Wednesday, May, 19th

Twins Talk
Blue Jays 11 Twins 2 (24-15)

• There is no pretty way to say this, but to say that the Twins got manhandled by the Blue Jays yesterday afternoon in Toronto by a score of 11-2. The Twins could not pitch, they could not hit, and could not get any clutch hits when the game was still in question. The good thing about it is every year the Twins have a few clunkers like this, but by and large you can count them on one hand while some less successful teams have quite a few of these in addition the Tigers lost to the White Sox so the Twins maintained their 2 game lead in the AL Central. Carl Pavano got the start and man was he bad as he put on his worst start of the season. Pavano only lasted 4 innings and gave up 6 runs on 10 hits along with two strikeouts and allowed two homeruns and hit a batter. With the 6 runs allowed it raised Pavano's era on the year to 4.11 and dropped his record to 4-4. The good thing about Pavano is that he has in his 8 starts 6 of them have been quality starts which is very good. However, as we saw last year when Pavano is off he is really bad and this start really reinforced that notion. Don't get the wrong idea though in his 6 quality starts he has an era of 2.09 while in his 2 bad starts he has a 16.48 era so the bottom line is when he is good he is really good and when he is bad he is really bad. Ron Mahey then came on and was not m uch better giving up three runs on three hits including a homerun and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work to raise his era to 3.09. Mahey needs to pick it up as in his last two outings he has given up 4 runs on 4 hits along with two homeruns after pitching scorless ball his first 11 outings. Jesse Crain then came on and threw gas on the fire giving up two runs on two hits along with a homerun in 1/3 of an inning to bring his era up to 7.31. I have been a Crain fan for as long as he has been there, but I feel like the time is now to cut the cord and dfa Crain. He just does not got it anymore and a change of scenery would be the best for him and even better would be a trip to the national league. The thing about him is he throws 95 and if he can straighten things out he could be a very effective reliever for someone. Jose Mijares then came on and pitched his second consecutive scoreless inning this time with no hits and two strikeouts to lower his era to 4.26. It would be big if Mijares could return to his former form of last year and of 2008.

• The Twins were shutdown by a good pitcher in Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum as the Twins were only able to score 2 runs on only 6 hits along with drawing 3 walks and leaving 6 guys on base. Jesse Crain also committed his first error of the year on an errant throw. The Twins were led offensively by Michael Cuddyer who went 2-3 at the plate with his second triple of the year along with a walk to bring his average up to .266. Joe Mauer went 1-3 at the plate with his 10th double of the year. Alexi Casilla went 1-1 in relief with his first triple of the year and his second rbi to bring his average up to .273. Jason Kubel went 1-3 at the plate with his 16th rbi of the year. Orlando Hudson also contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Twins.

• Tonight, the Twins begin a short two game series in Boston against the Red Sox as the Twins send Scott Baker to the mound versus Red Sox starter Clay Bucholz. Gametime is at 6:05 at Fenway Park in Boston.

Rochester Wrap

• The Red Wings had their game with Syracuse rained out last night and will be made up as part of a day night doubleheader tonight in Rochester. The probables for game 1 will be Ryan Mullins and for game 2 it will be quite the matchup as Deolis Guerra gets the ball for Rochester and uber prospect Stephen Strasburg gets the ball for Syracuse in what should be an excellent game. Gametime for game one is 10:05 am and game 2 is at 6:05 at Frontier Field in Rochester.

New Britain Business

Portland 2 New Britain 1 (7-29)

• The Rockcats suffered what is being known as a usual occurance as they lost a tough one run loss this time 2-1 to Portland yesterday. The Rockcats hit the ball pretty well, but where not able to take advantage so they had their record drop to 7-29 and fall 17 games out of first place in what is becoming a historically bad season in New Britain. Carlos Gutierrez got the start for the Rockcats and was very good once again. Gutierrez went 6 innings and gave up one earned run on only three hits along with walking three and striking out two to lower his era to 3.98 on the year and dropped his record on the year to 0-3. Gutierrez has been night and day between April and May as he was really bad in April by going 0-1 with a 6.63 era in 4 April starts and improved in May to 0-2 with a great 1.88 era in those 4 starts and has been victimized by lack of run support in May. Michael Allen then came on and pitched two shutout innings on one hit along with a strikeout to lower his era to 1.42.

• The Rockcats could not help their pitching as they were only able to put up 1 run on 11 hits along with drawing one walk and leaving an astonishing 9 guys on base. Carlos Gutierrez also committed his 2nd error of the year on an errant throw. The Rockcats were led by Ben Revere who went 3-5 at the plate with his first triple of the year to bring his average up to .291. Juan Portes went 2-3 at the plate to bring his average up to .185 on the season for the Rockcats. Erik Lis went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .500 in his first game with New Britain. Rene Tosoni went 2-4 at the plate with his 12th rbi and brought his average up to .286. Yangervis Solarte and Mark Dolenc each contributed a base hit in the losing cause for New Britain.

• Tonight, the Rockcats continue their series with Portland as Tyler Robertson gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 5pm in Portland as the Rockcats try to break their 2 game losing streak.

Fort Myers Minutes

Clearwater 4 Fort Myers 2 (17-21)

• The Miracle came on the short end of the stick in a good pitchers duel where runs came at a premium. Dan Osterbrock got the start for the Miracle and had his best start as a member of the Miracle. Osterbrock went 6.2 innings and gave up only two earned runs along with three walks and four strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 4.50. Billy Bulluck then came on and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings on 2 hits along with a walk and three strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.57. He has been even better in the Month of May. After compiling a 5.23 era in 8 April outings and in May he has been perfect not giving up a run in 10.2 innings in May.

• The Miracle could not get it going offensively last night as they were only able to put up two runs on 6 hits along with drawing four walks and leaving seven guys on base. They also committed three errors as Jair Fernandez committed his 3rd and 4th errors of the year and Joe Benson committed his 1st. The Miracle were led by Joe Benson who went 1-3 with his first double with the Miracle. Esterlin De Los Santos went 1-2 at the plate with his first rbi to bring his average up to .167. Chris Parmelee, Chris Hermann, Evan Bigley and Jair Fernandez each contributed base hits for the Miracle in the losing cause last night against Clearwater.

• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Clearwater as Adrian Salcedo makes his highly anticipated debut with the Miracle tonight. Gametime is at 6:05 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 7 (23-15) Kane County 0

Kane County 3 Beloit 2 (23-16)

• The Snappers split a doubleheader last night with Kane County as they won the first game 7-0 behind a great pitching performance by Miguel Munoz. However, in game 2 the Snappers went down 3-2 to maintain first place in the Midwest League South. In game 1 the Snappers got a great pitching performance by Miguel Munoz. Munoz went all 7 innings and gave up no runs on only 3 hits along with two walks and three strikeouts to lower his era to 3.24 and raised his record to 1-2. Munoz has been one of the most consistant pitchers on the Snappers pitching staff as he has put up good outings just about every time he has pitched. In game 2 Peter Kennelly got the start going three innings and gave one unearned run in three innings along with two walks and four strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 5.96. Jhon Garcia then came on and pitched 2 shutout innings on two hits. Eliecar Cardenas then came on and pitched 1.2 innings and gave up a run on a hit along with three strikeouts to raise his era to 1.35. Kane Holbrooks came on and gave up the winning run in 2 innings of work with one run on one hit along with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 1.14 and drop his record to 2-2. Matt Tone got the final out to lower his era to 3.38.

• In Game 1 the Snappers put up 7 runs on 7 hits and took advantage of three unearned runs. They also drew a walk while leaving only 3 guys on base. The Snappers were led by Brian Dozier who went 2-3 at the plate with two rbi's to bring his total on the year up to 16 and his average up to .292. Michael Gonzalez went 1-3 with his 5th homerun of the year and 2 rbi's to bring his total up to 11. Aaron Hicks, James Beresford, and Danny Rams each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Snappers. In game 2 the Snappers did not get much going as they were held to 2 runs on 5 hits along with drawing 4 walks and leaving 5 guys on base. Anderson Hidalgo committed his 5th error of the season in the loss. The Snappers were led offensively by Brian Dozier who went 1-4 at the plate with his 7th double and his 17th rbi. Anderson Hidalgo went 1-3 at the plate with his 10th double of the year. Reggie Williams went 2-3 at the plate with his 2nd stolen base of the year to improve his average up to .190. James Beresford also contributed a base hit in the loss for the Snappers.

• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Kane County as Brad Stillings gets the start for Beloit. Gametime is at 6:30 in Beloit.

Just a reminder the Travis Twins Talk blog will be going on a temporary hiatus as I will be traveling back to Minnesota and will be unplugged from a computer so if anyone has any news they can email me at travis_aune@yahoo.com. I will be back online Monday or Tuesday so look back then for more Twins Talk.