Friday, July 3, 2009

MInor League Stop

I think everyone knows that the Twins defeated the Royals 5-1 on Wednesday afternoon so I am not going to go over that game again. I am though going to get everyone up to date on the minor league games played on Wednesday and Thursday. In tommorrow's post I will have coverage on the Twins game against the Tigers so this is only a one day thing that I won't have Twins coverage.


Rochester Wrap
Rochester Day off Wednesday
Rochester 0 Buffalo 0 Thursay as it was rained out
  • The Red Wings had their game rained out last night and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday. Tonight, the Red Wings begin their series with Buffalo as Jeff Manship gets the ball for Rochester.

New Britain Business

New Britain 3 Portland 1 Wednesday

New Britain 3 Portland 1 Wednesday

New Britain 0 Portland 0 Rained out Thursday

  • The Rockcats completed a doubleheader sweep on Wednesday night with identical 3-1 victories over Portand. In game 1 Frank Mata got the spot start and was very effective. Mata went 3.2 innings and only gave up 1 run on 2 hits along with 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.64 on the year. Frank Mata made a nice spot start and if he can keep pitching like he did Wednesday night he will be a very effective reliever for the Rockcats. Jose Lugo then came on and pitched a very good 2.1 innings. Lugo went 2.1 innings and only gave up 1 walk along with 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.36 and improve his record on the year to 4-2. Anthony Slama came on in the 7th to pick up his 16th save of the year. Slama pitched 1 inning shutout inning along with 1 walk and 1 strikeout to lower his era to 2.47 on the year. In game 2 Yohan Pino got the start and was also very good. Pino went the first 4 innings and gave up 1 run on 5 hits along with a walk and 6 strikeouts to lower his era to 3.74 on the year. Pino has really been very effective as he got off to a slow start, but has turned it on and I would have no problem slotting Pino into the starting rotation after the Rockcats lost Jeff Manship to Rochester. Kyle Waldrop continued his dominance at AA by pitching 2.2 scoreless innings to pick up his 1st win with New Britain. Waldrop has worked 8 shutout innings since his callup to New Britain and after having arm problems last year seems like he is back at full strength and will be a good arm out of the bullpen for the Rockcats. Alex Burnett got the last out to pick up his 1st save at the AA level and lowered his era to a very good 2.29.

  • The Rockcats did not really get the bats going in either game, but because of the really good pitching it ended up being enough to win both games. In game 1 the Rockcats got 3 runs on 6 hits. Toby Gardenhire led the offense going 2-3 to improve his average on the year to .252. Brian Dinkelman went 1-3 with his 19th double of the year to improve his average to .298. Brandon Roberts went 1-4 with his 10th double of the year and an rbi to bring his total up to 25. Erik Lis went 1-3 with his 12th double of the year to bring his average up to an even .300 on the year. Allan De San Miguel also contributed a hit in the Rockcats victory Wednesday night. In game 2 the Rockcats once again scored 3 runs on 6 hits to pick up the victory. Rene Tosoni was the hitting star in this one going 2-3 with his 16th double of the year and improved his average up to .280 on the year. After a slow start Tosoni has really picked it up to lead the team in homeruns, rbi's and brought his average to a very respectable .280 on the year. Yancarlos Ortiz went 1-3 with his 4th double of the year and drove in his 16th run of the year to improve his average to .221. Whit Robbins went 1-3 with 2 rbi's to bring his season total up to 35 and brought his average up to .304. Brian Dinkelman and Matt Moses also contributed hits in the Rockcats victory Wednesday night to complete the sweep.
  • Tonight, the Rockcats will compete in another doubleheader with Portland to make up for the rainout on Thursday. Cole Devries will pitch for the Rockcats in game 1 while Matt Fox gets the ball in game 2.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 0 Lakeland 0 Wednesday Rained Out

Fort Myers 0 Lakeland 0 Wednesday Rained Out

Fort Myers 3 Lakeland 1 Thursday

Fort Myers 4 Lakeland 1 Thursday

  • The Miracle after having a couple days washed out because of rain swept a doubleheader last night from Lakeland as they won by the scores of 3-1 in the first game and 4-1 in the second. In game 1 Tyler Robertson got the ball, but because of a long rain delay in the 3rd inning was only able to go 2 innings. Coming back from an arm injury it is best to be careful with Robertson and not risk getting him hurt. Tyler was off to a good start in this one though as he went 2 good innings. Robertson went 2 innings and only gave up 2 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 3.39 on the year. Joe Testa came in and pitched 2 shutout innings on 3 hits along with a walk and 5 strikeouts to improve his record on the year to 1-0. Loek Van Mil pitched 2 more shutout innings on 2 hits to lower his era on the year to 0.53. Van Mil has been the story of the second half after coming off the disabled list. In 17 innings Van Mil has only given up 1 run which is very impressive. Blair Erickson pitched the 7th to pick up his 9th save of the year and allowed an unearned run on 1 hit along with 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.36 on the year. In game 2 the Miracle sent out Mike Mccardell and he was fabulous. Mccardell went all 7 innings to pick up the win for the Miracle. Mccardell went 7 innings and gave up only 1 run on 7 hits along with 1 walk and an incredible 9 strikeouts. It had to be one of Mike Mccardell's best starts of the season and there have been many of them as he has had a great year after getting off to a slow start to become one of Fort Myers most reliable starters and someone who should be considered for a promotion if one is needed to AA.

  • The Miracle did not score much in the doubleheader, but obviously they scored enough to get the job done since they won both games. In game 1 the Miracle were led by Steve Singelton who went 1-3 with his 5th homerun of the year and his 31st rbi of the year to bring his average up to .254. Deibinson Romero went 1-3 with his 16th double of the year to bring his average up to .245. Evan Bigley, Mark Dolenc, Jair Fernandez, and Chris Cates all contributed base hits in the Miracles victory. In game 2 the Miracle could only muster 4 runs on 9 hits, but that was enough to get the win. Steve Singelton continued his hot streak as he went 2-4 in the nightcap to bring his average up to .258. Mark Dolenc went 2-3 to bring his average on the year to .276. Chris Parmalee gave the Miracle all the runs they would need with a 2 run homerun. Parmalee went 1-3 with his 10th homerun and his 43rd and 44th rbi's of the year to bring his average up to .268. Nick Romero went 1-3 with his 3rd homerun of the year and his 13th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .276. Deibinson Romero went 1-3 with his 17th double of the year and his 39th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .247. Evan Bigley went 1-3 with his 7th double of the year and brought his average up to .262 on the year. Juan Richardson added a hit in the winning cause for the Miracle.
  • Tonight, the Miracle begin a short 2 game series with Charlotte as Deolis Guerra is scheduled to pitch for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Cedar Rapids 8 Beloit 2 Wednesday

Cedar Rapids 5 Beloit 1 Thursday

  • The Snappers lost a couple games the last couple of days to Cedar Rapids by the scores of 8-2 on Wednesday and 5-1 last night. On Wednesday night Dan Berlind got the ball for the Snappers and was not very good. Berlind went 3.2 innings and gave up 4 runs on 5 hits along with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts to raise his era to 4.36 and lower his record to 2-9 on the year. Dan Berlind was good for a while, but it seems like the hitters in the Midwest League have caught up and he needs to make some adjustments. Blake Martin then came on and went 2.1 shutout innings along with 4 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.60. Thomas Wright then came on and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits along with 2 walks and 1 strikeout in 1 inning of work to raise his era to 9.00 on the year. Mike Allen then came on and went 1 shutout inning on a hit to lower his era on the year to 5.37. Bruce Pugh pitched the 9th and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits along with a strikeout to raise his era to 4.54. On Thursday night Dan Osterbrock got the start for the Snappers and was solid wiht his defense letting him down a little bit in the game. Osterbrock went 5 innings and gave up 3 runs on 10 hits along with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.90 on the year and lower his record to 4-6. Osterbrock has really come on after a horrible April and May to be a decent pitching in June and the start of July. Curtis Leavitt then came on and gave up 1 run on 1 hit along with a walk and 3 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 7.71 on the year. Matt Williams pitched the last 2 innings and gave up 1 unearned run on 2 hits to lower his era on the year to 2.32.

  • The Snappers really could not get the bats going in the games as they only scored 3 runs in the 2 games combined. On Wednesday night the Snappers only got 2 runs on 6 hits. Jeff Lanning led the attack going 2-4 with his 4th double of the year to bring his average up to .254 on the year. Buddy Munroe went 2-4 to bring his average up to .375. Jon Waltenbury and Drew Thompson contributed hits in the losing cause for the Snappers. Aaron Hicks continued his slow start by going 0-3 even though he did pick up his 7th rbi of the year to drop his average down to .200 on the year. On Thursday night the Snapper offense really could not do anything as they only got 1 run on 2 hits and that is not going to ever get it done. James Beresford was really the only one to do anything at the plate going 1-4 with his 4th double of the year to bring his average up to .278. Nathan Hanson went 1-3 to bring his average up to .254. Aaron Hicks continued his struggles by going 0-3 with a walk to lower his average on the year to .188.
  • Tonight, the Snappers finish off their series with Cedar Rapids as Bobby Lanigan gets the start for Beloit.

E-town Entertainment

E-town 8 Bristol 3 Wednesday

E-town 12 Greenville 4 Thursday

  • The Twins won 2 games this week and continued their dominant start of the season by beating Bristol 8-3 on Wednesday and beating Greenville by a 12-4 score on Thursday. Michael Munoz got the start for the Twins on Wednesday agains Bristol and he was very good. Munoz went 5.2 innings and gave up 1 run on 5 hits along with 4 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.53 after 2 starts. Kyle Carr then came in and went 2.1 shutout innings on 1 hit along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 1.08. Winston Marquez finished the game by going the last inning and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits along with a walk to bring his era up to 9.00 on the year. On Thursday night the Twins had Angelo Sanchez on the mound he also did very well. Sanchez went 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs on 6 hits along with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 4.09 and raise his record to 2-0 in 2 starts for the E-town Twins after last night. Ramon Acosta then came in and went 2 innings and gave up 2 unearned runs on 2 hits along with 1 walk and 1 strikeout to lower his era down to 1.80. Tony Davis pitched the 9th and gave up no runs on 1 hit along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 6.23.

  • The Twins bats continue to dominate the games as they scored 20 runs in the 2 games for E-town. On Wednesday night they had 8 runs on 11 hits to pick up the victory. Tyler Ladendorf led the offense by going 3-5 with his 3rd homerun of the year along with his 3rd double and drove in 4 runs to bring his season total up to 11 and brought his average up to .438. Derek Mccallum had a big game going 2-3 to bring his average on the year to .229. Danny Rohling went 1-3 with his first triple of the year and drove in 2 runs to bring his season total up to 3. Chris Hermann, Michael Gonzalez, Danny Rams, Paul Klingsberg, and Anderson Hidalgo added hits in the winning cause. On Thursday night the Twins offense went crazy for 12 runs on 14 hits in the winning cause because you arent going to lose very often when you score 12 runs. Danny Rams led the attack going 3-5 with his 5th homerun and drove in his 16th, 17th and 18th rbi's of the year and improved his average to .429 on the year. Tyler Ladendorf also went 3-5 with his 4th and 5th doubles of the year and drove in his 12th and 13th runs of the year to bring his average up to .459. Tobias Streich went 1-5 with his 2nd homerun of the year and drove in his 3rd, 4th, and 5th rbi's of the year. Jasmil Pinto went 1-5 with his 4th homerun of the year and drove in his 1oth run of the year. Chris Hermann went 1-4 with his 4th double of the year for the Twins. Anderson Hidalgo, Danny Rohlfing, Reggie Williams, and Jon Goncalves each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Twins.
  • Tonight, the Twins continue their series with Greenville as Tom Stuifbergen gets the start for Elizabethton.

Rochester Red Wings: June Awards

Today I will look at the Rochester Red Wings and their June awards with the Pitcher of the month and the Hitter of the month. The Red Wings have continued to hang around in the playoff race because of those 2 guys among others. Hope you enjoy and will leave a comment in the comment box or send me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com.


  • Pitcher of the Month: Anthony Swarzak- The Red Wings did not have very good pitching in the month of June so I chose a guy who did not spend the entire month of June in Rochester. In the month of June Anthony Swarzak made 3 starts for the Red Wings and went 1-0 with a very good 2.53 era. Swarzak went 21.1 innings, which is overy 7 innings a start which shows how big of a horse he is. He allowed only 6 runs in 21.1 innings of work along with only 5 walks and 11 strikeouts. Swarzak held opponents to a .205 average in the month of June. Anthony Swarzak really has been good all year for the Red Wings and led to a couple weeks with the Twins. Swarzak has pretty much done everything he can do at AAA and I think it is time for him to join the Twins on a permanent basis. However, it should not take away from the month Anthony had in Rochester to earn pitcher of the month award.
  • Others considered: Kevin Mulvey, Armando Gabino

  • Hitter of the Month: Brock Peterson- Going into the month of June Brock Peterson was buried as far down on the bench than you can imagine. However, Brock started hitting early in the month and kept it going all through the month and saw his playing time spike in June and he didn't disappoint. In June Brock played in 22 games and hit .352 with 2 homeruns and 11 rbi's along with 3 doubles in 71 at bats. He had a .410 obp along with a .479 slugging percentage for an ops of .889. Brock Peterson really showed what he is made of in June and I look for his playing time to keep increasing and increasing as the season goes forward. I have to admit I did not see this coming out of Brock and am pleasantly surprised by what he did in June.
  • Others Considered: Justin Huber, Steve Tolleson

Friday, July, 3rd

Just a heads up my postings this weekend are going to be a little sporatic because since it is the 4th this weekend I will be at the lake getting some sun hopefully. Don't worry when I get back I will update everyone on the Twins and their minor league teams. It just might not happen until Sunday night or Monday morning. Everyone enjoy a fun and safe holiday weekend.