Scott Baker made his second start and he got plenty of run support, starting right away in the first inning when the team scored two runs for him. The only negative was that he had to throw 89 pitches to get through five innings. He gave up three runs, all on solo home runs (Swisher, Konerko and Crede). He walked just one but he struck out seven. He gave up five hits. He was good. Solo homers don't hurt too bad, at least not when you get that big lead. He'll have to be better, but it is a win.
Brian Bass came in and threw the final four innings which meant that he recorded his first big league save. Going into the 9th inning, he had given up eight groundouts and just one fly out. He pitched well, gave up just one run, and really may have made himself a candidate to start on Sunday should Kevin Slowey not be able to. Or, he may allow the Twins to start Slowey but be very cautious with him and go to Bass for several middle innings.
Jason Kubel was the story of the game though offensively. The RF of the day hit a sacrifice fly in his first at bat. He singled in a run in his second at bat. Then in the top of the 6th, after the White Sox had cut the lead to 7-3, Kubel came up with the bases loaded and hit a grand slam. It was his second homer of the year, and gave him six RBI on the day.
Brendan Harris went 3-4 with a walk and his fourth double. He is now hitting .348 on the season. He is also doing a much better job defensively at 2B in his second week.
Mike Lamb went 2-3 with a walk and his fourth double. He has been hitting the ball well. Unfortunately in his final at bat, he hit a ball very well, off his leg, and had to leave the game.
Joe Mauer had two more hits.
I do have to admit that I'm not overly concerned about the low averages of Justin Morneau and Mike Lamb at this point. Both of them are good hitters. They'll be fine. I have to admit, however, that I am very concerned about Adam Everett. He has shown nothing to this point (admittedly, in less than ten games) to show me that he will hit even .200. Also, he has little range and absolutely no arm. I have to say that if this continues, I will officially not believe any defensive metrics again.

Red Wings Report (Rochester 2, Norfolk 7)

Brian Duensing fell to 0-2 with this loss. However, in six innings, he gave up six runs, but just one of them were earned... and none of them came after the second inning. That said, he did give up seven hits.
Carmen Cali gave up a run on three hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out four.
Brian Buscher led the offense by going 2-4 with his second homer and two RBI.
Garrett Jones went 1-3 with a walk and his second double.
It was a rough day for Chris Basak who went 0-4 with two strikeouts and two of the Red Wings four errors.

Rockcats Ramblings (New Britain 4, New Hampshire 3)

Ryan Mullins got his first win of the year by throwing six innings to start this afternoon game. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on six hits and a walk. He struck out five.
Yohan Pino struck out two in two scoreless relief innings.
Ben Julianel made things interesting in the 9th. He gave up a run on two hits, but he struck out two to record his first save.
Dustin Martin is about the only Rockcat bat that is working. The outfielder went 3-4 with his third double and is now hitting .538 on the season.
Brock Peterson went 1-3 with a walk and his first home run of the season.

Miracle Matters (Ft. Myers 9, Clearwater 3)

Jeff Manship improved to 2-0 and the best thing is that he hasn't hit his stride yet. He again lasted just five innings. He gave up three runs, two earned, on seven hits and a walk. He struck out four. It is good to see the walk total drop from his first to second start as he told me that is one thing he wanted to do. Now I am sure the next goal is to miss more bats.
Jose Lugo then threw two scoreless innings. He gave up a hit and a walk.
Aaron Craig came in for the first time and walked the two batters he faced. He also threw a wild pitch. Not a good day for a guy whose string may not be terribly long.
Anthony Slama then struck out three over the final two innings.
Johnny Woodard led the offense, going 3-6 with his first double of the season and two RBI.
Juan Portes also had three hits and two RBI.
Danny Santiesteban and Brian Dinkelman both went 2-5. Dinkelman had a double, his fourth of the young season.
Whit Robbins went 1-2 with three walks. Danny Valencia had a single and two walks.

Snappers Snapshot

(Game 1 - Beloit 1, Peoria 0)

This was a very nicely pitched game for the Snappers. Steven Hirschfeld started and went the first five innings without allowing a run. He gave up three hits, walked two and struck out three.
Loek Van Mil must have looked very good again. The lanky righty picked up his first save by pitching two perfect innings, striking out two. One thing I like to point out is that all tall pitchers take longer to develop because it is very difficult to find a proper, effective release point when your arm is that long. Randy Johnson didn't just figure it out right away either. So, I think that the Twins should be very happy with how Van Mil has progressed the last several years. He may need to be added to the 40 man roster this offseason, but as of now, I think it is worth it.
The offense managed just six hits. Garrett Olson hit his second homer of the season. Chris Parmelee added his first double.

(Game 2 - Beloit , Peoria )

The Snappers managed just four hits in the second game. Deibinson Romero went 2-3 with his second double.
David Bromberg started and gave up four runs on four hits and a walk in 3.1 innings. He struck out four.
Spencer Steedley came in and got the final eight outs... seven of them via the strikeout. He didn't allow a run, and gave up just one hit.

Other Notes/Links

Travis Talks takes a look at shortstops in the Twins system.

Keep the comments coming and have a good day!

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