Twins 8 (24-14) Blue Jays 3
- The Twins picked up their second consecutive win and tied a high water mark of 10 games over .500 with a convincing 8-3 win in Toronto last night against the Blue Jays. The Twins got an ok start out of Kevin Slowey along with great bullpen work and a big night from Justin Morneau to pick up the win. Kevin Slowey got the start for the Twins and I was really not impressed. It seemed like every pitch he threw up there Blue Jay hitters were all over. It also seemed like every hitter had a 3-2 count on him and has only made it into the 7th inning in one of his 8 starts this year so that is a concern as every time he pitches he makes the bullpen work. I would really like to see Slowey show some improvement in the sharpness of his pitches and show the stuff that he showed last year when he was on pace for a 20 win season before his year was cut short because of wrist surgery. In this one Slowey lasted only 5 innings and needed 98 pitches in order to accomplish that. In those 5 innings he gave up three runs on eight hits along with two strikeouts and a Jose Bautista homerun to raise his era on the year to 4.70 and improved his record to 5-3 and the 5 wins are a team high. Alex Burnett then came on and was awesome in this one. Burnett pitched two innings on two hits along with a walk to lower his era on the year to 3.26. Alex Burnett has been one of the most pleasant surprises on the Twins in the early part of 2010 hopefully he can keep it going. Matt Guerrier then came on a pitched a perfect 8th inning along with two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.00. Jesse Crain then pitched a scoreless ninth inning on one hit along witha strikeout to lower his era to 6.32.
- The Twins offense woke up from their slumber in New York to bounce back in a big way. They scored 8 runs on 12 hits along with drawing five walks and leaving 9 guys on base in this one. The Twins were led by Canada's own Justin Morneau who continued his hot May with his best day of the season in this one. Morneau went 3-4 at the plate with his 10th and 11th homeruns of the year and drove in 4 runs to bring his rbi total on the year to 29 and his average up to .374. Morneau was pretty good in April hitting .347 with 5 homeruns and 17 rbi's in 75 at bats. However, in May in only 56 at bats he is hitting .411 with 6 homeruns and 12 rbi's. He is off to one of the best starts of his career and here is hoping he can keep it going because if he does he should make room for another American League MVP award in his trophy case. Not to be outdone Joe Mauer had a big game also going 3-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .360 on the year. Right now Morneau and Mauer and 1-2 in the AL in batting average so that is quite a feat. Orlando Hudson making his return to Toronto for the first time since leaving in 2005 went 2-5 at the plate with his sixth double of the year and his 12th rbi to bring his average up to .289. Denard Span went 1-5 at the plate with his sixth double of the year. Nick Punto went 1-4 at the plate with his 3rd stolen base of the year. Delmon Young went 1-5 at the plate with his fourth homerun and 15th rbi of the year. Jason Kubel also contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Twins.
- Today, the Twins finish off their short 2 game series with the Blue Jays as the Twins send Carl Pavano to the mound against Toronto starter Shaun Marcum. Gametime is an early 11:35 start at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Rochester Wrap
Louisville 5 Rochester 0 (15-23)
- The Red Wings lost a tough one to Louisville last night as they were victimized by the long ball and could not take advantage of opportunities in the 5-0 victory for Louisville over Rochester. Matt Fox got the start and was not real sharp as he gave up 2 2run homeruns to put the game out of reach. In all Fox went 5 innings and gave up 5 runs on 6 hits along with a walk and three strikeouts with 2 homeruns given up. With the 5 runs allowed Fox saw his era balloon up to 3.06 and saw his record drop to 3-2. Cole Devries then came on and put up his best performance since coming on to Rochester. Devries pitched 3 shutout innings on no hits along with walking four and striking out three to lower his era on the year to 7.04. Jose Lugo then came on and pitched a scoreless ninth inning along with a walk to lower his era to 7.50 on the year.
- The Redwings could not push any runs across even though they had chance after chance after chance. They did not score a run on 8 hits along with drawing one walk and leaving 9 guys on base and having a Jose Morales passed ball. The Red Wings were led by Jacque Jones who continued his strong May by going 3-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .290. With the start that Dustin Martin got off to and when Jones tweaked his hamstring he was sent to the bench and there were many myself included who wondered if he had hit the end of the line. However, with Luke Hughes dinged up and Brian Dinkelman moving to 2nd base that has given Jones another opportunity and he had really taken advantage of it. Brian Dinkelman went 1-3 at the plate with his first stolen base of the year. Jason Repko, Trevor Plouffe, Dustin Martin, and Brock Peterson each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Red Wings. Danny Valencia went 0-4 at the plate to see his 20 game hitting streak come to an end.
- Tonight, is a big night in Rochester as uber prospect Stephen Strasburg gets the start for Syracuse as they take on the Red Wings who will counter with Twins top prospect 21 year old Deolis Guerra. Gametime is at 6:05 at Frontier Field in Rochester as the Red Wings try to get back on the winning track.
New Britain Business
- The Rockcats had yesterday off and will begin a series with Portland tonight as Carlos Gutierrez gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 5pm in Portland as the Rockcats try to get back on the right track.
Fort Myers Minutes
Fort Myers 5 (17-20) Clearwater 2
- The Miracle got back on the winning side thanks to contributions by the new members of the Miracle roster in Liam Hendriks, Joe Benson, and Chris Parmelee. Liam Hendriks got the start for the Miracle and was very good again. Hendriks went 6.1 innings and gave up two runs on 6 hits along with four strikeouts to bring his era up to 2.02 in 2 starts. Steve Blevins then came on and pitched the last 2.2 innings to pick up his first save with the Miracle on two hits along with a walk and three strikeouts.
- The Miracle did not get a whole lot going offensively, but thanks to some clutch hits and good pitching they were able to get the win. The Miracle scored 5 runs on 10 hits along with drawing 5 walks and leaving 9 guys on base and most importantly no errors after committing 5 on Sunday. The Miracle were led by Chris Hermann who went 2-4 at the plate with his 8th and 9th doubles of the year to bring his average up to .271 on the year. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 at the plate with his second triple of the year and his 9th rbi to bring his average up to .202. Nick Romero went 1-4 at the plate with his third double of the year. Joe Benson went 1-3 at the plate with his first stolen base of the year. Chris Parmelee went 1-4 at the plate with an rbi. Nathan Hanson, Evan Bigley, and Jair Fernandez each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Miracle in this game played in Fort Myers.
- Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Clearwater as Dan Osterbrock gets the start for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers as the Miracle try to get another win.
Beloit Beat
- The Snappers had yesterday off and have a double header today as they welcome in Kane County. Miguel Munoz gets the start in game 1 with Peter Kennelly scheduled to pitch game 2. Gametime is at 4:30 with the second game 30 minutes after the first.
