans of a certain 1960′s TV show will get that reference.