Twins 10 (8-3) Royals 3
- The Twins won their second consecutive game last night as Scott Baker outdueled reigning Cy Young award pitcher Zack Grienke by a score of 10-3. Scott Baker got the start and was very good for his second consecutive start after struggling on opening night. Baker went 7 strong innings and only gave up two runs on seven hits along with six strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.37 and up his record to 2-1. If you would have told me that Scott Baker would look more like the Cy Young Award winner than Zack Grienke I would have called you a liar. However, that is exactly what Baker did is outpitch Zack Grienke and if you have been reading my blog for a long time you know that I am a big Scott Baker fan so I am so glad that he is pitching so well. With the score going into the 8th inning being 5-2 the Twins brought in eigth inning reliever Matt Guerrier and he did not disappoint as he threw a shutout inning. After the Twins tacked on five more runs in the eighth inning the Twins turned to long man Brian Duensing to pitch the ninth. Duensing gave up a run on two hits along with a strikeout to raise his era on the year to 4.15 for the Twins.
- On offense the thing that has impressed me the most this season is their patience at the plate as they took nine Kansas City walks after walking seven times on Thursday. They also hit the ball well as they scored ten runs on eleven hits. They left ten guys on base again so that just shows you how much talent they have offensively as they could have scored 20 runs if they would have executed. The Twins were led by Orlando Hudson who went 2-3 at the plate with his fourth double and his second and third rbi's to bring his average up to .255. Denard Span went 2-3 at the plate and has now reaches base 13 out of his last 20 plate appearances to raise his average to .225. Michael Cuddyer went 2-5 at the plate with his second double and three rbi's to bring his total up to nine. With the two hits Cuddyer is now hitting .348. J.J. Hardy went 2-5 with his fifth and sixth rbi's and brought his average up to .267. Brendan Harris went 2-3 to bring his average up to .250. Stop the presses Joe Mauer is 0-10 the last 2 and a half games.
- Today, the Twins continue their series with Kansas City as Nick Blackburn gets the start for the Twins and Gil Meche starts for the Royals. Gametime is at 12:10 at Target Field in Minneapolis.
Rochester Wrap
Rochester 1 Lehigh Valley 1 Suspended
- The Red Wings had their game against Lehigh Valley suspended in the second inning and will be made up at a later date.
- Today, the Red Wings have their home opener as they welcome in Pawtucket as Yoslan Herrera gets the start for Rochester. Gametime is at 3:05 in Rochester
New Britain Business
New Britain 2 (1-7) Harrisburg 1
- Someone break up the Rockcats as they finally got onto the winning side of things. The Rockcats sat through a two and a half hour rain delay to pull out a 2-1 victory over Harrisburg last night. The pitching matchup of Tyler Robertson vs Stephen Strasburg never materialized as both were lifted after the second inning because of a rain delay. Robertson worked two innings and gave up a run on two hits along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 5.40. After the rain delay Henry Arias came on to pitch and had his best outing of the year. Arias went three shutout innings and gave up two hits along with a strikeout. Spencer Steedley then came on and worked 3.1 scoreless innings on two hits along with four strikeouts to pick his first win of the year. Chris Province got the last two outs to pick up his first save in the Twins organization and lowered his era to 7.11 on the year.
- The Rockcats offense took a step back in this one as they were only able to put two runs on the board on only seven hits. However, the biggest hit came long before the end of the game and it may not be a big deal for the Rockcats but I am sure it brought a smile to the face of Juan Portes. If Portes never makes it to the bigs and if Strasburg becomes as good as some are saying he will be then that will be a day Juan Portes never forgets. In the second inning of a 1-0 Harrisburg lead Juan Portes came up with a runner aboard and smashed a Strasburg fastball for an rbi double. Steve Singleton led the offense going 2-4 with his third double and first triple of the year to bring his average up to .250. Joe Benson went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .250 as well. Rene Tosoni went 1-3 at the plate with his first triple of the year.
- Tonight, the Rockcats continue their series with Harrisburg as Deolis Guerra tries to rebound from a so so start the first time around. Gametime is at 6:00 in Harrisburg.
Fort Myers Minutes
Palm Beach 4 Fort Myers 2 10inn (2-5)
- The Miracle suffered another tough to take loss last night as they took a 2-1 lead going into the ninth inning against their good closer Billy Bulluck. You would think that would be game over and a win for the Miracle right. Well you would be wrong as Bulluck gave up a run in the ninth and then two more in the 10th in a 4-2 Palm Beach victory over the Fort Myers Miracle last night. On a more positive note Brad Tippett made his first start of the year for the Miracle and was very good. Tippett went 4.1 innings and gave up one run on four hits along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year t0 5.40. Matt Williams also made his season debut in this one and worked 3.1 innings and did not give up a run on only four hits along with a walk and three strikeouts. Billy Bulluck then came on and like I said earlier he did not have a good day as he went 2 innings and gave up three runs on five hits along with two walks and two strikeouts to pick up the loss and raised his era to 4.50. Billy Bulluck is a good relief prospect and I am not too concerned about him as he will have outings like this few and far between.
- The Miracle offense continued their struggles offensively as they were only able to score two runs on seven hits. The Miracle were led by Michael Harrington who went 2-4 with his first and second doubles to bring his average up to .273. Chris Hermann broke out of a little slump by going 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .217. Ramon Santana added his third double of the year.
- Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Palm Beach as Bruce Pugh gets the start for the Miracle. Gametime is at 6:05 in Palm Beach.
Beloit Beat
Beloit 6 (4-5) Kane County 0
- The Snappers turned a good pitching performance by Brad Stillings and some late power to turn it into a nice 6-0 win for the Snappers over Kane County. Brad Stillings got the start and did very well once again as this was his second consecutive good start for the Snappers. Stillings went 4.2 shutout innings on only four hits along with two walks and four strikeouts to lower his era to a minute 0.93. Kane Holbrooks then came in and pitched three shutout innings to even his record at one. Holbrooks only gave up one hit along with four strikeouts. When Steve Blevins came into the game in the eighth inning it was a 1-0 game so he earned his third save of the year. Blevins worked 1.1 innings and gave up a hit along with a walk and two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 1.69.
- For eight innings it looked like another ho hum bad hitting night for the Snappers, but Michael Gonzalez and Josmil Pinto hit homeruns in the ninth inning to put the game away and making the Snappers feel better about their offense. Brian Dozier continued his early season success by going 3-5 with his first double to bring his average up to .400. Danny Rams went 2-4 with his fourth double of the year and brought his average up to .214. Angel Morales went 2-4 with his 3rd double to bring his average up to .259. Then of course Gonzalez homered in his second consecutive game and his third overall, while Pinto added his first of the year.
- The Snappers begin a series today with Clinton as Tom Stuifbergen tries to build off his last start. Gametime is at 4pm in Beloit
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