Sunday Night, April 12, 2009

Weekend Game Notes

Hey ya’ll, Happy Easter Monday to you all. I hope you had a great weekend, hopefully with family and friends. I was out for the weekend, so here is a quick synopsis of the weekend games.

SATURDAY - TWINS 0, WHITE SOX 8

SUNDAY – TWINS 1, WHITE SOX 6

Both of these games were ugly, so I’m not going to spend a lot of time on either. For a look at these games as well as the upcoming series against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Metrodome, be sure to listen to last night’s MN Game Night podcast. The Twins Geek and I had what we considered a pretty solid show, if we do say so ourselves! After tonight’s game, I will again be hosting the show at 10:00 tonight, so be sure to tune in. I will have at least one guest and maybe some surprises. Anyway, here are some general thoughts on the Saturday and Sunday games.

• On Saturday, Francisco Liriano looked good for three innings. But starting in the fourth, he gave up a run. He didn’t get out of the fifth. He just lost his control both in (6 hits, 5 earned runs) and out of the strike zone (4 walks) in taking his second loss of the week.
• One Sunday, the starter was Nick Blackburn, and he gave up four runs (3 earned) on six hits in six innings. He walked just one and struck out just one.
• Matt Guerrier kept his ERA at 0.00 with 1.1 shutout innings. He struck out two. Jesse Crain struck out the lone batter he faced on Saturday, and also struck one out in 2/3 of an inning on Sunday. Luis Ayala struck out two in a scoreless inning.
• Justin Morneau moved into the 3 spot in the lineup, and did just fine there.
• Delmon Young played two out of three games this weekend. Jason Kubel seems to be the guy getting the least playing time. With Carlos Gomez really struggling, it will be interesting to see how the Outfield playing time is allocated in the season’s second week.
• I would like to see Joe Crede playing a little less! Seems like a strange sentence, doesn’t it? But I worry about a guy coming off of two major back surgeries playing every day. First he played four straight games on the Metrodome’s turf. And then he played three straight games in the frigid conditions in Chicago. I understand the situation, going back to Chicago, and his home run in his first at bat on Friday was a great story. But the Twins should be a little bit more cautious with him.
• Lineup construction in general will be interesting throughout the season, at least early on. In an attempt to keep Justin Morneau fresh, we expect him to spend some more time as the DH. The Twins did that on Sunday with Michael Cuddyer playing 1B. Cuddyer had the ugly double-error play that cost the Twins a run. However, that is still the right move to make. Brendan Harris got the start at 2B on Sunday giving Alexi Casilla his first game off. That leaves Brian Buscher as the only Twins hitter not to make a start this season. I expect that to not be the case by the middle of the week.

Twins Minor League Updates

Saturday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – Steve Singleton, Ft. Myers Miracle
Saturday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – Armando Gabino, Rochester Red Wings

Sunday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – Steve Singleton, Ft. Myers Miracle
Sunday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – Armando Gabino, Rochester Red Wings

ROCHESTER REPORT
Saturday – Rochester 0, Syracuse 3 – Anthony Swarzak started the home opener for the Red Wings and did well. In four innings, he gave up an unearned run on three hits. He walked one and struck out four. Bobby Keppel gave up a run on two hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Sean Henn went the next 2.2 innings and gave up two hits and two walks, but no runs, and he struck out three. Mike Gosling gave up a run on a hit and a walk in his inning. David Winfree and Matt Macri each went 2-4 with two doubles, their second and third each.

Sunday – Rochester 8, Syracuse 4 – The Red Wings scored five runs in the bottom of the 8^th inning to take the lead and held it. Matt Tolbert went 2-4 with a walk and a double. Luke Hughes went 2-4 with his second double. Alejandro Machado went 2-3 with a walk. David Winfree hit his fourth double. Reid Santos got the start. He gave up four runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out two. Ben Julianel then struck out two in two scoreless innings. Jose Mijares struck out one in his perfect inning. Tim Lahey pitched a perfect ninth.

NEW BRITAIN NEWS
Saturday – New Britain 5, New Hampshire 1 – Cole Devries has always been under the radar. He went undrafted. He has quietly moved up the Twins ladder, a level a year, and done well. People keep thinking that each level will get the best of him. So, when he gave up just one run on three hits and two walks in 5.1 innings in his first AA game, I’m sure many were surprised. Then the dominance took over. Rob Delaney threw 2.2 perfect innings, striking out three. Then Anthony Slama pitched a perfect ninth frame. Wilson Ramos was the offensive hero. He went 3-5 with his first homer of the season. Danny Valencia went 1-2 with two walks and was also hit by a pitch. Yancarlos Ortiz and Juan Portes each had two hits.

Sunday – New Britain – No Game Scheduled.

FT MYERS MEMOS
Saturday – Miracle 7, Charlotte 1 – After staying quiet the first couple of games, Ben Revere showed up in this game. He went 3-6 with a home run and three RBI. The home run was described to me as “a no-doubter from the moment it left the bat!” Deibinson Romero went 3-5 with his third double and three RBI. Chris Cates was 3-5 with a triple. Joe Benson is hitting .375 after his 2-5 day with a double. Chris Parmelee went 1-4 with a walk and his second home run. The same person told me he thought the homer was “just a fly ball, like his HR in the opener, but he hits them so high and so hard that they just carry, and carry, and carry.” David Bromberg went the first 4.1 innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks. The 2008 Minor League Strikeout King struckout three. Matt Williams got the win. He gave up two runs on three hits in 1.2 innings. Deolis Guerra gave up a run on two hits in his relief appearance. Steve Hirschfeld struck out one in a scoreless inning. Spencer Steedley struck out two in a scoreless inning.

Sunday – Miracle – No game scheduled.

BELOIT BITS
Saturday – Beloit 4, Cedar Rapids 9 – Despite the final score, Bobby Lanigan had a solid first Midwest League start. In five innings, he gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out five. Steve Blevins had an outing I’m sure he’d rather forget. He faced five batters. Three got hits and two walked. And all four scored. Danny Rondon gave up a run in two innings before Henry Reyes gave up a run in the final frame. Nick Romero went 2-4 with a walk and a stolen base.

Sunday – Beloit – No Game Scheduled.

Have a great week! Feel free to e-mail me or leave your comments here.

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