Twins Minor League Weekend
Before
we start, a quick reminder:
World Series Contest
I am going to be holding
some contests here and on Twitter and Facebook over
the next week or two thanks to A&E who has now come out with “A&E Minnesota Twins Vintage World Series Films DVD.” It includes both the 1987 and 1991 teams! The
’87 team beat the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games. The ’91 World Series was the
first that had two worst-to-first teams as the Twins and the Atlanta Braves
played one of the greatest seven-game series ever, including Jack Morris’s
amazing Game 7. So be sure to look here and other places for some contests for
a free copy.
Here
are some Twins minor league notes and links before highlights from the
affiliates’ box scores:
·
As
always, be sure to check out Roger’s
Weekly Minor League Report at Twinkie Town.
·
Travis
Aune posted an interesting blog called The
Rise of Aaron Hicks that you will want to check out. He is planning on
posting a blog each week to highlight a Twins minor leaguer.
·
Thanks
to the Rochester Red Wings Observer, we learned on Sunday that former Twins
minor league 1B Brock Peterson signed with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the
independent Atlantic League.
·
Great
news on Angel Morales. He was expected to have Tommy John surgery last week,
but instead he had arthroscopic surgery. The difference is that, although he is
likely to miss the entire season, he could potentially play in Instructional
League or in winter ball again.
·
Michael
Tarsi was sent back down to New Britain. Nate Hanson was promoted to New
Britain. Jamaal Hawkins was promoted from Beloit to Ft. Myers.
·
The
Twins signed minor league free agent Ricky Bowen and assigned him to Ft. Myers.
Bowen had been the Cincinnati Reds 43rd round pick in 2009 out of
Mississippi State. In 2010, he went 5-8 and posted a 5.38 ERA in the Midwest
League. He is 23 years old and made his Miracle debut on Sunday.
Rochester Red Wings
The
Red Wings played in Toledo on Saturday and Glen Perkins started and pitched the
first inning. He gave up a hit, but no runs. He struck out one. Ryan Mullins
came in and gave up four runs on eight hits and a walk in 3.2 innings. Cole DeVries got two outs but gave up a run on two hits. Carlos
Gutierrez came in and walked three batters before getting the final two outs of
the 6th inning. Kyle Waldrop struck out two in two scoreless
innings. Anthony Slama struck out two in a scoreless
ninth. Danny Lehmann led the way by collecting four hits in five at bats. He
also drove in three runs. Jeff Bailey went 3-4 with a walk, his eighth double
and his fourth home run. Steve Singleton went 3-5 with his fifth and sixth AAA
doubles. Michael Hollimon went 2-5 with his first
double and triple with the Red Wings. Chase Lambin
went 2-4 with his eighth double and fourth home run. Toby Gardenhire
went 2-5. Dustin Martin hit his fifth home run.
More to come on tonight’s Rochester game in Toledo. There are a ton of reporters and camera
men there already this afternoon. To see Eric Hacker’s start?
No. Remember, Tsuyoshi Nishioka’s rehab continues
tonight with the Red Wings. UPDATE –
Rochester fell 6-3 at Toledo. Eric Hacker started and gave up six runs on nine
hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. Jake Stevens came in and threw 2.1
scoreless, one-hit innings, striking out two. Dusty Hughes threw a scoreless
inning. Tsuyoshi Nishioka went 2-5 with a double.
Aaron Bates went 3-4. Dustin Martin and Steve Singleton each hit a double. For
Singleton, it was his seventh AAA season after hitting 17 in AA.
New Britain Rock Cats
New
Britain topped Erie 4-3 on Friday night. Bobby Lanigan
started and gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings. He struck out four
and walked one. Tony Davis gave up an unearned run in his inning. Bruce Pugh
picked up a two-out save. Evan Bigley was 2-3. Chris
Herrmann went 2-5. Yangervis Solarte,
Mark Dolenc, and Deibinson
Romero each went 2-4. Nate Hanson doubled for his first AA hit.
On
Saturday, Erie won 8-2. Brett Jacobson started and gave up two runs on five
hits and four walks in five innings. He also struck out four. Deolis Guerra then gave up six runs (4 earned) on five hits
and a walk in two innings. Blake Martin then threw two scoreless innings. Dan Rohlfing went 2-4. Jair Fernandez
and Deibinson Romero each hit a double.
Sunday
afternoon, the Rock Cat bats didn’t show up and they lost 2-0 to Erie. Dennis
Suarez started and gave up one run on three hits. In seven innings, the
27-year-old Cuban walked two and struck out three. Tyler Robertson gave up one
run on two hits in two innings. He struck out three. Chris Cates had two of the
Rock Cats four hits, his third and fourth doubles.
Ft. Myers Miracle
Tom Stuifbergen has been tremendous of late. On Friday night,
the Dutch right-hander threw six shutout innings as the Miracle beat Palm Beach
7-0. He gave up five hits, no walks and struck out two. He has now given up
just two runs over his past 24.2 innings (4 starts). Matt Tone struck out two
in two perfect innings. Andrew Albers threw a scoreless inning. Tsuyoshi Nishioka went 2-4. Joe Mauer went
1-2 with two walks and a three-run opposite field home run (4 total RBI). Jhonathan Goncalves hit his tenth double.
On
Saturday, the Miracle lost a 5-4 decision to Bradenton. However, Aaron Hicks
had one of the most impressive box score lines I’ve seen in a long time! The
Twins top outfield prospect went 3-3 with three walks and three doubles. He also
stole a base. Steve Liddle and Ramon Santana were
both 2-4 with their eighth double. Nick Romero hit his second home run. Matt Schuld started and gave up four runs (2 earned) on five
hits. In six innings, he walked one and struck out five.
On
Sunday afternoon, the Miracle fell 7-3 to Bradenton. Edgar Ibarra started and
in five innings, he gave up four runs (2 earned) on ten hits and a walk. Ricky
Bowen threw two scoreless innings, issuing two walks and striking out two.
Dakota Watts gave up two runs on two hits and three walks in his inning.
Shooter Hunt came in and gave up one run on one walk in 0.2 innings. He was
ejected from the game when a wild pitch flew behind the batter. Jhon Garcia got the final out. The Miracle had eight hits,
and Steve Liddle had three of them. Joe Mauer caught seven innings and went 1-4 with his second
Miracle double.
Beloit Snappers
One
Friday night, the Snappers beat Lake County 3-2 in ten innings. Adrian Salcedo started and gave up two runs on five hits in eight
innings. He walked two and struck out seven. Blayne
Weller came in and threw two shutout innings despite giving up two hits and two
walks. He struck out three. Lance Ray went 2-3 with a walk. Jairo
Perez hit his first Beloit home run.
On
Saturday, the Snappers beat Lake County 6-1. Pat Dean started and when he left
the game with two outs in the seventh inning, he had not yet allowed a hit. He
had walked two and struck out nine. Nelvin Fuentes
came in and gave up a hit before getting the final out of the seventh inning.
Andrei Lobanov struck out two in a scoreless inning.
Ben Tootle came in and gave up a run on a hit and a walk in one inning.
Wang-Wei Lin went 2-5 with his 11th double and third home run. Danny
Ortiz went 2-4 with his 20th double. Michael Gonzales and Lance Ray
each doubled as well.
The
Snappers are currently leading Lake County 5-0 after six innings. AJ Achter allowed three hits in six shutout innings. UPDATE – The Snappers won 7-2. Achter was done after his six scoreless innings. Nelvin Fuentes came in and struck out two in a scoreless inning.
Clinton Dempster pitched a scoreless eight. Jose
Gonzalez gave up two runs on two hits in his inning. Wang-Wei Lin went 2-4 with
a walk, his 12th double and two RBI. Jairo
Perez went 2-3.
Any other thoughts on the Twins minor leaguers? Feel free to comment
here.
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