Thursday, May 8th

Twins Talk

Minnesota 13 Chicago 1



Minnesota 17-15 First Place

• POG: Carlos Gomez- Carlos had one of the best games in Twins history as he hit the first Cycle a Twin has hit since Kirby Puckett did it in 1986. Gomez went 4-6 with his 2nd homerun of the season along with a triple, a double and a single to raise his batting average up to .282 on the season. He is so exciting a player and there were some that wanted him to be sent down. Well i have to say is shame on you he is the most exciting player the Twins have had in years and he is better defensively than Torii Hunter was last year and offensively it will come. Mark my words in 2 or 3 years he will be the most complete center fielder in the game. I see him as a 30-30 guy and eventually he will be hitting 3rd for the Twins and winning games for the team.
• Livan Hernandez continues to impress as he threw the first complete game of the season for the Twins. Hernandez went 9 innings and gave up 1 run on 9 hits to lower his era to 3.83 on the season. For every young player you should watch him pitch and how he changes speeds and never throws 2 pitches the same speed to keep the hitters off balance. For all young kids that don't throw hard you can be successful because he shows that when your in a jam its better to throw softer not harder and to hit your spots you will be fine.
• Kevin Slowey gets his first start since April 3rd today as he comes off the Disabled List and they say he can throw up to 100 pitches today. If they need to use the bullpen they will be able to thanks to a great start by Hernandez. I look for Slowey to keep the good pitching going today and will be fine.
• Today, the Twins conclude not only their series with Chicago but also their short road trip. Gametime is at 1:05 with Kevin Slowey getting the start for the Twins vs John Danks of the Sox.

Rochester Wrap

• Rochester's game last night was rained out vs Columbus and will be made up today as part of a doubleheader. The first game will get underway at 10:35 with Heath Totten and Kevin Mulvey getting the starts today for the Red Wings

New Britain Business

New Britain 7 Bowie 6

New Britain 19-12 1.5 games back 9 game winning streak

• POG: Brock Peterson- Brock had a heck of game going 4-6 with a double and 3 rbi's along with a run scored. With the 3 rbi's it brought his team high total to 31 on the season. That is tied for the Eastern League lead. With the 4 hits it raises his batting average to a very good .295 on the season. With Randy Ruiz not doing much at Rochester you have to wonder if it may be getting closer to sending Brock up to Rochester and see how he is going to do. I think he is ready for a new challenge in his career and moving up to Rochester would be just the thing. Until then I think everyone should enjoy having him on the Rock Cats and being the run producer he is.
• Anthony Swarzak struggled again last night giving up 5 runs on 8 hits in only 4.2 innings of work. In his last 3 starts he has allowed 13 runs on 21 hits in 14.2 innings to raise his ERA to 4.15 on the season. You knew he was going to come down to earth a little bit after the unbelieveable start he had but he needs to get it straighted out and i think he will. The problem is he hasn't been getting his offspeed pitches over for strikes and is forced to throw his fastball down the middle and they are crushing it. I look for Anthony to rebound from this and go back to being the pitcher we have known all season and lighting up the scoreboard again.
• The Rock Cats rebounded from a 5-2 deficit to pull out the win with the 2 out rbi single by Brock Peterson in the bottom of the 10th inning to extend their season high winning streak to 9 games. I think we should all enjoy the streak the Rock Cats are on because you dont win 9 games in a row very often and should enjoy it while it lasts because i have a feeling it wont be long and some guys that are helping the Rock Cats will be getting the Promotion they have deserved and so the Rock Cats will have to win another way.
• Today, the Rock Cats finish off their series with Bowie as they go for the sweep. Gametime is at 9:35am with Jay Rainville trying to extend the winning streak to 10 games for the Rock Cats.

Fort Myers Musings

• The Miracle had yesterday off and begin a series with the Mets in St. Lucie. Gametime is at 6 pm with Deolis Guerra getting the start for the Miracle

Beloit Beat

• The Snappers had yesterday off and begin a series with Burlington in Burlington. Gametime is at 6:30pm with Michael Tarsi gets the start as he tries to extend the recent string of great Snappers Pitching. The Snappers starters have went 8 consecutive games with giving up 2 runs or less and Tarsi tries to continue that.