Wednesday, April 15th

Twins Talk
Red Sox 6 Twins 3 (6-3)

• The Twins suffered a hard fought loss to the Red Sox yesterday losing a tough 6-3 game yesterday afternoon. Kevin Slowey got the start for the Twins and really struggled with not only his control, but also struggled with the elements as every other pitch he would walk around the mound and clean his cleats instead of concentrating on the hitter. The more disconcerting thing was his control which is a concern because he does not have the stuff to walk a lot of guys. I am not concerned at all because say what you want about Slowey but he throws strikes. Slowey went five innings and gave up three runs on five hits along with a season high four walks along with five strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 3.48 and even his record at 1-1. Pat Neshek then came on and pitched two great innings of relief for the Twins. In 2 innings Neshek did not give up a hit along with only one walk and two strikeouts. Jesse Crain then came on and had his first really bad outing of the year. In 2/3 of an inning Crain gave up 3 runs on 3 hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his era on the year to 6.75. Crain has looked good this year so he needs to put this outing behind him and come back next time and pitch like we know he can pitch. Alex Burnett then came on and made his last outing before being optioned to Rochester. Burnett worked 1.1 inning and gave up two hits, but no runs along with two strikeouts.

• The Twins hit enought offensively you would think as they put up nine hits, but the reason that they only got three runs because they left eleven guys on base in this one. The Twins offense is so good that they are going to have chance after chance, but there are gonig to be days that they can't take advantage and yesterday was one of those days. Delmon Young led the attack going 3-4 at the plate to raise his average to .346 on the year. It is nice for Young to get off to a good start as he has been a habitual slow starter so its a good thing he has gotten off to a good start. Michael Cuddyer went 2-5 at the plate with his first homerun of the year and his third rbi to bring his average up to .316.

• Today, the Twins finish off their first series of the year at Target Field as they finish off their series with Boston. Francisco Liriano gets the start for the Twins against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield with gametime at 12:10 at Target Field.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 5 (3-4) Lehigh Valley 2

• The Red Wings got some good news and then some bad news on this night. The bad news is the Wings lost Anthony Swarzak for 4-6 weeks because of a broken foot after taking a line drive during his start on Tuesday night. The good news is the guy taking Swarzak's spot in the rotation Ryan Mullins had a good start for the Wings. In his first start of the season Mullins went five innings and gave up one run on only three hits along with one walk and six strikeouts. With the one run allowed he lowered his era to 7.56 on the year and got his first victory. Tim Lahey then came on and gave up a run on four hits in one inning of work to raise his era on the year to 4.50. Kyle Waldrop then came on and pitched a shutout inning of relief. Rob Delaney follwed Waldrop and pitched a scoreless inning on two strikeouts to lower his era to 3.00. Anthony Slama worked a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his second save of year along with a walk and three strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.60.

• The Red Wings did very well offensively in this game as they scored five runs on eleven hits to pick up the win. Dustin Martin led the attack going 2-4 with a three run homerun to give the Wings some breathing room. Erik Lis went 2-4 with his first double of the year to bring his average up to .320. Jacque Jones also went 2-3 at the plate with his second double of the year to bring his average to .353. Luke Hughes went 1-3 at the plate along with his third double. Matt Tolbert also went 1-5 at the plate with his first double of the year.

• Tonight, the Wings continue their series with Lehigh Valley as Jeff Manship gets the start with gametime at 6:05 in Lehigh Valley.

New Britain Business

Portland 3 New Britain 1 (0-6)

• The Rockcats had their season opening six game losing streak continue with a tough 3-1 loss to Portland yesterday morning. Carlos Gutierrez got the start for the Rockcats and was much better than in his first start. Gutierrez went five strong innings and only gave up one run on five hits along with a walk and five strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 5.00. Spencer Steedley then came on and pitched two shutout innings innings along with three strikeouts. Cole Devries then came on and was not very effective as he worked two innings and gave up two runs on two hits along with a walk and two strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 1.50 and lower his record on the season to 0-2.

• The Rockcats had their season long hitting slump continue as five out of the nine starters are hitting under .200. In this one the Rockcats were only able to muster one run on only six hits. Chris Parmelee led the attack going 2-4 at the plate with his second double of the year and his fourth rbi of the year to raise his average on the year to .292. Rene Tosoni went 1-3 with his second double of the year. Yancarlos Ortiz went 1-3 with his first double of the year in the losing cause.

• The Rockcats begin a series with Harrisburg tonight as Mike Mccardell makes his season debut. Gametime is at 6pm in New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 2 (2-4) Port Charlotte 1

• The Miracle collected their season high second consecutive win with a well pitched 2-1 victory over Port Charlotte last night. Michael Tarsi got the start for the Miracle and man was he effective throwing six shutout innings on only four hits allowed along with one walk and two strikeouts to even his record on the year at 1-1. With the no runs allowed Tarsi lowered his era on the year to 3.60. Tony Davis followed him and gave up a run on three hits in 1.2 innings to raise his era on the year to 2.45. Shooter Hunt then came on and continued his comeback from control issues to pitch 1.1 shutout innings on two walks and one strikeout. With the no runs allowed Hunt lowered his era on the year to 19.29. Shooter Hunt is a guy to watch this season because if he can solve his control issues he has top of the rotation type of stuff. All Twins fans are pulling for him because he is a heck of a nice guy and an unbelievable talent.

• The Miracle's hitting slump continued in this one and if it were not for the good pitching they may have lost this one. The Miracle only managed two runs on five hits in this one . The Miracle were led by Yangervis Solarte who continued his hot start going 1-4 with his second double of the early year. He is now hitting a robust .467 on the year after the hit. Drew Thompson went 1-3 at the plate with his first double of the year and raise his average on the year to .333. Evan Bigly picked up his first hit of the season a double so that is a positive for the native Texan.

• Tonight, the Miracle finish off their series with Port Charlotte as Bobby Lanigan tries to build off a good opening start. Gametime is at 6:05 in Port Charlotte.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 6 (3-4) Kane County 5

• The Snappers were the comeback kids in this one coming back from a 5-3 deficit going into the ninth inning to pick up a 6-5 victory. After James Beresford scored on a wild pitch to put the Snappers on top Steve Blevins made the lead stick. Dan Osterbrock got the start for the Snappers and was ok in this one. Osterbrock went 4.2 innings and gave up two runs on five hits along with one walk and six strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 6.43. Ben Tootle then came in and had a forgetable outing as he gave up three runs on two hits along with two walks in only 2/3 of an inning. With the three runs allowed Tootle raised his era on the year to 10.13 Dakota Watts then came on and pitched very well going 2.1 innings and not giving up a run along with two walks and five strikeouts. Edgar Ibarra got an out to pick up the win and even his record on the year to 1-1. Steve Blevins pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his second save of the year.

• The Snappers were not able to do much offensively until the ninth inning when they scored three runs to get the win. Overall they got 6 runs on only eight hits along with taking seven walks. The Snappers were led by Steve Liddle who went 2-3 at the plate with his third rbi of the year and raised his average to .360. Derek Mccallum went 2-5 with his third double of the year to raise his average up to .250. Michael Gonzalez hit his first homerun of the year also in the winning cause.

• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Kane County as Miguel Munoz is scheduled to pitch for the Snappers. Gametime is at 6:05 in Kane County.