Sunday, July
25, 2010
Sunday Morning Notes
I went to church last night, a 100th
Anniversary celebration of St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Perham, MN. My mom is
the current principal of the school, my dad was in from the mid-70s through the
mid-90s, and my grandma was back in the day too. My siblings and I all went
there in elementary school. It was a very nice service and event.
So, I have a little extra time on Sunday
morning and thought I would post a quick update of what’s been going on in the
Twins organization.
Let’s start with the Twins themselves.
The team lost a 3-2 game on Friday night. It’s incredible how similar the
careers of Pat Neshek and Anthony Slama
really are. When Neshek was promoted, he had been
dominating minor league opponents, accumulating a lot of strikeouts. Like Neshek, Slama did have some
struggles against left-handed hitters. So when Luke Scott came to the plate
against him in the 6th inning, it was not a good matchup. That said,
Neshek was just fine and we should not read too much
into the Scott home run. Unfortunately, the Twins were not able to get another
run to keep the game going.
On Saturday, the Twins got a nice 7-2
win over the Orioles. Scott Baker was very good. He gave up two runs on four
hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out eight. Matt Guerrier
and Jon Rauch each threw a scoreless frame. Delmon
Young again led the offense. He went 4-4 with his 12th home run and
three RBI. Danny Valencia was 3-5 with his fourth double. Denard
Span and JJ Hardy each had two hits and a stolen base.
On Sunday afternoon, the Twins will play
Game 4 of this series in Baltimore against the Orioles. Kevin Slowey will take the mound, and he will be supported by
this lineup:
Jason Repko – CF
Alexi Casilla – 2B
Delmon Young – LF
Jim Thome – DH
Michael Cuddyer – 1B
Jason Kubel – RF
Danny Valencia –
3B
Nick Punto – SS
Drew Butera – C
I know people will call it a Sunday
Getaway lineup, and it is, but I also have no problem with it. With the heat
and humidity in Baltimore, I think that it makes a lot of sense to give guys a
break. Obviously Orlando Hudson is out of the lineup, and it only makes sense
for Joe Mauer to be out of the lineup. Denard Span gets a day off, and Jason Repko
gets another start after a big double the night before. Repko
is a very strong defensive CF. Obviously I never have a problem with Valencia
being in the lineup. And I am actually looking forward to seeing if Drew Butera can help Kevin Slowey on
the mound today. And, these are all major leaguers, so I still expect them to
play well and give the team a chance to win.
Here is a quick glance at what
happened on Thursday in the Twins minor league system:
You’ll also want to check
out Roger’s Minor League Report at Twinkie Town.
Red Wings Report
On Friday night, the Red Wings
beat Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 5-4. Jeff Manship gave up
three runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings. He walked none and struck out seven.
Tim Lahey threw two scoreless. Pat Neshek gave up a run on a solo home run in 1.1 innings. Rob
Delaney recorded his first save of the year. Trevor Plouffe
went 2-3 with a walk and his 19th and 20th doubles.
Dustin Martin was 2-3 with his 10th home. Jose Morales, Wilson Ramos
and Brock Peterson each went 2-4.
On Saturday, the Red Wings beat
the Barons 5-3. David Bromberg made his second AAA start and gave up three runs
on five hits in seven innings. He walked none and struck out seven. Alex
Burnett and Rob Delaney each threw a scoreless inning, Delaney recording his
second save. Brendan Harris went 3-4 with his seventh double. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4 with his seventh home run, fifth stolen
base and three RBI. Wilson Ramos added his fifth home run.
New Britain Notes
On Friday, the Rockcats lost 6-2 to New Hampshire. Chris Parmelee went 2-4 with his 13th and 14th
doubles. Jair Fernandez went 1-3 with a walk and his
ninth double. The Rockcats had just those three hits.
Kyle Gibson started and gave up no runs on one hit and one walk (with 4
strikeouts) in 3.1 innings. There was a rain delay, and when play resumed, Tony
Davis came in. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. Chris
Province had a rough one. He gave up four runs on six hits in one inning. Loek Van Mil gave up an unearned run in his two innings.
Cole DeVries struck out two in a scoreless inning.
On Saturday, Parmelee
remained hot in a 3-1 Rockcats win. He went 3-4 with
his 15th double and his second steal. Ben Revere stole his 27th
base. Bobby Lanigan got his first AA win. He went 6.2
inning and gave up no runs on just three hits. He
walked one and struck out two. Carlos Gutierrez recorded the save. He gave up
one run on four hits in 2.1 innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out
three.
Miracle Matters
The Miracle game against Brevard County was postponed on Friday night, so
they played two games on Saturday. In the first game, the Miracle lost 2-1.
Matt Williams gave up two runs on three hits and three walks in five innings.
Michael Allen struck out three in two scoreless innings. Estarlin
de Los Santos hit his ninth and tenth doubles.
In the second game, the Miracle lost 8-3. Santos Arias gave up four runs on
five hits and three walks (and a hit batter) in five innings. Shooter Hunt then
went the final two innings and gave up four runs on two hits and three walks
(and a hit batter). Angel Morales went 2-3 with his first triple, and he stole
his sixth base.
Snappers Snippets
Friday night’s matchup between the Beloit Snappers and
South Bend was cancelled. On Saturday, the Snappers beat West Michigan 6-4.
Danny Rams went 3-5. Aaron Hicks went 2-4 with a walk. Anderson Hidalgo was 2-4
with a walk and his 25th double. Lance Ray was 2-5 with his first
double and second home run. James Beresford went 2-5. Tom Stuifbergen
started and gave up two runs on four hits in five innings. He walked one and
struck out five. Eliecer Cardenas gave up two runs on
no hits and three walks in two innings. Matt Hauser threw two scoreless
innings.
E-Twins Talkers
On Friday, the E-Twins lost 6-2 to Burlington. The team
managed just four hits. Oswaldo Arcia
hit his 13th double. Buddy Munroe and Brian Burke each hit their
second home run. BJ Hermsen made his first start for
the E-Twins and gave up one run on four hits and a walk in seven innings. He
struck out five. Logan Darnell came in and gave up five runs (4 earned) on six
hits in two innings.
On Saturday, it took 14 innings for the E-Twins to top
Burlington 3-2. Oswaldo Arcia
went 3-3 with three walks and his 14th and 15th doubles. Martire Garcia went the first 6.2 innings. He gave up two
unearned runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out seven. Michael Tonkin
went the next 4.1 innings. He gave up five hits and two walks, but he did not
allow a run thanks, in part, to six strikeouts. Zach See went the final three
innings. He walked none and struck out five for the win.
GCL Twins Topics
On Friday, the GCL Twins and Red Sox were postponed by
rain. On Saturday, the Twins beat the Sox
3-1. Justin Parker went five innings and gave up just one run on six hits. He
walked three and struck out five. Pat Dean finally made his professional debut
and pitched a scoreless inning. Nick Alloway struck
out three in two scoreless innings. Eddie Ahorrio got
the save with a scoreless ninth.
Any thoughts of the Twins or the
minor league system? Feel free to leave
your questions and comments here.