Royals 10 Twins 5 (9-4)
- The Twins could not complete the three game sweep over the Royals as the pitching staff let the team down and on offense they left too many guys on base to win. Carl Pavano had been so good the first two starts of the year that you knew one of these stinkers was coming because that is what Carl Pavano is all about. He will look good for 3-4 starts and then he will have a stinker which is the reason his era is so high. However, in my mind I will put up with the 1 out of 4 bad starts if he keeps making the three out of four good ones. Carl Pavano started and like I said he was not very good in this one as he gave up seven runs on a bad eleven hits including a three run homerun by Royals second baseman Alberto Callaspo. Pavano only lasted 3.1 innings and dropped his record to 2-1 on the year and raised his era to 4.96 after starting the day at 1.38. The bright spot of the day for the Twins had to be the outing out of rookie Alex Burnett who was just recalled after Jose Mijares went on the disabled list with an elbow strain. Burnett pitched 2.2 innings of shutout ball and allowed the offense to get back in the game for a while. Burnett only gave up two hits along with four strikeouts on the day. Ron Mahey then follwed and he was very good as well for the Twins. Mahey went two scoreless innings on only one hit along with three strikeouts. Jesse Crain followed and was not very good giving up a three run shot also to Callaspo to put the game out of reach. In Crain's one inning of work he gave up three runs on two hits along with a walk to balloon his era to a hefty 10.80. Overall the bullpen saw some encouraging things out of Burnett and Mahey as they both appear to be in line with sizeable roles with the Twins with Mahey taking over for Mijares and Burnett possibly taking over Crain's role if he keeps it up.
- Yesterday, the theme for the Twins were missed opprotunities as they left eleven guys on base and in fact had the bases loaded three times and without any runs scoring. Joe Mauer appears on one of his hot streaks after going 0-7 to start this series finished 5-9 to go 5-16 in the series. Mauer in this one went 3-4 at the plate to raise his average on the year to .378. Denard Span is rebounding after a slow start and went 2-5 with his fourth double to bring his average up to .245 and his on base percentage is sitting at a very good .377. Talking about on base percentage Orlando Hudson went 0-2 at the plate, but walked three times to bring his on base percentage up to .356. Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and Brendan Harris each contributed a base hit in the losing cause for the Twins.
- The Twins have today off before finishing off their homestand with a three game series with the Cleveland Indians Tuesday night at Target Field.
Rochester Wrap
Pawtucket 6 Rochester 3 (4-6)
- The Red Wings had a real chance to win this game and get back to .500, but their defense would not allow it as they committed a season high four errors which led to four Pawtucket unearned runs. Mike Maroth got the start for Rochester and was good enough to throw the shutout, but his defense let him down and gave up three unearned runs. Maroth went 3.2 innings and gave up three runs on five hits along with four strikeouts and has still not given up an earned run this season. Tim Lahey then came on and was not very good giving up two runs on three hits in 2.1 innings of work to bring his era up to 5.40. Matt Fox then came in and threw two shutout innings along with two walks and a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 2.25. Rob Delaney then came on in the ninth and pitched a scoreless inning on one hit to lower his era to 3.38.
- In this one the Red Wings were not able to solve the Pawtucket pitching staff as they were only able to get three runs on six hits against five Pawtucket pitchers. Dustin Martin led the offense going 2-3 at the plate with his second homerun of the year to bring his average up to .381. Dustin Martin was a guy many did not expect much of and he has really forced his way onto the field in the early going. Hopefully he can keep it going as he has quite a bit of talent. Wilson Ramos went 1-4 with his first homerun and first and second rbi's to bring his average up to .212. Luke Hughes went 1-4 with his seventh double on the young year to bring his average up to .258. Matt Tolbert and Jacque Jones each contributed a base hit in the losing cause.
- Today, the Red Wings continue their series with Pawtucket as Glen Perkins gets the start for Rochester. Gametime is at 5:35 at Frontier Field.
New Britain Business
New Britain 4 (3-7) Harrisburg 3
- The Rockcats continued their winning ways yesterday with a 4-3 victory over Harrisburg to win their third straight victory. David Bromberg got the start and once again proved that he is a man among boys and the ace of this pitching staff. Bromberg went six innings and gave up a run on only two hits along with a walk and six strikeouts to lower his miniscule era on the year to 0.82. Joe Testa then came on and gave up a run on a hit along with two walks and a strikeout in 2/3 of an inning to bring his era up to 16.62. Chris Province then came on and pitched the last 2.1 innings to pick up his second save of the year and gave up a run on two hits along with a walk and two strikeouts to bring his era to 6.23.
- In a pitchers duel the Rockcats got just enough offense as they put up four runs on seven hits along with drawing four walks. The Cats were led by Rene Tosoni who went 3-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .364. Mark Dolenc went 1-4 at the plate with his third and fourth rbi's of the year. Chris Parmelee, Juan Portes, and Yancarlos Ortiz each contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Rockcats.
- Today, the Rockcats continue their roadtrip as they travel to a new Eastern League city in Richmond as Carlos Gutierrez gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 6:05 in Richmond.
Fort Myers Minutes
- The Miracle had their game with Palm Beach rained out last night and will begin a series against Port Charlotte as staff ace Kyle Gibson gets the start. Gametime is at 6:05pm in Fort Myers.
Beloit Beat
Beloit 3 (6-5) Clinton 0
- The Snappers saw their early season success continue with a mastpiece by Liam Hendriks and Edgar Ibarra in a 3-0 victory over Clinton yesterday. Liam Hendriks got the start for Beloit and was awesome going six shutout innings on only four hits along with eight strikeouts. Hendriks has now not given up a run in 17 innings so far this year. Edgar Ibarra then came on and did wonderful pitching three shutout innings to pick up his second win of the year. Ibarra went three innings and gave up no runs along with three strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 5.40.
- In a pitchers duel like this it is not about how many hits or runs you get its about when you get them because all they needed was one run on this day, but they were able to get three runs on five hits. Anderson Hidalgo led the way going 3-3 at the plate to bring his average up to .435 on the year. Brian Dozier went 1-4 at the plate with his second rbi of the year. Steve Liddle went 0-4 with his fourth rbi. Angel Morales also added a base hit in the winning cause for Beloit.
- Today, the Snappers have an early morning game with Clinton as Dan Osterbrock is scheduled to pitch. Gametime is at 11am in Beloit
- Don't forget to join me tonight for the Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast tonight at 9pm. I have a starstudded guest lineup this week and you don't want to miss this show. I have Aaron Gleeman of http://aarongleeman.com and http://nbcsports.com. After Gleeman I will have the Twins Geek John Bonnes on and we will talk everything Twins as I havent had him on in quite a while so it will be nice talking to John again so don't miss tonights show. http://blogtalkradio.com/travistwinstalk
