Q&A with Matt Fox

I had the priviledge to do a Q&A with New Britain Rockcats starting pitcher Matt Fox. After talking with him I have a lot of respect what he has overcome to be a good pitching prospect for the Twins. There are not many guys that would keep going and fighting through what he has gone through. I really think you are going to enjoy this Q&A and i really want to get some comments on Matt and what you thought of the interview. So leave comments in the box or email me at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

Travis Talks: As a kid did you have any favorite teams?

Matt Fox: I liked 2 teams, the Reds when I was real young, and then the Marlins when they came along.

Travis Talks: In High School did you just play baseball or did you play other sports too?

Matt Fox: I just played Baseball, but was really into golf, actually tried out for the golf team, but I'm pretty sure the golf coach knew I wasn't too serious about joining the team and that i just wanted to play free golf for the week of the tryouts.

Travis Talks: Tell me about your high school career?

Matt Fox: To start off i only played shortstop, didn't pitch and made Varsity as a Freshman. Basically was the starting shortstop only until half way threw my junior year when i jumped on mound for fun and realized how hard I was throwing and that I might have a future on the mound. Went to some showcases summer before my Senior year and was thought from there on that I would have more potential as a pitcher then hitter and the next levels, but still did both.

Travis Talks: In the 2001 draft you were selected in the 6th round by Arizona, but didn't sign did you consider signing and why didnt you sign?

Matt Fox: I was expecting from what scouts were telling me that I would go anywhere in the top 4 or 5 rounds. My family and I had a figure we were comforttable with and we just didn't get to that figure. I also played shortstop and at the time didnt feel like my time playing there was done, as I wanted to go to college and no only pitch, but also hit.

Travis Talks: After high school you went to Central Florida university what led you there?

Matt Fox: I went to UCF for a couple reasons. One was that my brother played there the 4 years before i went , and i had a relationship with the coaching staff that was really strong. another reason was, they were one of the few schools who wanted me to pitch and hit. While alot of other schools either wanted me to pitch only or hit only, not do both.

Travis Talks: Were you heavily recruited out of high school?

Matt Fox: I think i was recruited heavily all the florida schools and a lot of the ACC/SEC Schools were interested. Miami, LSU, Clemson wanted me as a pitcher only, while Tennessee, FAU, and others wanted me only as a hitter.

Travis Talks: You were selected in the 1st round in 2004 by the Twins had they been talking to you or were you surprised they drafted you?

Matt Fox: After going threw the whole draft process in HS, i knew how unpredictable the draft can be, so i didnt look too much into who was talking to me the most or who wasn't. I think I talked to the twins just as much as others, and wasnt overally surprised they took me.

Travis Talks: You started your career in E-town what was it like pitching that first year as a professional?

Matt Fox: My first year was a rough one, only had 3-4 starts before i started feeling shoulder pain, and then was shut down for the rest of the season, besides that i was excited to be there but wanted to be healthy more then anything.

Travis Talks: In 2005 you had shoulder surgery what was the injury and rehab consist of?

Matt Fox: I had a labrum repair and some small work done on my rotator cuff. I had surgery with DR. Andrews and headed to FOrt myers and rehabed there for a year to year and half

Travis Talks: How long did it take to gain confidence back in your arm?

Matt Fox: It's been a long process. At first my confidence wasnt' there and that held me back, then my arm felt good but I couldnt get my velocity above 84 or so. the last 2 years or so have been good, feeling strong and no pain at all. Just waiting and hoping i can get some more velocity.

Travis Talks: Have you had any problems with your arm since the surgery?

Matt Fox: Knock on wood but have had no problems, feeling great!

Travis Talks: Was there ever a time you wanted to call it quits and do something else?
Matt Fox: Coming back from surgey was a tough journey, but at no time did i ever think about doing anything else. Playing a game you love is the best job in the world, and I kept telling myself to just stick with it and one day hopefulyl my time will come.

Travis Talks: What pitches do you throw?

Matt Fox: Currently I throw a 4 seam fastball, Cutter, Curveball and Change-up, usually in that order.

Travis Talks: What would you call your strikeout pitch when you really need a strikeout?

Matt Fox: I'd say for a righty it'd be my cutter, for a lefty, it'd have to be my curveball.

Travis Talks: For someone who doesn't know what is gameday like when your pitching?

Matt Fox: For me personally, it starts when i get up, i just run over there hitters in my mind, try to visualize myself throwing and gettting good results, then it's just kind of sit aroudn and wait until it't stretch time and thats when you really have to focus in. During the game you just get into that tunnel vision where its you and the batter and thats it. Just try and compete and keep your team in the game.

Travis Talks: What was it like when you got your first professional paycheck?

Matt Fox: It was a great feeling, just getting paid to play a game you love is a great feeling!

Travis Talks: What do you think it will be like to pitch at Target Field?

Matt Fox: I'm not too sure, all i know is it's outdoors and MN gets really cold! So it'll be cold and very exciting.

Travis Talks: You have progressed through the system does it ever get frustrating when you dont get promoted when you think your ready?

Matt Fox: Sure, at times it can, but what i have learned is not to read too much into what happens with the moves. You can't control who moves and who doesn't. All you can control is how you pitch and hopefully one day you get your chance.

Travis Talks: If a high school player asked you what does it take to make it in pro ball what would you tell him?

Matt Fox: You have to be ready for a grind. At times the season gets long, long bus trips, crappy hotels, eating fast food. you really have to have a passion for it, and have your heart into it at all times. Other then that, just hard work and a positive attitude!

I would like to thank Matt Fox for taking the time to do this I really appreciate it and best of luck for the rest of the year.

Tuesday, July, 7th

Twins Talk

• The Twins had yesterday off and prepare to begin a 3 game series with the hated New York Yankess as the Twins will send Scott Baker to the mound to get the series off on the right foot.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 7 Buffalo 3

• The finished their series with Buffalo on the right foot with a nice 7-3 victory over the Bisons. Armando Gabino made the spot start for the Red Wings and was very good in this one. Gabino went 4.1 innings and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits along with a walk to lower his era on the year to 3.25 on the year. Gabino has been very solid this year and I would like to see Armando get a chance with the Twins, but I have a sinking suspicion that he is probably 4th in line behind Crain, Morillo, and Delaney. Jesse Crain then came on and had his best outing of his season with Rochester by going 2.2 hitless innings along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 3.72. If Jesse Crain can pitch like he did last night it won't be long till he is back with the Twins because they are begging for another reliever that can get guys out, but he hasn't shown that on a consistant basis yet so I need to see more out of him. Rob Delaney then came on and pitched the last 2 innings and was ok. Delaney went 2 innings and gave up 1 run on 2 hits along with 1 walk and 1 strikeout to raise his era to 5.00.

• The Red Wings really had a big offensive night as they put on 7 runs on 16 hits and could of been even bigger if they had not left 9 guys on base. Jason Pridie led the offense by going 3-5 with his 4th homerun of the year along with his 15th double. He also drove in 3 runs to bring his season total up to 26 on the year and brought his average up to .252. Trevor Plouffe went 3-3 to raise his average on the year to .242. Alexi Casilla went 3-5 with 2 runs scored to raise his average to .343 on the year. Matt Macri went 3-4 to raise his average on the year to .230 on the year. Steve Tolleson went 2-4 with his 1st triple of the year and drove in his 9th and 10th runs of the year to bring his average up to .321. Justin Huber went 2-3 and his 45th rbi of the year and improved his average on the year to .283 on the year.
• Tonight, the Red Wings begin a series with 2nd place Syracuse and with all the rainouts the Red Wings will have to have another bullpen game as Reid Santos is tentatively scheduled to pitch for Rochester.
• Big News: Justin Huber replaced Anthony Swarzak on the International League All-Star team.

New Britain Business

New Britain 3 Trenton 1

• The Rockcats continued their winning ways as they won their 2nd consecutive win with a tough hard fought 3-1 victory over Trenton last night. Yohan Pino got his first start for the Cats since his return to the Rockcats rotation and was very good. Pino went 5.1 innings and gave up only 1 run on 6 hits along with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.53 and improved his record on the year to 3-1. Yohan Pino has really stepped up after getting off to a rough start on the year. Pino realistically is not a huge prospect, but he has pitched some quality innings for the Cats and has developed into a solid starting pitcher for the Rockcats. Alex Burnett then came on and pitching 2.2 shutout innings along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.25. Anthony Slama came on and pitched the last inning without giving up a run along with 1 strikeout to pick up his 17th save of the year to lower his era on the year to 2.64.

• The Rockcats did not get alot of offense going in the game, but it was enough to get the win with only 6 hits. Juan Portes really supplied the only offense the Rockcats would need in this game as he went 3-4 and drove in 2 runs to bring his total up to 31 on the year and brought his average up to .312. Brian Dinkelman hit his 21st double of the year and improved his average to .303 on the year. Yancarlos Ortiz and Rene Tosoni added hits in the winning cause for the Rockcats.
• Tonight, the Rockcats begin a 3 game series with first place Connecticut as Frank Mata is scheduled to pitch for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Palm Beach 4 Fort Myers 2

• The Miracle had a tough loss last night to Palm Beach by a score of 4-2 in which they got good pitching just not enough hitting to pick up the win. Tyler Robertson got the start for the Miracle and was very solid. Robertson went 7 innings and gave up 3 runs on 6 hits along with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.43 on the year and dropped his record to 5-4. Tyler Robertson continued his strong go of it since a rough start even though he got the loss in this game he still put up a solid start that would be good enough to win in on most nights. Loek Van Mil then came in and gave up a run on no hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his very good era to 0.95 on the year. Loek Van Mil has been awesome since coming off the disabled list as he has only given up 2 runs in 19 innings of work on the year for Van Mil and has positioned himself into possibly getting a promotion sometime this summer to AA New Britain.

• The Miracle really could not get it going last night as they were only able to muster 2 runs even though they had 10 hits. The reason they could not get more runs was they left 8 guys on base in the night. Rene Leveret led the offense by going 2-3 to raise his average on the year to .298. Nick Romero went 2-4 with his 5th double of the year to improve his average on the year to .272. Mark Dolenc went 2-4 with his 3rd triple of the year and drove in his 23rd run of the year to improve his average to .284. Esterlin De Los Santos went 1-4 with his 3rd triple of the year to improve his average to .288. Ben Revere went 1-5 at the plate to continue his worse slump of his career. Revere is only 3 for his last 28 a .107 average and not something he has ever experienced as a pro. I have no doubt that he will get it going, but I am sure he is plenty frustrated right now. Steve Singelton and Chris Parmalee each added a hit in the losing cause for the Miracle.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Palm Beach as Mike Mccardell gets the start for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Peoria 7 Beloit 2

• The Snappers had their short 2 game winning streak stopped in a big way to Peoria last night as the Snappers went down 7-2 to the Chiefs. Dan Berlind got the start for the Snappers and actually was pretty good. Berlind went 4.2 innings and only gave up 2 runs on 7 hits along with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 4.33 on the year. Berlind has been solid all year long and has really kept the Snappers in the game most starts it is just that the Snappers could not score any runs for him and that continued last night. Thomas Wright then came on and lets just say he was awful on this night. Wright went 3 innings and gave up 5 runs on 5 hits along with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 12.00. Wright has really struggled since coming off the disabled list and it would not surprise me if he did not make it through the season. Bruce Pugh got the final out in the losing cause for the Snappers to lower his era on the year to 4.38.

• The Snappers really couldn't get anything going on the night as they could only muster 2 runs on 6 hits. Michael Harrington led the offense by going 2-4 with his 23rd double of the year and his 26th rbi to raise his average on the year to .236. Ramon Santana went 1-3 with his 38th rbi of the year and improved his average up to .298. Aaron Hicks went 0-3 with his 13th walk of the year compared to only 11 strikeouts so he has a very good eye at the plate. Hicks is only hitting .217, but his 13 walks really helps him maintain a .383 obp which is very good considering he is only hitting .217. That discipline at the plate will come in handy and just imagine what it will be when he adjusts and starts hitting like we all know he will. Aaron is too talented of a player to be hitting .217 at A ball and it is just a matter of time until he explodes. James Beresford, Nathan Hanson, and Drew Thompson all contributed hits in the losing cause for the Snappers.
• Tonight, the Snappers finish off their series with Peoria as Dan Osterbrock gets the start for Beloit.

E-town Entertainment

E-town 5 Princeton 2

Princeton 5 E-town 4

• The E-town Twins split a doubleheader with Princeton to make up for the rainout on Sunday. The Twins won the first game by a score of 5-2 before dropping the second one by a score of 5-4. In game 1 Matire Garcia got the start and was ok. Garcia went 5 innings and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits along with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts to pick up his 2nd win of the year and raise his era to 3.00 on the year. Garcia has really not gotten hit this year, but the walks are disconcerting as he has walked 14 batters in only 12 innings of work in 3 starts. There is nothing in his history to suggest a walk problem, but he needs to get this taken care of soon. Brad Stillings then came on and went 1/3 of an inning with 2 walks to lower his era to 3.00. Tony Davis then followed and went 2/3 of an inning with a strikeout to lower his era to 5.40. Billy Bulluck pitched the 7th to get his 2nd save of the year along with a strikeout to lower his era to 1.42. In game 2 Michael Munoz got the start and was ok. Munoz went 3.2 innings and gave up 4 runs on 4 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to raise his average up to 4.40 on the year. Munoz really has not had a good start to the season and will feel the pressure of Matt Bashore joining the staff as they decide who is the person to go to the bullpen and right now it might be Munoz. Matt Tone took the loss by going 2.1 innings and gave up 1 run on 2 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 2.70.

• The Twins had their bats quieted down a little bit, but compared to what they were doing offensively it looks like they aren't hitting at all which is a stretch. In game 1 they scored 5 runs on 8 hits. The Twins were led by Derek Mccallum who went 2-3 with his first triple of the year and drove in 3 runs to bring his total up to 6 on the year and increase his average to .250. Josmil Pinto went 2-3 with his 2nd double of the year to raise his average up to .303. Anderson Hidalgo went 2-3 to raise his average up to .313. Michael Gonzalez and Tobias Streich each contributed a hit in the Twins win. Tyler Ladendorf went 0-4 at the plate to lower his average to .380 on the year. In game 2 the Twins put up 4 runs on only 5 hits. Michael Gonzalez went 1-2 with 2nd double of the year to bring his average up to .343. Danny Rams went 1-3 with his 5th double with his 21st rbi. Paul Klingsberg went 1-2 with his 2nd and 3rd rbi's of the year and brought his average up to .348. Chris Herman and Tyler Ladendorf added hits in the losing cause for the Twins.
• Tonight, the Twins will continue their series with Princeton as Angelo Sanchez gets the start for Elizabethton.

Monday, July, 6th

Twins Talk
Tigers 11 Twins 9 16 innings Friday WP: Dolsi LP Dickey

Slowey 3 inn 6 runs 5 hits 4k Span 5-8 with triple and 2 rbi's

Twins 4 Tigers 3 Saturday WP: Guerrier LP: Lyon Save: Nathan (22)

Liriano 7 inn 3 runs 5 hits 2bb 8k Morneau 4-4 20th hr and 2 rbi's

Twins 6 Tigers 2 Sunday WP: Blackburn LP: Porcell0

Blackburn 9 inn 1 ER 7 hits 1bb 6k Morneau 2-4 21st hr and 2 rbi's



Rochester Wrap
Rochester 6 Buffalo 2 Friday WP: Manship LP: Perez Save: Delaney

Manship 7 inn 1 run 5 hits 4bb 2 k Huber 2-3 2 doubles 2rbi's and 2 walks

Buffalo 8 Rochester 3 Saturday WP: Figueroa LP: Mulvey

Mulvey 5.1 inn 6 runs 7 hits 5bb 4k Valencia 2-3 with a rbi

Rochester 9 Buffalo 5 Sunday WP: Humber LP: Stoner Save: Morillo

Humber 6 inn 5 runs 6 hits 1bb 5k Pridie 3-5 with double,triple homerun and 3 rbi's

Buffalo 5 Rochester 0 Sunday WP: Niese LP Jason Jones

Jones 7 inn 5 runs 9 hits 3k Christy 2-2 with a walk


New Britain Business
Portland 6 New Britain 4 Friday WP:Mills LP: Devries Save: Cox

Devries 4.1 6 runs 10 hits 1bb 5k era 3.13 Roberts 2-4 2 doubles and 3 rbi's

Portland 8 New Britain 5 Friday WP:Doubront LP: Fox Save: Large

Fox 3.2 inn 7 runs 6 hits 6bb 4k era 3.58 Gardenhire 3-4 with double and rbi

Trenton 7 New Britain 6 Saturday WP: Schmidt LP: Waldrop

Gutierrez 5 inn 1 run 1 hit 2bb 2k era 5.46 Lis 4-7 with a double

New Britain 5 Trenton 0 Sunday WP: Mullins LP: Bleich

Mullins 8 inn o runs 5 hits 8 strikeouts era 4.59 Portes 2-5 with double and 3 rbi's



Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 2 Charlotte 1 Friday WP: Guerra LP: Downs Save: S. Arias

Guerra 7.1 inn 1 hit 1 run 1bb 6k Steve Singelton 2-4 with a double

Charlotte 9 Fort Myers 2 Saturday WP: Newmann LP: Hirschfeld Save: Mejias

Hirschfeld 3.1 inn 8runs 6 hits 2bb 2k era 2.86 Leveret 3-5 average .287

Fort Myers 8 Palm Beach 4 Sunday WP: Bromberg LP: Brown

Bromberg 5.2 inn 3earned runs 8 hits 2bb 4k Dolenc 2-3 with 2 rbi's



Beloit Beat
Cedar Rapids 5 Beloit 4 WP: Pugliesse LP: B. Martin Save: Taylor

Lanigan 5.2 inn 3 runs 6 hits 2 walks 5 strikeouts Hicks 2-4 double,triple,rbi,sb

Beloit 4 Peoria 1 WP: Tarsi LP: Shafer Save: M. Williams

Tarsi 7 inn 1 run 8 hits 3bb 3k Hicks 2-3 with 2 walks

Beloit 4 Peoria 2 WP: Tippett LP: Hatley Save: B. Martin

Tippett 7 inn 2 runs 6 hits 1 bb 5k Hicks 0-3 with a walk BA: ..233

E-town Entertainment

E-town 7 Greenville 5 Friday WP: Stuifbergen LP: Cruz Save: Bulluck

Stuifbergen 6 inn 4 runs 9 hits 1bb 6k Ladendorf 1-5 rbi ba:.429

E-town 13 Greenville 8 Saturday WP: Hendricks LP: Queved

Hendricks 5 inn 3 earned runs 8 hits 3k Ladendorf 1-4 hr,rbi and a walk

E-town 0 Princeton 0 Rained out Sunday

New Britain Rockcats: June Awards

Today I will be bringing you the Pitcher and Hitter of the month for the New Britain Rockcats for the month of June. The Rockcats had alot of changes in June as they lost Danny Valencia, Steve Tolleson, and Jeff Manship to promotion to Rochester and Catcher Wilson Ramos to injury so they had some difficulties, but also had a very good month with some good performances.

• Pitcher of the Month: Cole Devries- Cole Devries had a great month of June and really has been good all year long. In June Devries really stepped it up for the Rockcats. In 5 starts in June Devries went 2-2 with a 2.70 era. In 30 innings Cole only walked 7 batters while striking out 17. With the 30 innings in 5 starts that is 6 innings a start which is very good. He held opponents to a .281 batting average in the month of June. Cole Devries is a pitch to contact type of pitcher that gets by on guile and guts. He is a guy that I can't figure out how he gets by, but every season he makes his 30 starts and has an era in the 3's and gives his team a chance to win every time. On the year Cole is 5-7 with a very good 3.13 on the year in 15 starts Cole has worked 83.1 innings.
• Others Considered: Matt Fox, Anthony Slama, Yohan Pino

• Hitter of the Month: Rene Tosoni- Rene Tosoni really turned it on in the month after June after getting off to a slow start for the Rockcats. Tosoni hit only .180 with an ops of .622. In May he turned it up to hit .323 with an ops of 1.013. He kept it going in June by hitting .304 with 2 homeruns and 17 rbi's along with 7 doubles and a triple along with 15 walks. Tosoni also scored 15 runs in the month. In June he had a obp of .439 along with a slugging percentage of .494 for an ops of .932. His season numbers are all the more impressive as he is hitting .280 on the year with 10 homeruns and 47rbi's which are team highs in homeruns and rbi's for the Rockcats. Rene Tosoni has really established himself as a big time prospect for the Twins and people need to remember he just turned 23 on Thursday so he is very young for his level and I look for him to keep getting better as he develops his game.
• Others considered: Juan Portes, Erik Lis, Brandon Roberts

MInor League Stop

I think everyone knows that the Twins defeated the Royals 5-1 on Wednesday afternoon so I am not going to go over that game again. I am though going to get everyone up to date on the minor league games played on Wednesday and Thursday. In tommorrow's post I will have coverage on the Twins game against the Tigers so this is only a one day thing that I won't have Twins coverage.


Rochester Wrap
Rochester Day off Wednesday
Rochester 0 Buffalo 0 Thursay as it was rained out

• The Red Wings had their game rained out last night and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday. Tonight, the Red Wings begin their series with Buffalo as Jeff Manship gets the ball for Rochester.

New Britain Business

New Britain 3 Portland 1 Wednesday

New Britain 3 Portland 1 Wednesday

New Britain 0 Portland 0 Rained out Thursday

• The Rockcats completed a doubleheader sweep on Wednesday night with identical 3-1 victories over Portand. In game 1 Frank Mata got the spot start and was very effective. Mata went 3.2 innings and only gave up 1 run on 2 hits along with 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.64 on the year. Frank Mata made a nice spot start and if he can keep pitching like he did Wednesday night he will be a very effective reliever for the Rockcats. Jose Lugo then came on and pitched a very good 2.1 innings. Lugo went 2.1 innings and only gave up 1 walk along with 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.36 and improve his record on the year to 4-2. Anthony Slama came on in the 7th to pick up his 16th save of the year. Slama pitched 1 inning shutout inning along with 1 walk and 1 strikeout to lower his era to 2.47 on the year. In game 2 Yohan Pino got the start and was also very good. Pino went the first 4 innings and gave up 1 run on 5 hits along with a walk and 6 strikeouts to lower his era to 3.74 on the year. Pino has really been very effective as he got off to a slow start, but has turned it on and I would have no problem slotting Pino into the starting rotation after the Rockcats lost Jeff Manship to Rochester. Kyle Waldrop continued his dominance at AA by pitching 2.2 scoreless innings to pick up his 1st win with New Britain. Waldrop has worked 8 shutout innings since his callup to New Britain and after having arm problems last year seems like he is back at full strength and will be a good arm out of the bullpen for the Rockcats. Alex Burnett got the last out to pick up his 1st save at the AA level and lowered his era to a very good 2.29.

• The Rockcats did not really get the bats going in either game, but because of the really good pitching it ended up being enough to win both games. In game 1 the Rockcats got 3 runs on 6 hits. Toby Gardenhire led the offense going 2-3 to improve his average on the year to .252. Brian Dinkelman went 1-3 with his 19th double of the year to improve his average to .298. Brandon Roberts went 1-4 with his 10th double of the year and an rbi to bring his total up to 25. Erik Lis went 1-3 with his 12th double of the year to bring his average up to an even .300 on the year. Allan De San Miguel also contributed a hit in the Rockcats victory Wednesday night. In game 2 the Rockcats once again scored 3 runs on 6 hits to pick up the victory. Rene Tosoni was the hitting star in this one going 2-3 with his 16th double of the year and improved his average up to .280 on the year. After a slow start Tosoni has really picked it up to lead the team in homeruns, rbi's and brought his average to a very respectable .280 on the year. Yancarlos Ortiz went 1-3 with his 4th double of the year and drove in his 16th run of the year to improve his average to .221. Whit Robbins went 1-3 with 2 rbi's to bring his season total up to 35 and brought his average up to .304. Brian Dinkelman and Matt Moses also contributed hits in the Rockcats victory Wednesday night to complete the sweep.
• Tonight, the Rockcats will compete in another doubleheader with Portland to make up for the rainout on Thursday. Cole Devries will pitch for the Rockcats in game 1 while Matt Fox gets the ball in game 2.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 0 Lakeland 0 Wednesday Rained Out

Fort Myers 0 Lakeland 0 Wednesday Rained Out

Fort Myers 3 Lakeland 1 Thursday

Fort Myers 4 Lakeland 1 Thursday

• The Miracle after having a couple days washed out because of rain swept a doubleheader last night from Lakeland as they won by the scores of 3-1 in the first game and 4-1 in the second. In game 1 Tyler Robertson got the ball, but because of a long rain delay in the 3rd inning was only able to go 2 innings. Coming back from an arm injury it is best to be careful with Robertson and not risk getting him hurt. Tyler was off to a good start in this one though as he went 2 good innings. Robertson went 2 innings and only gave up 2 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 3.39 on the year. Joe Testa came in and pitched 2 shutout innings on 3 hits along with a walk and 5 strikeouts to improve his record on the year to 1-0. Loek Van Mil pitched 2 more shutout innings on 2 hits to lower his era on the year to 0.53. Van Mil has been the story of the second half after coming off the disabled list. In 17 innings Van Mil has only given up 1 run which is very impressive. Blair Erickson pitched the 7th to pick up his 9th save of the year and allowed an unearned run on 1 hit along with 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.36 on the year. In game 2 the Miracle sent out Mike Mccardell and he was fabulous. Mccardell went all 7 innings to pick up the win for the Miracle. Mccardell went 7 innings and gave up only 1 run on 7 hits along with 1 walk and an incredible 9 strikeouts. It had to be one of Mike Mccardell's best starts of the season and there have been many of them as he has had a great year after getting off to a slow start to become one of Fort Myers most reliable starters and someone who should be considered for a promotion if one is needed to AA.

• The Miracle did not score much in the doubleheader, but obviously they scored enough to get the job done since they won both games. In game 1 the Miracle were led by Steve Singelton who went 1-3 with his 5th homerun of the year and his 31st rbi of the year to bring his average up to .254. Deibinson Romero went 1-3 with his 16th double of the year to bring his average up to .245. Evan Bigley, Mark Dolenc, Jair Fernandez, and Chris Cates all contributed base hits in the Miracles victory. In game 2 the Miracle could only muster 4 runs on 9 hits, but that was enough to get the win. Steve Singelton continued his hot streak as he went 2-4 in the nightcap to bring his average up to .258. Mark Dolenc went 2-3 to bring his average on the year to .276. Chris Parmalee gave the Miracle all the runs they would need with a 2 run homerun. Parmalee went 1-3 with his 10th homerun and his 43rd and 44th rbi's of the year to bring his average up to .268. Nick Romero went 1-3 with his 3rd homerun of the year and his 13th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .276. Deibinson Romero went 1-3 with his 17th double of the year and his 39th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .247. Evan Bigley went 1-3 with his 7th double of the year and brought his average up to .262 on the year. Juan Richardson added a hit in the winning cause for the Miracle.
• Tonight, the Miracle begin a short 2 game series with Charlotte as Deolis Guerra is scheduled to pitch for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Cedar Rapids 8 Beloit 2 Wednesday

Cedar Rapids 5 Beloit 1 Thursday

• The Snappers lost a couple games the last couple of days to Cedar Rapids by the scores of 8-2 on Wednesday and 5-1 last night. On Wednesday night Dan Berlind got the ball for the Snappers and was not very good. Berlind went 3.2 innings and gave up 4 runs on 5 hits along with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts to raise his era to 4.36 and lower his record to 2-9 on the year. Dan Berlind was good for a while, but it seems like the hitters in the Midwest League have caught up and he needs to make some adjustments. Blake Martin then came on and went 2.1 shutout innings along with 4 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.60. Thomas Wright then came on and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits along with 2 walks and 1 strikeout in 1 inning of work to raise his era to 9.00 on the year. Mike Allen then came on and went 1 shutout inning on a hit to lower his era on the year to 5.37. Bruce Pugh pitched the 9th and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits along with a strikeout to raise his era to 4.54. On Thursday night Dan Osterbrock got the start for the Snappers and was solid wiht his defense letting him down a little bit in the game. Osterbrock went 5 innings and gave up 3 runs on 10 hits along with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.90 on the year and lower his record to 4-6. Osterbrock has really come on after a horrible April and May to be a decent pitching in June and the start of July. Curtis Leavitt then came on and gave up 1 run on 1 hit along with a walk and 3 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 7.71 on the year. Matt Williams pitched the last 2 innings and gave up 1 unearned run on 2 hits to lower his era on the year to 2.32.

• The Snappers really could not get the bats going in the games as they only scored 3 runs in the 2 games combined. On Wednesday night the Snappers only got 2 runs on 6 hits. Jeff Lanning led the attack going 2-4 with his 4th double of the year to bring his average up to .254 on the year. Buddy Munroe went 2-4 to bring his average up to .375. Jon Waltenbury and Drew Thompson contributed hits in the losing cause for the Snappers. Aaron Hicks continued his slow start by going 0-3 even though he did pick up his 7th rbi of the year to drop his average down to .200 on the year. On Thursday night the Snapper offense really could not do anything as they only got 1 run on 2 hits and that is not going to ever get it done. James Beresford was really the only one to do anything at the plate going 1-4 with his 4th double of the year to bring his average up to .278. Nathan Hanson went 1-3 to bring his average up to .254. Aaron Hicks continued his struggles by going 0-3 with a walk to lower his average on the year to .188.
• Tonight, the Snappers finish off their series with Cedar Rapids as Bobby Lanigan gets the start for Beloit.

E-town Entertainment

E-town 8 Bristol 3 Wednesday

E-town 12 Greenville 4 Thursday

• The Twins won 2 games this week and continued their dominant start of the season by beating Bristol 8-3 on Wednesday and beating Greenville by a 12-4 score on Thursday. Michael Munoz got the start for the Twins on Wednesday agains Bristol and he was very good. Munoz went 5.2 innings and gave up 1 run on 5 hits along with 4 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.53 after 2 starts. Kyle Carr then came in and went 2.1 shutout innings on 1 hit along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 1.08. Winston Marquez finished the game by going the last inning and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits along with a walk to bring his era up to 9.00 on the year. On Thursday night the Twins had Angelo Sanchez on the mound he also did very well. Sanchez went 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs on 6 hits along with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 4.09 and raise his record to 2-0 in 2 starts for the E-town Twins after last night. Ramon Acosta then came in and went 2 innings and gave up 2 unearned runs on 2 hits along with 1 walk and 1 strikeout to lower his era down to 1.80. Tony Davis pitched the 9th and gave up no runs on 1 hit along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 6.23.

• The Twins bats continue to dominate the games as they scored 20 runs in the 2 games for E-town. On Wednesday night they had 8 runs on 11 hits to pick up the victory. Tyler Ladendorf led the offense by going 3-5 with his 3rd homerun of the year along with his 3rd double and drove in 4 runs to bring his season total up to 11 and brought his average up to .438. Derek Mccallum had a big game going 2-3 to bring his average on the year to .229. Danny Rohling went 1-3 with his first triple of the year and drove in 2 runs to bring his season total up to 3. Chris Hermann, Michael Gonzalez, Danny Rams, Paul Klingsberg, and Anderson Hidalgo added hits in the winning cause. On Thursday night the Twins offense went crazy for 12 runs on 14 hits in the winning cause because you arent going to lose very often when you score 12 runs. Danny Rams led the attack going 3-5 with his 5th homerun and drove in his 16th, 17th and 18th rbi's of the year and improved his average to .429 on the year. Tyler Ladendorf also went 3-5 with his 4th and 5th doubles of the year and drove in his 12th and 13th runs of the year to bring his average up to .459. Tobias Streich went 1-5 with his 2nd homerun of the year and drove in his 3rd, 4th, and 5th rbi's of the year. Jasmil Pinto went 1-5 with his 4th homerun of the year and drove in his 1oth run of the year. Chris Hermann went 1-4 with his 4th double of the year for the Twins. Anderson Hidalgo, Danny Rohlfing, Reggie Williams, and Jon Goncalves each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Twins.
• Tonight, the Twins continue their series with Greenville as Tom Stuifbergen gets the start for Elizabethton.

Rochester Red Wings: June Awards

Today I will look at the Rochester Red Wings and their June awards with the Pitcher of the month and the Hitter of the month. The Red Wings have continued to hang around in the playoff race because of those 2 guys among others. Hope you enjoy and will leave a comment in the comment box or send me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

• Pitcher of the Month: Anthony Swarzak- The Red Wings did not have very good pitching in the month of June so I chose a guy who did not spend the entire month of June in Rochester. In the month of June Anthony Swarzak made 3 starts for the Red Wings and went 1-0 with a very good 2.53 era. Swarzak went 21.1 innings, which is overy 7 innings a start which shows how big of a horse he is. He allowed only 6 runs in 21.1 innings of work along with only 5 walks and 11 strikeouts. Swarzak held opponents to a .205 average in the month of June. Anthony Swarzak really has been good all year for the Red Wings and led to a couple weeks with the Twins. Swarzak has pretty much done everything he can do at AAA and I think it is time for him to join the Twins on a permanent basis. However, it should not take away from the month Anthony had in Rochester to earn pitcher of the month award.
• Others considered: Kevin Mulvey, Armando Gabino

• Hitter of the Month: Brock Peterson- Going into the month of June Brock Peterson was buried as far down on the bench than you can imagine. However, Brock started hitting early in the month and kept it going all through the month and saw his playing time spike in June and he didn't disappoint. In June Brock played in 22 games and hit .352 with 2 homeruns and 11 rbi's along with 3 doubles in 71 at bats. He had a .410 obp along with a .479 slugging percentage for an ops of .889. Brock Peterson really showed what he is made of in June and I look for his playing time to keep increasing and increasing as the season goes forward. I have to admit I did not see this coming out of Brock and am pleasantly surprised by what he did in June.
• Others Considered: Justin Huber, Steve Tolleson

Friday, July, 3rd

Just a heads up my postings this weekend are going to be a little sporatic because since it is the 4th this weekend I will be at the lake getting some sun hopefully. Don't worry when I get back I will update everyone on the Twins and their minor league teams. It just might not happen until Sunday night or Monday morning. Everyone enjoy a fun and safe holiday weekend.

Minnesota Twins June Awards

I will be doing my month awards once again as we move onto the month of June and see who exceeded expectations to grab the Pitcher and Hitter of the Month. I will be starting my tour of all the teams with the Twins and work my way down all the way to Beloit. I will not do Elizabethton or the GCL because they just started their seasons, but I will be adding them next month when i look back at July. I hope you all enjoy and if anybody has a disagreement with me you can either leave it in the comment box or email me at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

• Pitcher of the Month: Joe Nathan- Joe Nathan stole the show in June for the Twins. Nick Blackburn would of been a very solid pick as he went 1-2 with a very good 2.37 era in 5 June starts. For him not to get it there had to of been a performance pretty outstanding. Joe Nathan put up one of the greatest months from a closer in Minnesota Twins history. Joe appeared in 12 games for the Twins and went 0-0 with a 0.00 era in June. He pitched 11.2 scoreless innings and picked up 11 saves in the month of June. In 11.2 innings Nathan only gave up 4 hits along with a very impression 1 walk and 18 strikeouts to pace the Twins. The most impressive stat of all though was opponents hit only .105 against him in June. Normally, I prefer giving this award to a starting pitcher, but Nathans stats were too good to pass up. Joe Nathan in my opinion is the best closer out there and I am so glad the Twins decided to show him the money because as bad as our bullpen has been this year can you imagine what it would of been like without the anchor at the end in Joe Nathan. On the year Nathan has a 1.45 era and 20 saves and appears on his way to another All-Star game for the Twins.
• Others Considered: Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, Matt Guerrier

• Hitter of the Month: Jason Kubel- It is not very often that you hit .357 for the month and not win player of the month award. Jason Kubel beat out Joe Mauer even though Mauer hit .353 for the month of June. The reason I gave it to Kubel is because of production. In the month of June Jason Kubel hit .291 with an incredible 8 homeruns and 17 rbi's along with 5 doubles and 10 walks. Kubel had an obp of .371 with a slugging percentage of .628 for an ops of .999. Jason Kubel really struggles against left handed pitching as he is only a .185 hitter against lefty's. However, against right handers he is just killing the ball hitting .352 with 13 homeruns and 38 rbi's and an ops of 1.062. Jason Kubel has really come into his own in the DH spot and gives the Twins a third dangerous hitter from the left side to go with Mauer and Morneau. If need be he can play the occasional outfield and not hurt the team too bad, but his best position with his knees and defensively is DH. On the year Kubel is hitting .308 with 13 homeruns and 42 rbi's which would be up there for an All-Star selection, but with the game in the National League he won't make it. This was a tough decision between Kubel and Mauer in June so I am wondering if you all think I made the right decision.

Wednesday, July, 1st

Twins Talk
Twins 2 Royals 1

• The Twins were on the winning end of a tough hard fought 2-1 victory last night over the Royals. Scott Baker got the start for the Twins and I don't know how to describe his start. He was not bad, but he threw so many pitches that he was only able to complete 5 innings. Baker went 5 innings and gave up 1 run on 5 hits along with 2 walks and 1 strikeout to lower his era to 4.99 on the year and improve his record to 6-6. Baker did not have his good stuff on this night, but I was so impressed how he kept battling and battling out there. The Royals kept fouling pitch after pitch off. He had at bats with 7 pitches, 8 pitches , 9 pitches and 15 pitches, but Baker would not give in to the hitter and really showed his mental toughness. There are those out there that question his mental toughness because he doesn't show emotion on the mound, but Baker showed his toughness by battling the heck out of it last night to keep his team in the game even though he did not have great stuff. In the month of June Scott Baker really bounced back from a couple so so months and got back to being Scott Baker. In June Baker was 4-0 with a very Scott Baker like 3.20 era in 6 June starts. That is after he posted a 9.82 era in April and a 4.97 era in May. Baker was good, but the real story of the game was Bobby Keppel who pitched 2.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Is Bobby Keppel the answer out of the bullpen probably not, but he sure has pitched good in his 2 outings. Keppel went 2.1 innings and gave up no runs on 1 hit along with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. Jose Mijares and Matt Guerrier each got an out to get out of the 8th with the lead still intact. Joe Nathan then came on in the ninth to shut the door for his 20th save of the year and lowered his era to an awesome 1.45. In the month of June Joe Nathan pitched 11.2 innings and June without giving up a run and only 4 hits and picked up 11 saves. All I can say about that is WOW! Joe Nathan is the best closer in the game for my money and he might be having his best season of his career.

• The Twins did not get much on the offensive side last night, but just enough to pull out the victory. Justin Morneau led the attack going 2-3 with his 19th homerun of the year and drove in his 64th run of the year to improve his average on the year to .313. Justin Morneau is quietly putting up MVP numbers again as he is 7th in average, 4th in homeruns, 2nd in rbi's, 4th in sluggin, and 4th in on base percentage. What I mean by quietly is all anyone talks about right now is can Joe Mauer hit .400 while Morneau continues to put up the big numbers and now has hit a homerun in 3 consecutive games and drove in 6 runs in those games. Brendan Harris went 1-4 with his 12th double of the year and brought his average down to .288. Michael Cuddyer went 1-3 with a sacrifice fly to drive in his 40th run of the year and brought his average up to .277. Joe Mauer went 1-4 at the plate and still saw his average drop to .383. When you have an average that high if you don't have 2 hits every game the average will go down. Denard Span, Joe Crede, and Carlos Gomez added hits in the winning cause for the Twins.
• Today, the Twins finish their series with the Royals and their roadtrip off as Glen Perkins gets the start for the Twins.

Rochester Wrap

• The Red Wings had their game with Scranton/WB rained out last night and will be made up later in the year. The Red Wings have today off before beginning a series with Buffalo tommorrow night.

New Britain Business

New Britain 9 Portland 5

• The Rockcats got back on the winning side of things after losing 2 straight to Connecticut with a big 9-5 victory over Portland last night. The Rockcats jumped all over Portland starter Kason Gabbard for 7 runs in the first inning and held on the rest of the way. Ryan Mullins got the start for the Rockcats and I felt did a pretty decent job. Basically, he is what he is and he will on most starts keep you in the game. Last night Mullins went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits along with 3 walks and an impressive 8 strikeouts to bring his era on the year down to 5.07 and improve his record to 5-8. I think Mullins era is inflated because when he gets hit he gets hit hard so there are some not so pretty lines in there so it takes forever to bring it down. Jay Rainville came in relief and really struggled giving up 2 runs on 2 hits in an inning of work along with a strikeout to raise his era to a not very good 5.64. Jay Rainville is a guy that I have been very dissapointed in as he has really struggled this year as he started out in the rotation and now is in the bullpen and the next step is probably being released. It is not all his fault though as injuries have robbed the former 1st round pick of his fastball as he struggles to get his fastball in the high 80's and in professional ball it is hard to get guys out when you don't have a good fastball. Alex Burnett then came in and pitched a good inning of relief on no hits along with a walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.33. Anthony Slama worked a scoreless ninth on no hits along with a walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.53.

• On a night the pitching was not real great the Rockcats hitters bailed out the pitching as they scored 9 runs on 11 hits. Rene Tosoni led the offense going 2-4 with his 10th homerun and drove in 2 runs to bring his season total up to 47 on the year to bring his average up to .279. Tosoni has really taken a step forward from a good prospect to one of the best hitting prospects in the organization. Toby Gardenhire got a start and made the most of it going 2-4 with his 4th double of the year to bring his average up to .240. Juan Portes went 2-4 to bring his average on the year to .311. Erik Lis went 1-5 and his 6th homerun, a 3 run shot in the first, along with 3 rbi's to bring his season total to 36. Danny Berg went 1-5 with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rbi's of the year. Danny Lehman went 1-4 with his 4th double of the year. Brian Dinkelman went 1-3 with his 18th double along with 2 walks to bring his average up to .298. Brandon Roberts also added a hit in the winning cause for the Rockcats.
• Tonight, the Rockcats continue their series with Portland as they will compete in a doubleheader with Cole Devries scheduled to start in one with Frank Mata scheduled to pitch the other.

Fort Myers Minutes

• The Miracle had their game with Lakeland rained out and will make it up with a doubleheader tonight. Mike Mccardell is scheduled to go in the first game and Tyler Robertson is scheduled to pitch in the second.

Beloit Beat

Cedar Rapids 4 Beloit 1

• The Snappers wasted an excellent start by Brad Tippett and had the relief pitching let them down in a tough to take 4-1 loss to Cedar Rapids last night to move their record to 2-3. Brad Tippett got the start for the Snappers and was outstanding. Tippett went 6 innings and only gave up 1 run although the run was unearned on 4 hits along with 4 walks and 4 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.89 on the year. Brad Tippett has been by far the most consistant starter for Beloit all year and consistantly gives good starts. I would like to see Tippett maybe get a chance with Fort Myers this summer. Either way he will be with Fort Myers at the start of next season so its not a big deal if he gets promoted this year or they wait until next year. Curtis Leavitt then came on and pitched 2 very solid innings of work without giving up a run to lower his era to 8.10 on the year. Steve Blevins then came in the 9th in a 1-1 tie and lets just say it did not go the best. In 1 inning of work Blevins gave up 3 runs on 2 hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his era to 4.46 and lower his record on the year to 2-4. I know it was a terrible outing by Blevins, but he has been so good this year that I have no doubt that he will bounce back next time to have a good outing. That is the key with any reliever and especially prospects. It is not about how you do when things are going good, but how you respond to a rough outing. I have no doubt Blevins will rebound in a big way.

• The Snappers offense did not help the pitching in this one at all as they could only muster 1 run on only 3 hits. Aaron Hicks led the offense by going 1-3 with his 6th rbi of the year and improved his average to .222 in only 27 at bats. I know he is off to a little bit of a slow start with the Snappers, but it won't be long until he takes off and hits like we all know he will. Drew Thompson went 1-2 with his 9th double of the year and improved his average on the year to .198. Ramon Santana added a base hit in the losing cause for the Snappers.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Cedar Rapids as Dan Berlind will get the start for Beloit.

E-town Entertainment

E-town 8 Bristol 7

• The E-town Twins had a hard back and forth game last night with Bristol and found a way to win it 8-7 with 2 unearned runs in the bottom of the 9th to improve their record to 7-1. Matire Garcia got the start for the Twins and was uncharacteristically wild. Garcia only lasted 2 innings and gave up 1 run on 1 hit along with an incredible 6 walks and 1 strikeout. There is nothing in Garcia's past that says that this is a problem so I have to believe this was a one time thing and Garcia will come back next time out with a much better outing. Brad Stillings then came on and went 3.2 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on 4 hits along with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts to bring his era down to 3.18. Edgar Ibarra then came on and pitched 1.2 scoreless innings on a hit along with 2 walks and a strikeout to bring his era down to 3.86. Kane Holbrooks then came in and pitched 2/3 of an inning and gave up a run on no hits along with a strikeout to bring his era up to 2.70. Billy Bulluck then came on and really struggled in this game. Bulluck gave up 2 runs although only 1 of them was earned on 2 hits along with 2 strikeouts to get his first win of the year and increased his era to 2.25.

• The Twins offense really bailed out the pitching in this one as they put up 8 runs on 9 hits. Jasmil Pinto led the offense by going 3-4 with his 3rd homerun of the year along with a double and drove in his 8th and 9th rbi's of the year to bring hsi average up to .273. Derek Mccallum went 2-4 with his 1st professional homerun to bring his average up to .188. Danny Rams continued his recent string of power numbers as he went 1-3 with his 4th homerun of the year and drove in 2 runs to bring his season total up to 15. Reggie Williams went 1-4 with his first homerun of the year. Chris Hermann and Tobias Streich added a hit apiece in the E-town victory last night.
• Tonight, the Twins continue their series with Bristol as Michael Munoz gets the start for Elizabethton

Tuesday, June, 30th

Twins Talk
Royals 4 Twins 2

• The Twins really had a stinker last night as they made Luke Hochevar look like an all-star. Nothing against Hochevar, but he came into the game with a 5.87 era and we made him look like Zach Grienke. Nick Blackburn pitched a better game than the numbers will show as the hitters could not do anything in the Twins 4-2 loss to the Royals last night. Nick Blackburn got the start for the Twins and was very good once again. Blackburn went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs although only 2 of them were earned along with 10 hits. He also walked a batter and struck out 4 to raise his era to 3.10 on the year and lower his record to 6-4. Blackburn was masterful in the first 5 innings as he only gave up an unearned run in the first 5. Then in the 6th he left some pitches up and gave up back to back homeruns to Alberto Callaspo and Miguel Olivo. Overall, Blackburn continues to show he is the ace of the staff right now and consistantly gives the Twins a chance to win every time out. It was Blackburn's 8th consecutive quality start and that is fantastic. I really can't put my finger on what he is doing differently this year, but he is much better and the results speak for themselves. R.A. Dickey came on in the 7th and had an uncommon for him this year poor outing as he gave up a run on 2 hits along with a walk to raise his era to still a very good 2.45. Jose Mijares pitched a scoreless 8th inning along with a walk and a strikeout to lower his era to 2.38.

• Offensively, it was not pretty for the Twins as they were only able to get 5 hits in the entire game and only 2 off Royals starter Luke Hochevar. The only bright spot offensively was Justin Morneau who belted his 18th homerun of the year and drove in his 62nd and 63rd runs of the year to bring his average down to .309. Michael Cuddyer went 1-4 with his 17th double of the year and brought his average down to .276. Denard Span, Delmon Young, and Brendan Harris all contributed singles in a losing cause for the Twins.
• Tonight, the Twins continue their series with the Royals as Scott Baker gets the start for the Twins.

Rochester Wrap

Scranton/WB 5 Rochester 0

Scranton/WB 3 Rochester 1

• The Red Wings lost a couple to Scranton/WB yesterday with one being a blowout and the other being close, but in the win-loss column it still says 0-2. The Red Wings lost the games by scores of 5-0 in the first game and 3-1 in the second game. In the first game Philip Humber got the start for the Wings and was his usual self. Humber went all 6 innings and gave up 5 runs on 8 hits along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts to raise his era to 6.03 and lowered his record to 2-6. I don't understand why they keep sending him out there start after start when you have a better option sitting in AA in Matt Fox. I have come up with the perfect solution. Promote Armando Gabino to the Twins and promote Matt Fox to Rochester and put Philip Humber in the bullpen and either dl/release either Tim Lahey or Reid Santos. To me that would make the most sense because every time out there Humber is getting hit. He only has 2 quality starts in his last 10 and that is just not good enough to get it done. Hopefully, a move to the bullpen would help him get going again because right now he is not very good. In the second game Jason Jones got the spot start and was much better than what he had been when he was in the rotation. Jones went all 6 innings and only gave up 3 runs on only 3 hits along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 6.33 and lower his record to 2-7. I know Jason Jones has not been very good this year so it is probably best not to make too much out of 1 start, but for as bad as he was pitching I will take a step in the right direction. Hopefully, Jones can take this good start back with him to the bullpen and he can use this as a confidence booster because there is talent there we just need to find a way to bring it out.

• Offensively, the Wings left their hitting shoes at home as they were only able to get 1 run in 2 games. In game 1 they were shutout on only 2 hits unbelievable pitching performance by Yankee starter Ivan Nova. The only bright spot in the game was Matt Macri who went 1-3 with his 15th double of the year and brought his average on the year up to .221. Steve Tolleson added a single for the Wings in the losing cause. In game 2 the Wings did not do much more than they did in game 1 as they were only able to score 1 run on 7 hits. Trevor Plouffe led the offense going 1-4 with his 41st rbi of the year and brought his averge up to .240. Jason Pridie went 1-4 with his 12th double and 16th stolen base of the year. Danny Valencia went 1-3 with his 2nd double with the Wings to bring his average up to .355. Dustin Martin went 1-3 with a run scored to bring his average up to .257. David Winfree, Matt Macri, and Brock Peterson all contributed hits in the losing cause.
• Tonight, the Red Wings finish off their series with Scranton/WB as Jeff Manship gets the start for Rochester.

New Britain Business

Connecticut 6 New Britain 3

• The Rockcats basically lost this game in the 1st inning when Cats starter Carlos Gutierrez gave up 4 runs in the 1st inning. The Rockcats kept fighting back, but could not come all the way in a tough 6-3 loss to Connecticut last night. Carlos Gutierrez got the start for the Cats and really struggled in the first inning where he gave up 4 runs on 6 hits, but after that he calmed down, but it was too little too late. Gutierrez went 4 innings and gave up 5 runs on 10 hits along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to raise his era to 6.26 and lower his record to 1-2. This is a classic case of a reliever in his first year as a starter running out of gas. Gutierrez only threw only 25.2 innings last year after being drafted and he is already at 77 innings this year. The Rockcats will likey move him to the bullpen soon to minimize his innings and look for him to be shutdown the last month or so to save his arm. You should not let his struggles at AA make you think less of him as a prospect, because this happens every year when a pitcher gets to a certain inning count they start leaving pitches up because they have never thrown that many innings before. Carlos Gutierrez will be back next year ready to make an impact and it would not surprise me to see him in a Twins uniform sometime next year. Jay Rainville then came on for an inning and gave up a run on 3 hits to raise his era to 5.45. Kyle Waldrop followed him and went 1.2 scoreless innings along with a walk. Jose Lugo then came in and pitched 1.2 scoreless innings to lower his era to 4.61. Frank Mata finished the game by going 2/3 of an inning and giving up 1 hit and no runs to lower his era to 4.85.

• The Rockcats just did not have enough offense in this game as they were only able to push across 3 runs in the game and normally that is not going to be good enough to win. Whit Robbins led the offense by going 3-5 with his 17th double of the year and his 32nd rbi of the year to bring his average up to .312. Erik Lis went 2-4 with his 33nd rbi of the year and improved his average to .302. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4 with his 39th rbi and improved his average to .297 on the year. Allan De San Miguel added his 4th double of the year. Brandon Roberts also contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Rockcats.
• Tonight, the Rockcats begin a series with Portland as Ryan Mullins is scheduled to pitch for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 5 Lakeland 1

• The Miracle got back on track with a big win last night against Lakeland by a score of 5-1. David Bromberg got the start for Fort Myers and really bounced back from a start that was bad by his standards. Bromberg went 6.1 innings and only gave up 1 run on 5 hits along with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.57 and improve his record on the year to 6-0. David Bromberg has been so solid this year that we should of known that Bromberg would rebound from his last start and he did. Speaking of that David Bromberg has had a nice comeback season after a so so season last year at Beloit. I'll be honest I did not see this coming out of Bromberg as I thought he walked too many guys to be successful at this level . However, he has proven me wrong as he has gotten much better with the walks and shown just how dominant he can be so hopefully he can keep it up. Spencer Steedley came in relief and was good once again as he went the last 2.2 innings for his 4th save of the year. Steedley went 2.2 innings and gave up 1 hit along with a walk and 3 strikeouts to lower his era to 0.95 on the year.

• The Miracle finally got it going offensively as they have struggled hitting the ball lately, but broke out for 5 runs on 10 hits last night. Jair Fernandez led the attack going 2-4 with his 7th double and drove in his 11th and 12th runs of the year and improved his average up to .214. Nick Romero went 2-4 with his 2nd and 3rd doubles of the year and drove in his 11th and 12th runs of the year to improve his average to .280. Chris Parmalee went 2-4 with his 13th double of the year and improved his average to .271. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 to improve his average to .245. Ben Revere went 1-5 to bring his average down to .319. Chris Cates also contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Miracle last night.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Lakeland as Tyler Robertson gets the start for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

• The Snappers had yesterday off and will begin a series with Cedar Rapids tonight with Brad Tippett scheduled to pitch for Beloit

E-town Entertainment

E-town 11 Bristol 5

• The E-town Twins got back to their winning ways with a big 11-5 victory last night over Bristol. Liam Hendricks got the start and was ok in this one for the Twins. Hendricks went 6 innings and gave up 4 runs on 8 hits along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. Kyle Carr then came on and pitched 2 innings and gave up 1 run on 2 hits along with 3 strikeouts. Billy Bulluck came on and pitched another solid inning of relief on 1 hit along with a strikeout.

• The E-town Twins offense exploded in this one by scoring 11 runs and pounding out 19 hits. Danny Rams led the way going 2-4 with his 2nd and 3rd homeruns of the year and 4 rbi's. Chris Hermann went 4-5 with 2 doubles and his 1st homerun of the year along with 2 rbi's. Tyler Ladendorf went 3-5 with a double and a rbi. Michael Gonzalez went 2-4 with a double. Anderson Hidalgo went 3-4 with 2 doubles and an rbi. Herbert Lara went 3-5 at the plate for the Twins. Derek Mccallum, and Jon Goncalves each contributed a hit apiece in the winning cause for the e-town Twins.
• Tonight, the Twins continue their series with Bristol as Matire Garcia gets the start for Elizabethton.

Q&A with Tyler Robertson

I am back with another Twins minor league system Q&A and had the pleasure to have one with top pitching prospect Tyler Robertson. In my recently completed Travis Talks top 50 prospect list I had Tyler listed at #5 so obviously this is a big interview and am thrilled to death that Tyler was gracious enough to answer my questions. I hope you all enjoy and keep coming back to my site because I am working on some other ones as well. Also I welcome you to look back in my archive at the first Q&A I did with Beloit Snapper relief pitcher Steve Blevins who I had rated at #35 on my list. So enjoy and again leave your comments in the box or send me an email to let me know what you thought of the interview or who you would like me to interview next at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

Travis Talks: Tyler, growing up in California who was your favorite baseball team?

Tyler Robertson: I Never Really Had A Favorite Baseball Team, I Was More In To Individual Players. If I Had To Pick One Growing Up Though, It Was Probably The Cleveland Indian. My Dad Was Working With Them At The Time.

Travis Talks: In high school did you just play baseball or were there other sports you played. If so what sports?

Tyler Robertson: I Played Baseball, Football, and Basketball. Loved Football. Had Offers To Play College Football But I Like Baseball More And Its Always What I Have Wanted To Do.

Travis Talks: Tell me about your high school career?

Tyler Robertson: Played 4 Years Varsity, Tried Out For The Team As A Freshman and Made It. Was A High School Underclassman All American As A Soph and Jr. and Was The California State Player Of The Year In 2006. Pitched and Played 1st Base.

Travis Talks: You were drafted in the 3rd round in 2006 is that where you were expected to be drafted?

Tyler Robertson: I Was Told Between The 2nd and 4th Round

Travis Talks: Had you been talking to the Twins or were you surprised that they drafted you?

Tyler Robertson: The Twins Scout Who Signed Me (Kevin Bootay) Did An Awesome Job, He Only Missed Like 2 Games My Whole Senior Year. I Knew They Were Interested But Its Hard To Tell How Serious. He Was Honest With Me And Told Me He Liked Me A Lot.

Travis Talks: With your Dad being a former Twins scout did you go to alot of games?

Tyler Robertson: He Worked For The Twins A Long Time Ago. I Think Before I Was Born. So I Didnt Go To Twins Games But I Use To Go To Games With Him All The Time Growing Up And I Would Watch While He Scouted.

Travis Talks: After signing with the Twins you went to GCL how did you feel about that season?

Tyler Robertson: The GCL Was Good. It Was Nice To Get Out Here And See What Pro Ball Was Like And Get My Feet Wet

Travis Talks: What kind of a pitcher would you consider yourself?

Tyler Robertson: I Just Compete Everytime I Am Out There And Try To Give My Team A Chance To Win Everytime I Pitch

Travis Talks: What pitches do you throw?

Tyler Robertson: Fastball, Curveball, Change-Up, and Slider.

Travis Talks: Being a California guy what was it like spending the year in Beloit where it can be cold?

Tyler Robertson: I Was Called Up To Beloit About A Month Into The Season So I Missed The Real Cold Stuff. I Am From Northern California Though And It Gets Cold Up There In The Winter So I have Played and Workout In Cold Weather Before.

Travis Talks: After Spending the 2007 at Fort Myers and having a good year were you surprised you started last year in Fort Myers again.

Tyler Robertson: A Little Bit, I Missed About Half Of The Season With Tendonitis Tho So I Figured They Would Want To Make Sure I Was Healthy And Go Slow.

Travis Talks: Halfway through last season you suffered an injury what was the injury?

Tyler Robertson: Biceps Tendonitis. I Am Just Real Happy It Was Nothing Too Serious.

Travis Talks: What was the rehab like?

Tyler Robertson: Basically My Rehab Was Rest, Its The Only Way Tendonitis Will Go Away, So Rehab Was Actually Kind Of Boring.

Travis Talks:Was it hard to get confidence back in your stuff?

Tyler Robertson: Not Really. As Soon As It Was Healthy Again And I Didnt Feel Anything Unusual I Just Treated It Like Nothing Ever Happened. Although I Do Know That It Takes A Long Time To Get FULL Strength Back From Any Arm Injury No Matter How Small. So I Am Still Working On That

Travis Talks: For someone that doesn't know what is a usual day like when it is your turn to pitch?

Tyler Robertson: I Try And Keep The Days I Pitch Just Like Every Other Normal Day. Get To The Park Play Cards With The Guys And When Its Time To Get Ready For The Game That When I Will Start Thinking About What I Have To Do That Night Or Day.

Travis Talks: What things do you have to work on the most as you progress through the system?

Tyler Robertson: Just Keep Building Arm Strength and Staying Healthy. And Command Of All My Pitches.

Travis Talks: As a member of the Twins organization do you pay attention to the teams ahead of you or just focus on yourself.

Tyler Robertson: Just Try To Focus On Myself And Getting Better Each Day. You Cant Control What Goes On Ahead Of You

Travis Talks: What will it be like pitching in Target Field?

Tyler Robertson: Hopefully Not As Cold As I Imagine It Could Be

Travis Talks: What was it like when you received your first professional baseball paycheck?

Tyler Robertson: Pretty Nice Considering It Was My First Paycheck Ever

Travis Talks: What are your expectations for the second half?

Tyler Robertson: Just Keep Trying To Get Better Each And Every Start. If I Can Do That, Good Things Will Happen.

I would like to thank Tyler Robertson again for answering my questions I really appreciate it.

Monday, June, 29th

Twins Talk
Twins 6 Cardinals 2

• The Twins completed a very successful swing through the National League with a very good 12-6 record as yesterday the Twins finished interleague with a much closer than the score indicates 6-2 victory over the Cardinals. Francisco Liriano got the start for the Twins and showed why the Twins have been so patient with him and that is because when he is on like he was yesterday he is very very good. When he is on Liriano has by far the best stuff on the staff and if he could become more consistant he has Cy Young type of stuff. The whole deal with Liriano is he is a tease as he has a start like this and the start before he was awful needing 117 pitches to get thru 5 innings. You really don't know what your going to get from Liriano, but when he is on like he was yesterday the Twins are very hard to beat. Liriano went 7 innings and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits along with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts to lower his era to 5.62 and improved his record on the year to 4-8. This is the type of start the Twins want out of Liriano in that it is economical with his pitches to allow him to pitch 7 innings as it only took him 98 pitches to get thru 7. He only walked 2 and one of them was an unintentional intentional walk to Albert Pujols. He had a little hiccup in the 6th giving up 3 straight hits to start the inning and 2 runs, but settled down and retired the last 6 batters he faced. Overall, a very good start by Liriano and the continuation of a much better month of June out of Liriano as he is 2-1 with a 3.77 era in 5 June starts and that is an improvement from a 6.04 era in April, and a 7.12 era in May. So hopefully this is just the beginning of a good second half from the Franchise. Jose Mijares came on for the 8th and faced 1 batter and walked him. Mijares has walked too many batters this year as he has walked 11 batters in only 21.2 innings. For Mijares to take the next step to be a shutdown reliever he needs to cut down on the walks or he will be back in the minor leagues. Matt Guerrier came in and pitched a clean 8th on 1 hit along with a walk to lower his era to 2.83. R.A. Dickey had his first rough outing in a long time as he faced 4 batters and only retired one of them as one of the outs came on the bases. Joe Nathan came on and got the last out for his 19th save of the year and lowered his era to 1.50 on the year.

• The Twins did not hit as well as the numbers would indicate as they got 6 runs on 11 hits, but after getting 3 runs in the first Cardinals starter Joel Piniero settled down and kept the Cards in the game until the Twins struck for 2 runs late in the game. Justin Morneau led the offense going 1-4 with his 17th homerun a three run shot in the first that put the Twins up 3-0. Morneau added 3 rbi's to bring his season total up to 61 and brought his average on the year down to .309. Joe Mauer went 2-5 at the plate to keep his average at a still awesome .394. Jason Kubel had a big game going 3-4 with his 17th double of the year and his 42nd rbi to bring his average up to .317. Joe Crede went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .238. Brendan Harris had another good game going 1-4 with his 20th and 21st rbi's of the year. Denard Span and Matt Tolbert each contributed hits in the Twins victory.
• Tonight, the Twins return to the American League as they continue their roadtrip in Kansas City as Nick Blackburn gets the start for the Twins.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 6 Scranton/WB 2

• The Red Wings continued their hot string as of late as they won their 4th consecutive game with an impressive performance against first place Scranton/WB by a score of 6-2 last night. Anthony Swarzak got the ball for the Red Wings and man was he impressive as he tries to prove that he doesn't belong in AAA and I have to agree with him. Swarzak went 7 strong innings and only gave up 1 run on only 2 hits along with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts to lower his very impressive era to 2.34 on the year and improve his record to 4-4. I really don't know what to do with Swarzak because he is pitching awesome down in AAA and honestly belongs up with the Twins, but with the starting staff improving there really is not a spot for him. You could bring him up and put him in the bullpen, but having him pitch 2 or 3 innings a week does not seem like the right use for Swarzak. It is a nice problem to have as there are teams out there that can't put 5 decent starters out there and the Twins have 6 legitimate major league starting pitchers. Unfortunately, for Swarzak the best course of action for the Twins is probably to keep him in AAA and see if someone gets injured. Jesse Crain came in and pitched the last 2 innings and was shaky once again. Crain gave up 1 run on 2 hits along with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts to bring his era down to 4.76. With interleague play now done the Twins will probably send Jose Morales back down to Rochester and call up another pitcher and I am afraid it is going to be Jesse Crain who really has not earned the promotion because he has been the same with Rochester as he was with the Twins. Crain has walked 5 batters in only 5.2 innings of work. I really think it would be a mistake to bring up Crain right now because he hasn't solved the problem for his demotion in the first place and that is placing his fastball. I know Gardy wants 12 pitchers, but if they need to bring someone up I would suggest Armando Gabino who has a nice 3.05 era this year over Jesse Crain, Juan Morillo, or Rob Delaney because none of them are ready to be with the Twins.

• The Red Wings could not get anything going against Scranton/WB pitching until they exploded for 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th to put the game away. Brock Peterson has continued his torrid streak as he went 3-4 with his 3rd homerun a 3 run shot that put the game away in the 8th inning and 3 rbi's to bring his season total up to 15 on the year. Peterson has been very good in June hitting .358 with 2 homeruns and 11 rbi's in 20 June games. With that streak it has improved Brock's average up to .262 on the year. Justin Huber has been the best hitter all year for Rochester and continued it yesterday. Huber went 2-4 with his 11th homerun and drove in 2 runs to bring his total up to 42. Jason Pridie, Alexi Casilla, Steve Tolleson, and Tommy Watkins each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Red Wings.
• Today, the Red Wings will take on Scranton/WB in a doubleheader as Philip Humber will start the first game and Jason Jones will get spot start in the 2nd game.

New Britain Business

Connecticut 4 New Britain 3

• The Rockcats suffered their second consecutive gut wrenching loss to Connecticut as they lost yesterday by a score of 4-3. Matt Fox got the start for the Rockcats and was much better than his last start. Fox went 5.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 8 hits along with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts to raise his era to 2.95 on the year. Fox really improved on his last start where he gave up 11 hits in only 5 innings. I still think that Matt Fox deserves the promotion up to AAA Rochester and would do a good job there. Kyle Waldrop then came on and pitched 1.2 scoreless innings along with a strikeout and has not allowed a run on 3.2 innings since his callup from Fort Myers and I would like to see him get a chance to start for the Rockcats as they have sent Jay Rainville to the bullpen and with the promotion of Jeff Manship to AAA the Rockcats need another starter so I hope Waldrop gets the chance to be that starter. Anthony Slama came in the 8th inning and gave up the winning run to drop his record on the year to 4-2. Slama went 2 innings and gave up 1 run on 1 hit along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to increase his era to 2.59 on the year. I still think that Slama is ready for AAA and would like the Twins to recall Armando Gabino and promote Slama to AAA and see how he does.

• The Rockcaats continued a recent problem of leaving guys on base as they had 10 hits, but were only able to score 3 runs. The problem was they left a very bad 10 runners on base in the game. Rene Tosoni continued his hot June by going 3-4 with his 15th double and 4th triple of the year to bring his average on the year up to .280. In June Tosoni is hitting .310 with a homer and 15 rbi's and on the season he has been very productive leading the Rockcats with 9 homeruns and 45 rbi's. Tosoni has really come on as a hitting prospect and I would expect if he has a second half like he had a first half that you should see him in AAA next year. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4 to increase his average to .294. Brandon
  Roberts went 1-4 with his 9th double of the year to increase his average to .285 on the year. Yancarlos Ortiz, Erik Lis, Juan Portes, and Danny Lehman each contributed a hit apiece in the losing cause for the Rockcats.
• Tonight, the Rockcats finish off their series with Connecticut as Carlos Gutierrez gets the start for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Daytona 5 Fort Myers 1

• The Miracle continued their second half swoon as they lost their 3rd straight game to Daytona. This one was by a score of 5-1 as they dropped 3 of 4 to Daytona in the series. Deolis Guerra got the start for the Miracle and was not real great in this one even though it wouldn't of mattered as the Miracle could only manage 1 run. Guerra went 5.2 innings and gave up 5 runs although only 4 were earned on 9 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 5.13 and lower his record to 5-8. Like I have said time and time again Deolis Guerra has been the model of inconsistancy and until he develops consistancy in his pitching he won't get out of the FSL. He has loads of talent and reminds me of Francisco Liriano in that he is underperfoming for his talent level. Hopefully, he can get it going and show some more consistancy because the Santana trade is going to be judged by how Guerra ends up doing and right now it is not looking good. Santos Arias then came on and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of relief along with a walk and a strikeout to lower his era to 2.41. Blair Erickson pitched a shutout inning of relief to lower his era to a very good 2.45 on the year.

• The Miracle could not get anything going against Daytona pitching in this one as they were only able to get 1 run on 4 hits. Rene Leveret went 1-4 with his 10th double of the year that brought his average down to .282. Leveret has been in a real slump after getting off to a fast start. In the month of June Leveret is only hitting .176 with no homeruns and only 7 rbi's that has brought his average down about 60 points in the month. Jair Fernandez went 1-4 with his 6th double of the year and brought his average up to .205 on the year. Jair has been a disappointment considering how well he hit at Beloit last year and I know he has gotten limited playing time, but I guess I just expected him to hit better than this for the year. Nick Romero and Mark Dolenc also added base hits in the losing cause for the Miracle.
• Tonight, the Miracle begin a series with Lakeland as David Bromberg gets the start for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 6 Clinton 2

Beloit 6 Clinton 4

• The Snappers got back in the 2nd half race with a doubleheader sweep of Clinton yesterday by scores of 6-2 in the first game and 6-4 in the second game to pull their record in the second half to 2-2. In the first game Bobby Lanigan got the start for the Snappers and was very good. Lanigan went 6 innings and only gave up an unearned run on 5 hits along with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 4.46 and improve his record to 7-4. Lanigan got off to a rough start, but has been much better in June by going 2-1 with a very good 1.73 era in 5 June starts. The Snappers rotation has really come on after really struggling in the first half. Look at these June era's from the Snapper starters. Dan Osterbrock-2.28, Lanigan-1.73, Tarsi-1.20, Tippett-4.15, Berlind-3.97. Those are some impressive numbers and will be bouyed by the return of Shooter Hunt in a few weeks because it appears he has found the strikezone again. Steve Blevins pitched the 7th and gave up an unearned run along with a walk to lower his era on the year to 3.82. In game 2 Mike Tarsi got the start and was good once again for the Snappers. Tarsi went 5 innings and gave up only 2 earned runs on 10 hits along with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts to lower his era to 1.95. Tarsi has been a breath of fresh air for the Snappers since his addition to the starting rotation and I don't know if it is a coincidence, but the Snappers pitching has improved since then. Matt Williams pitched the last 2 innings to pick up his 5th save of the year as he gave up a run on a hit along with a walk and 3 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.48.

• The Snappers brought their hitting shoes to the park as they got 6 runs in both games yesterday. In game 1 the Snappers had 6 runs on 10 hits as they jumped all over Clinton pitching for 5 runs in the first 3 innings. James Beresford led the attack going 2-3 to bring his average up to .292. Drew Thompson went 2-4 with his 8th double of the year to bring his average up to .194. Buddy Munroe made his pro debut and went 1-4 with a double and 2 strikeouts. Angel Morales went 1-4 with his 7th homerun of the year along with his 25th rbi of the year. Nathan Hanson went 1-2 with 2 walks and his 3rd homerun of the year and his 20th rbi. Aaron Hicks went 1-4 to bring his average up to .238. Jon Waltenbury and Alex Soto each contributed a hit in the winning cause. In game 2 the Snappers had 6 runs on 11 hits. Nathan Hanson led the offense by going 3-4 with his 11th double and his 3rd triple of the year to bring his average up to .258 on the year. Ramon Santana went 2-4 with his 15th double of the year and his 32nd rbi of the year to lead the team. Michael Harrington went 2-4 to raise his average to .238 on the year. Jeff Lanning went 2-3 with his 6th rbi of the year. Aaron Hicks went 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout along with 2 rbi's to bring his season total up to 5 and lowered his average to .208. Jon Waltenbury and Dominic De La Osa each contributed a hit apiece in the winning cause for the
  Snappers.
• The Snappers have today off before beginning a series tommorrow with Cedar Rapids.

E-town Entertainment

Pulaski 9 E-town 6

• Surprise Surprise the E-town Twins are human and actually can lose a game as they lost 9-6 last night to Pulaski to drop their record to 5-1. Tom Stuifbergen got the start for the Twins and was decent. Stuif went 5 innings and gave up 3 earned runs on 6 hits along with a walk and 4 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to a very good 3.27. Winston Marquez then came on and gave up 2 runs on 1 hit along with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts in his 1 inning to raise his era to 4.50 on the year. Ramon Acosta pitched 1 inning of relief on a hit along with 1 walk and 1 strikeout to lower his era to 3.00. Tony Davis had a rough outing giving up 3 runs on 5 hits along with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts to lower his era to 8.10. Kane Holbrooks came on and pitched a scoreless 9th along with a strikeout.

• The E-town offense was not the problem in this one as they put up 6 runs on 8 hits, but the pitching could not hold down Pulaski. Danny Rams led the offense going 2-3 with his 1st homerun, a grand slam, of the year and 4 rbi's to bring his total on the year to a team high 9. Jon Goncalves went 2-4 with his first double of the year. Tobias Streich went 1-4 with his 1st homerun of the year and drove in 2 runs to bring his season total to 2. Tyler Ladendorf, Paul Klingsberg, and Anderson Hidalgo all contributed a hit in the losing cause for the E-town Twins in this one.
• Tonight, the Twins begin a series at home with Bristol as Liam Hendricks gets the start for Elizabethton.