Tomorrow afternoon, the Twins will try and salvage one game out of the
series before heading home for six-games against Central Division foes. Nick
Blackburn will take the mound to face off against Jake Peavy. But before we
turn our heads to tomorrow, let's look at what happened today across the farm
system for the Twins.
ROCHESTER 1, SYRACUSE 6
After scoring a run in the first inning, the Red Wings were shutout the rest
of the way by the Chiefs pitching staff. It was the third loss in a row for
Rochester after going 14-5 to start the month of July. Syracuse seems to have
Rochester's number in recent games by beating the Red Wings in eight
consecutive games, their longest current losing streak against any opponent in
the International League.
Brian Dinkelman, the lead-off hitter, started the game with a bang by
knocking out his third home run of the season. He was also the only member of
the Red Wings to manage more than one hit in the game with his double later in
the game. In his last four games, Dinkelman is 8-for-14 (.571) with three doubles,
a triple, and a home run. Danny Valencia hit his 16th double of the season but
was left on base. After a brief trip back to the big leagues, Chris Parmelee
returned to Rochester and went 1-for-3 with a walk.
Shairon Martis made his second start since being called up from New Britain
and it was his first quality start even though he got the loss. Over the course
of six innings, he gave up three earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts.
Bobby Lanigan gave up multiple runs for the first time in his last ten games
with the Red Wings. All of the runs off of Lanigan came on a three-run home run
in the seventh inning to turn a two run lead into a five run lead.
NEW BRITAIN 3, BINGHAMTON 4
New Britain did their best to claw their way back against Binghamton but the
Mets proved to be too much for the Rock Cats. There wasn't a single hitter in
the Rock Cats line-up with more than one hit and New Britain still out hit
Binghamton in the game. There were plenty of extra-base hits with Oswaldo
Arcia, Aaron Hicks, Joe Benson and Deibinson Romero all hitting doubles in the
game with Benson driving in two runs during an eighth inning rally. In the end,
there was not enough offense to get the victory for the Rock Cats.
Blake Martin started the game and he was saddled with his fourth loss of the
season after giving up three runs on three hits. It was his first loss since
joining the rotation for the Rock Cats at the end of June. Marty Popham pitched
over an inning of scoreless baseball by striking out two of the four batters
that he faced. Jose Gonzalez gave up a run for the first time in his last three
outings. It came on a home run off of the bat of Eric Campbell in the eighth
inning. It was the second loss in a row for the Rock Cats but New Britain is 7-4
since July 16th.
FORT MYERS 5, CHARLOTTE 6
The Miracle took a two-run lead into the bottom of the ninth inning but the
Stone Crabs would not go away quietly. Michael Tonkin surrendered a single with
two outs that pushed two runs across the plate to tie the game and send the
contest to extra innings. An error by Levi Michael in the bottom of the 11th
allowed a runner to reach base and the next batter smacked a double to make
Charlotte the victors on this evening. From reports out of Fort Myers, it was a
weird play in which the runner fell down twice on his way around third and he
still managed to score.
There were some positives for the Miracle with Angel Morales hitting a
two-run home run that stretched the Miracle lead to 5-2 at the time. Kyle Knudson,
Lance Ray, and Anderson Hidalgo all had two hits in the game with Knudson
hitting his eighth double of the season. The top of the order had a rough night
with the first two batters, Jonathan Goncalves and Levi Michael, combining to
go 0-for-10 with two strikeouts.
Matt Summers was solid for the Miracle even though he was given a no
decision. He pitched five innings and gave up two runs on five hits. Michael
Tonkin gets the blown save for giving up the lead in the bottom of the ninth
inning. The loss was charged to Ricky Bowen even though the lone run that he
gave up was unearned.
BELOIT (OFF DAY)
A night after three Snappers pitchers combined to throw a seven hit shutout
on Monday night, the team enjoyed an off day on Tuesday. The Snappers are playing
.500 baseball in their last six games and now they hit the road for a stretch
of six games away from home. Miguel Sano has gone hitless in his last four
games to see his batting average drop to .240 for the season. This came on the
heels of six games where he went 7-for-18 with two home runs, six RBI and six
runs scored. At the beginning of the season, it looked like Sano was destined
for Fort Myers by the middle of the season but he continues to need to work on
his consistency.
ELIZABETHTON 12, KINGSPORT 5
Two three-run home runs helped to separate the E-Twins from the Mets. DJ
Hicks hit one three-run shot in the first inning to put the Twins on top and
Max Kepler hit his own three-run homer in the next frame. Jorge Polanco had a
couple of hits and two RBI out of the nine spot in the batting order. By the
end of the third inning, the Twins were up 10-0 and it seemed like the game was
all wrapped up at that point.
Even with the blowout loss, the E-Twins had to use seven different pitchers
during the course of the game. Kaleb Merck got his second victory of the year
by throwing two innings and allowing one run on a single hit. Travis Huber got
hit hard in the final inning by allowing three runs on four hits. The team had
to bring in Tyler Herr to get the last out of the game after Huber struggled
during his time on the mound.
GCL TWINS 6, GCL ORIOLES 1 (7 innings)
In his second game since returning from the DL, Byron Buxton hit his second
extra-base hit in as many days. He went 1-for-3 in the game with his second
double of the season to raise his batting average to .258 in his last ten
games. It is good to see Buxton finding his swing after missing almost two
weeks with a hamstring injury. Joel Licon and Zach Larson each had two hits to
pace the GCL Twins. Jose Ramirez managed to get two RBI without recording a
hit.
Kyle Gibson made his fifth start since coming back from Tommy John surgery
and he didn't give up a run for the second start in a row. His two innings on
the mound were perfect and he struck out two of the six batters that he faced.
Gonzalo Sanudo picked up his first professional win by throwing three innings
and giving up one run on four hits. He pitched last season in the GCL but never
earned a victory so congratulations are in order for Mr. Sanudo.
GCL TWINS 5, GCL ORIOLES 4 (7 innings)
While the other game on this day was a little one sided, this game was much
more of a nail biter with the GCL Twins squeaking out the win. Luke Bard, the
2012 Draft pick, made his first start as a professional and he lasted two
innings by giving up one run on one hit with two strikeouts. The back and forth
contest meant that Markus Solbach was the pitcher of record when the Twins took
the lead for good. It was his second victory of the season for the native of
Germany. Trent Higginbotham earned his first save for the 2012 year by throwing
the last two innings and only giving up a single run.
The offense of the GCL Twins was lead by a pair of 2-run home runs from
Bryan Haar and Javier Pimentel. For both players, it was their first home run
of the season. Kelvin Ortiz had a perfect day at the plate by going 3-for-3
with three singles spread out across the game. Byron Buxton didn't play in this
game as the team tries to slowly bring him back from his injury.
---
Players of the Day for July 24, 2012
Pitcher of the Day- Matthew Summers
(5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER)
Hitter of the Day- DJ Hicks (3-for-5,
2B, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI)
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A Look Ahead- Wednesday, July 25th Schedule
Rochester vs Syracuse- RHP Esmerling Vasquez
New Britain vs Binghamton- RHP BJ Hermsen
Fort Myers @ Charlotte- RHP Matthew Hauser
Beloit @ Burlington- LHP David Hurlbut
GCL Twins @ GCL Rays- TBA
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If you have any questions or comments on the
minor league system, leave them in the comments section and someone will
certainly answer them.
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