- The Twins had yesterday off before beginning a 9 game roadtrip to Texas, Oakland, and to Anaheim which begins Friday night in Texas. In a surprising move the Twins have recalled pitcher Kevin Mulvey to pitch out of the bullpen for the Twins and sent down Jose Morales. It was not a surprise that Morales went down because like it or not the Twins are committed to having Mike Redmond as the backup catcher this year. After the season Redmond is a free agent and it is doubtful he will be retained so it will probably be Morales' job next year and I am sure he will be up in September if not before because of injuries. Mulvey surprised me because he has been a starter all his career and Jesse Crain, Juan Morillo, or Rob Delaney seemed like better choices. They say he will be working out of long relief, but the way I see it they already have 3 long relievers in R.A. Dickey, Brian Duensing, and Bobby Keppel so the only reasoning I can think of is they are either showcasing him for other teams to see or he is being brought up to start as one of the Twins starters might be on the trading block. It should be interesting next couple of weeks to see what happens with Mulvey and the whole trading scenario's.
Rochester Wrap
- The Red Wings finished off their all star break as Red Wing Justin Huber competed in the All-Star game. Huber came up 3 times in the game and went 0-2 with a sacrafice fly in the game. Tonight, the Red Wings begin their second half as they try to chase down Scranton/WB for a playoff spot as they travel to Lehigh Valley with Jeff Manship taking the ball.
New Britain Business
- The Rockcats finished off their all star break as Rockcats Whit Robbins, Brian Dinkelman, Rene Tosoni, Matt Fox, and Anthony Slama competed in the All-Star Game. Whit Robbins came on as a pinch hitter and went 1-2 at the plate with a nice single. Brian Dinkelman went 1-2 as well with a single for the North team. Rene Tosoni played the whole game at went 0-4 at the plate playing center field. Matt Fox pitched a scoreless inning of relief along with a strikeout. Anthony Slama did not fare as well as the rest of the players. Slama only got 2 outs and gave up a run on a hit along with a walk and a strikeout before being pulled. Tonight, the Rockcats start their second half as they battle Reading and are scheduled to send Matt Fox to the mound tonight, but that may change because with Kevin Mulvey headed to the Twins you would think New Britain would send a starter to take his spot in Rochester and Matt Fox is one of the obvious possibilities so it will be interesting to see who pitches tonight.
Fort Myers Minutes
Fort Myers 13 Sarasota 0
- The day off the Miracle got on Tuesday seemed to do wonders for the whole team not only the hitting, but also the pitching as the Miracle pummelled Sarasota last night by a score of 13-0. Steve Hirschfeld got the start for the Miracle and he was awesome in this one. Hirschfeld went all 9 innings and did not give up a run on only 3 hits along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Steve really struggled right when he was moved into the rotation but he really has found his groove as of late. With the no runs allowed he lowered his era to a starter low 2.17 and raised his record on the year to 3-4. Look at his numbers so far in the month of July as he is 1-2 with a very good 2.33 era in 3 starts. He probably does not have the stuff to be a starter as he moves forward, but I believe he can be a very solid relief pitcher who when you need a spot start here and there will do a good job for you.
- After a month long slump with the bats the Miracle offense really came out last night as they pounded Sarasota pitchers for 13 runs on 17 hits in the game and had outstanding performances by so many. Lets start at the top with Ben Revere who bounced out of a slump with a nice 3-5 night at the plate with his 3rd triple of the year and his 34th rbi to bring his average up to .306. Esterlin De Los Santos went 3-6 with his 4th and 5th doubles of the year and his 7th and 8th rbi's of the year to bring his average up to .306 as well. Chris Parmalee went 2-4 at the plate with his 47th rbi to bring his average up to .256. Nick Romero had a big game going 2-4 with his 8th double and scored 3 runs to bring his average up to .272. Mark Dolenc went 2-5 with 2 rbi's to bring his total up to 26 and his average up to .286. You can't forget the day Alex Soto had even though he only had 1 hit it was a big one. He pounded a 3 run homerun that put the Miracle ahead for good. Rene Leveret went 1-4 with his 12th double of the year for the Miracle. Deibinson Romero, Joe Benson, and Chris Cates all added hits in the winning cause for the Miracle.
- Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Sarasota as new Miracle pitcher Michael Tarsi gets the start for Fort Myers.
Beloit Beat
Beloit 9 Burlington 3
- The Snappers broke out of a tough 2 game losing streak last night in a big way by beating Burlington by a score of 9-3. They had the type of game that Beloit fans have been waiting for all year in good pitching and some timely hits to score some runs to send the Beloit fans home happy. New Snapper Liam Hendricks was on the hill and pitched a very good game. Hendricks went 6.2 innings and gave up 1 run on 9 hits along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to a very good 1.46 and improved his record on the year to 1-1. Hendricks has done a good job in both his starts for the Snappers so far this year and appears to be a keeper for the Snappers. I really think he could be a fast mover through the organization and it would not surprise me in the least if Hendricks does not start next season up with the Fort Myers Miracle. Blake Martin then came in and struggled in this one giving up 2 runs on 3 hits in only 1 inning of work to increase his era to 4.87 on the year. Matt Williams then pitched the last 1.1 innings without giving up a run to lower his era on the year to 2.52. I really can't believe that Williams is still in Beloit as he has been the best reliever on the Snappers staff and belongs up with Fort Myers.
- The Snappers really got the bat going after really struggling at the plate lately as they put up 9 runs on the board on 12 hits. The Snappers were led by James Beresford who went 3-5 with his 4th and 5th doubles of the year and had 3 rbi's to bring his total up to 23 and his average up to .295. Danny Rams had a huge game to bust out of a tough slump since his callup by going 2-3 with his 1st homerun of the year and improved his average up to .300 on the year. Dominic De La Osa had a big game going 2-4 with his 7th double of the year and his 28th rbi to bring his average up to .215. Angel Morales went 2-3 with his 11th double and his 29th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .227. Morales really went through a rough stretch in the month of June, but has really rebounded in July to show the kind of things that Angel is capable of at the plate. Aaron Hicks went 1-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .214 on the year. Tyler Ladendorf, and Nathan Hanson each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Snappers last night.
- Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Burlington as they will send Brad Tippett to the mound for Beloit tonight.
E-Town Tidbits
E-Town 4 Danville 2
- The E-Town Twins got a big hard fought win last night against fellow first place team in the Danville Braves by a score of 4-2. It seems no matter if it is a slugfest or a pitchers duel the Twins can get the job done in any kind of game and in this one it was a pitchers duel as the Twins improved their record to 18-4 on the young season. Tom Stuifbergen got the start for the Twins and was very impressive in this start. Stuifbergen went all 9 innings and only gave up 2 runs on 6 hits along with 1 walk and an impressive 7 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to a very good 3.66 and improve his record on the year to 3-0. If Stuifbergen keeps pitching like he has as of late it won't be very long before he is joining his teammates Liam Hendricks, Tyler Ladendorf, and Danny Rams up in Beloit with the Snappers. He has quite the impressive ratio of walks to strikeouts as he has only 4 walks in 32 innings and an impressive 30 strikeouts.
- The Twins offense has been so good this year that even in a game that they only were able to put together 7 hits they were still able to score enough to get the win by putting up 4 runs on the board. Josmil Pinto led the offense going 2-4 with his 5th double and his 28th and 29th rbi's of the year to bring his average up to .310 on the year. Derek Mccallum went 2-4 with his 13th rbi to bring his average up to .262. Mccallum the Twins 5th round pick out of the University of Minnesota has really bounced back after a rough start to the year to show what he is capable of doing at the plate. Chris Hermann, Tobias Streich, and Jon Goncalves each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the E-Town Twins.
- Tonight, the Twins continue their series with Danville as they will send 1st round pick Matt Bashore to the mound for Elizabethton
