Break Time

So, the Caribbean Series is over.  So are the finals of the Australian League playoffs.  What that means is that there are no games to report on right now.

And what that means, in turn, is that this blog will take a break.  It's not going away, just taking a break.  We'll be back a few days before the minor league seasons start.  We'll have a preview of each league that the Minnesota Twins have an affiliate in, going through who the teams are, who the managers and coaches are, and giving you a few notable players from each team.  Then, we'll get down to the real purpose of this blog:  recaps of the games of the Twins minor league teams.

I know there aren't a lot of people who read this blog, so I want to thank those of you who do.  I enjoy doing it.  I hope you enjoy reading it.  Thank you for doing so.  Let's meet back here sometime around the sixth of April, okay?

Australian League: The Finals, Game Three

PERTH 12, ADELAIDE 5 IN ADELAIDE

Perth:  Tim Smith (Atlanta) was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and two walks, scoring three times.  Luke Hughes was 3-for-6 with a three-run homer, scoring three times.  Mike McCarthy struck out seven in 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up four hits and a walk.

Adelaide:  Mitch Dening was 4-for-4 with two home runs and a double, scoring three times.  Craig Maddox was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer.  Kyle Hooper (Dodgers) struck out the side in his only inning.

The game:  Tim Kennelly hit a two-run homer in the first and Smith hit a two-run homer as part of a four-run second that made it 6-0 Perth.  Adelaide never got closer than five runs after that.

Series update:  Perth wins the best-of-three series two games to one and takes the Claxton Shield.

Caribbean Series: The Final

CUBA 3, MEXICO 2 (MEXICO HOME TEAM)

Cuba:  Yulieski Gourriel was 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs.  Frederich Cepeda was 2-for-4 with an RBI.  Yosvani Torres pitched six innings, giving up one run on two hits and no walks with five strikeouts.

Mexico:  Joey Meneses (Atlanta) was 1-for-4 with a double and a run.  Anthony Vasquez pitched five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and no walks with one strikeout.

The game:  Cepeda singled in a run in the first and Luis La O had an RBI single in the second to give Cuba a 2-0 lead.  Mexico got on the board in the fifth on a run-scoring single by Walter Ibarra.  Gourriel homered in the top of the eighth to make it 3-1.  Eric Farris (Minnesota) singled in a run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 3-2 and put the tying run on third, but a fly out ended the inning and Mexico went down in order in the ninth.

Cuba, despite going 1-3 in the round-robin, is the Caribbean Series champion.

Australian League: The Finals, Game Two

PERTH 5, ADELAIDE 3 IN ADELAIDE (10 INNINGS)

Perth:  Brian Pointer (Philadelphia) was 1-for-1 with a home run and three walks.  Matt Kennelly (Atlanta) was 1-for-3 with a home run.  Warwick Saupold (Detroit) pitched five innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Adelaide:  Stefan Welch (Boston) was 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and a walk.  Chan Moon (Houston) was 1-for-3 with a double and two walks, driving in one.  Virgil Vasquez struck out six in 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on two hits and four walks.

The game:  Welch homered in the first to give Adelaide a 1-0 lead.  Kennelly and Pointed led off the third with back-to-back homers to put Perth up 2-1 and Joey Wong's RBI single made it 3-1 in the top of the seventh.  In the bottom of the seventh, however, Chris Adamson homered and Moon had an RBI double to tie it up.  Neither team put a man past first in the eighth or ninth but in the tenth, Allan de San Miguel came through with a two-out two-run double to make it 5-3 Perth.  Adelaide was retired in order in the bottom of the tenth.

Series status:  The teams are tied in the best-of-three series one game apiece.

TODAY'S TILT

Perth at Adelaide

Caribbean Series: The Semi-Finals

MEXICO 5, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 4 (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC HOME TEAM)

Mexico:  Jose Manuel Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with two runs.  Russell Branyan was 1-for-2 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Terance Marin (White Sox) pitched six innings, giving up two unearned runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

Dominican Republic:  Hector Gomez (Milwaukee) was 1-for-3 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Maikel Franco (Philadelphia) was 2-for-4 with a double.  Edward Valdez pitched two shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk with one strikeout.

The game:  A two-run error followed by a sacrifice fly to give Mexico a 3-0 lead in the second.  Branyan singled in a run in the third and Ali Solis (Dodgers) had an RBI double in the sixth to make it 5-0.  The Dominican Republic got back into the game with two in the sixth.  Gomez doubled in a run in the eighth and a run scored on a ground out in the ninth to make it 5-4.  The Dominican Republic had the tying run on third with one out, but a pop up and a ground out ended the game.

CUBA 8, VENEZUELA 4 (VENEZUELA HOME TEAM)

Cuba:  Frederich Cepeda was 4-for-5 with two doubles and a triple, scoring once and driving in five.  Yulieski Gourriel was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.  Norge Ruiz pitched 4.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up five hits and one walk with two strikeouts.

Venezuela:  Oswaldo Arcia (Minnesota) was 1-for-1 with three walks and two runs.  Jose Castillo was 3-for-4 with a run.  Daryl Thompson pitched 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

The game:  Ehire Adrianza (San Francisco) singled in a run in the third and an RBI double by Felix Perez (Cincinnati) highlighted a three-run fourth to give Venezuela a 4-0 lead.  In the fifth, Cepeda circled the bases on a three-run triple-plus-error to cut the lead to 4-3.  Gourriel's RBI single tied the score in the sixth and a bases-loaded hit batsman put Cuba in front.  Cepeda then followed with a three-run double that put Cuba up 8-4.  Venezuela got two men on in the seventh and again in the eighth, but could not score again.

TODAY'S TILT

Cuba at Mexico in the finals.  All games are played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Australian League: The Finals, Game One

ADELAIDE 3, PERTH 2 IN ADELAIDE

Perth:  Tim Smith (Atlanta) was 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk.  Allan de San Miguel was 2-for-2 with a double and a walk.  Mike McClendon (Colorado) struck out six in six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and no walks.

Adelaide:  Mitch Dening was 1-for-3 with a home run.  Stefan Welch (Boston) was 1-for-4 with a home run.  Morgan Coombs pitched seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

The game:  Smith homered in the first to give Perth a 1-0 lead and Rene Tosoni singled in Luke Hughes in the fourth to make it 2-0.  It stayed that way until the seventh, when Welch, Tom Brice, and Dening led off the inning with consecutive home runs to make it 3-2 Adelaide.  Perth got the tying run to third with one out in the ninth but could not tie the score.

Series status:  Adelaide leads the best-of-three series one game to none.

TODAY'S TILT

Perth at Adelaide

Caribbean Series: Day Five

VENEZUELA 4, MEXICO 2 (VENEZUELA HOME TEAM)

Mexico:  Eric Farris (Minnesota) was 2-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Russell Branyan was 2-for-4 with a double.  Salvador Valdez pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits and four walks with one strikeout.

Venezuela:  Oswaldo Arcia (Minnesota) was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk.  Alexi Amarista (San Diego) was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Junior Guerra (White Sox) struck out seven in five innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits and three walks.

The game:  Farris singled in a run in the first and scored on a sacrifice fly in the sixth to put Mexico up 2-0.  RBI doubles by Amarista and Felix Perez (Cincinnati) tied the score in the bottom of the sixth.  In the bottom of the eighth, Arcia hit a two-out two-run homer to give Venezuela the lead.  Mexico went down in order in the ninth.

PUERTO RICO 3, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 2 (PUERTO RICO HOME TEAM)

Dominican Republic:  Maikel Franco (Philadelphia) was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.  Elian Herrera (MIlwaukee) was 1-for-3 with a double and a run.  Marlon Arias pitched five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts.

Puerto Rico:  Luis Figueroa was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs.  A. J. Jimenez (Toronto) was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Jorge Martinez struck out seven in 6.1 innings, allowing one run on one hit and two walks.

The game:  Enrique Hernandez (Dodgers) singled in a run in the third to put Puerto Rico up 1-0.  Franco homered to tie it in the top of the fifth but Reymond Fuentes (Kansas City) singled in a run in the bottom of the fifth to give Puerto Rico a 2-1 lead.  Franco singled in a run with two out in the ninth to tie it up, but in the bottom of the ninth, Daniel Ortiz (Minnesota) delivered an RBI triple to give Puerto Rico the victory.

STANDINGS

Venezuela, 4-0
Dominican Republic, 2-2
Mexico, 2-2
Cuba, 1-3
Puerto Rico, 1-3

SEMI-FINALS

Mexico at Dominican Republic
Cuba at Venezuela

All games are played in Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Caribbean Series: Day Four

VENEZUELA 6, CUBA 2 (CUBA HOME TEAM)

Venezuela:  Balbino Fuenmayor (Kansas City) was 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.  Gorkys Hernandez (Pittsburgh) was 2-for-5 with a triple, scoring once and driving in one.  Cesar Valdez struck out eight in seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks.

Cuba:  Alexander Malleta was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Luis Valdes was 1-for-4 with a home run.  Livan Moinelo pitched 3.2 innings, allowing one run on one hit and one walk with one strikeout.

The game:  Malleta homered in the second to put Cuba up 1-0, but Venezuela came back with four in the third to take control.  Hernandez had a run-scoring triple and Orlando Arcia (Milwaukee), Alexi Amarista (San Diego), and Fuenmayor each had an RBI single in the inning.  Cuba never got closer than three runs after that.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 3, MEXICO 2 (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC HOME TEAM)

Mexico:  Eric Farris (Minnesota) was 2-for-4.  Maxwell Leon was 1-for-4 with an RBI.  Amilcar Gaxiola pitched five shutout innings, giving up three hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

Dominican Republic:  Leury Garcia (White Sox) was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Jonathan Villar (Houston) was 1-for-1 with a double and two walks.  Parker Frazier pitched five innings, allowing an unearned run on four hits and no walks with four strikeouts.

The game:  Leon singled in a run in the third and a run scored on an error in the seventh to put Mexico up 2-0.  A walk, an error, and a wild pitch put the Dominican Republic on the board in the eighth.  In the ninth, three singles and a walk tied the score and loaded the bases with one out.  Elian Herrera (Milwaukee) then singled to center to bring home the winning run.

STANDINGS

Venezuela, 3-0
Dominican Republic, 2-1
Mexico, 2-1
Cuba, 1-3
Puerto Rico, 0-3

There's one day left in the round robin, but Puerto Rico has been eliminated.  Presumably the tie-breaker is that Cuba beat Puerto Rico in their head-to-head game.  All games are played in Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Caribbean Series: Day Three

VENEZUELA 6, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 5 (VENEZUELA HOME TEAM)

Dominican Republic:  Leury Garcia (White Sox) was 3-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring twice and driving in one.  Jonathan Villar (Houston) was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Tony Pena, Jr. struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Venezuela:  Niuman Romero (Oakland) was 1-for-4 with a home run and two runs.  Alexi Amarista (San Diego) was 1-for-3 with two walks, scoring once and driving in one.  Jean Toledo retired all five batters he faced, three by strikeout.

The game:  All the runs were scored in the first two innings.  Three singles and a sacrifice fly produced two in the top of the first for the Dominican Republic.  Two errors and a two-run double by Oscar Salazar contributed to a four-run bottom of the first to put Venezuela up 4-2.  Two walks, a Garcia double, and a two-run error gave the lead back to the Dominican Republic 5-4 in the top of the second.  Romero homered and Balbino Fuenmayor (Kansas City) doubled in a run in the bottom of the second to make it 6-5 Venezuela.  And that was it.  The Dominican Republic got a man to third in the fourth and sixth and had a man on second in the fifth and eighth, but could not tie the score.

CUBA 3, PUERTO RICO 2 (CUBA HOME TEAM--10 INNINGS)

Puerto Rico:  Neftali Soto (Cincinnati) was 2-for-3 with two walks and an RBI.  Rene Rivera (San Diego) was 2-for-3 with a double.  Mario Santiago struck out six in five innings of relief, giving up two hits.

Cuba:  Roel Santos was 2-for-5 with an RBI.  Luis La O was 1-for-4 with a double and a run.  Hector Mendoza pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and four walks with two strikeouts.

The game:  Each team scored once in the first.   William Saavedra singled in a run in the second to give Cuba a 2-1 lead.  It held until the fifth, when Soto's RBI single tied it at two.  Puerto Rico got the potential lead run to third in the seventh, eighth, and ninth, but could not score.  In the tenth, Frank Morejon led off by reaching second on an error and scored on a Roel Santos single to end the game.

STANDINGS

Mexico, 2-0
Venezuela, 2-0
Dominican Republic, 1-1
Cuba, 1-2
Puerto Rico, 0-3

TODAY'S TILTS

Venezuela at Cuba
Mexico at Dominican Republic

All games are played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, PUerto Rico.

Caribbean Series: Day Two

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 6, CUBA 1 (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC HOME TEAM)

Cuba:  Luis La O was 3-for-3.  Dainer Moreir was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Dominican Republic:  Willy Garcia (Pittsburgh) was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a double, scoring twice.  Elian Herrera (Milwaukee) was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double, scoring once.  Rafael Perez pitched 5.1 scoreless innings, allowing six hits and no walks with one strikeout.

The game:  A four-run sixth took the Dominican Republic's lead from 1-0 to 5-0 and put the game out of reach.  Garcia hit his two-run homer in the inning, which also included Herrera's double and an RBI single by Audy Ciriaco (Cleveland).

MEXICO 3, PUERTO RICO 2 (MEXICO HOME TEAM)

Puerto Rico:  Enrique Hernandez (Dodgers) was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Jorge Padilla was 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI.  Joel Piniero pitched six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and no walks with one strikeout.

Mexico:  Maxwell Leon was 1-for-3 with a run and two RBIs.  Dave Sappelt (San Diego) was 1-for-1 with a walk and a run.  Juan Delgadillo pitched four innings of relief, allowing one run on two hits and a walk with one strikeout.

The game:  Hernandez homered int he sixth to tie the score at two.  Puerto Rico failed to plate a leadoff double in the top of the seventh and it cost them, as a single, an error, a bunt, and a sacrifice fly brought home the go-ahead run for Mexico in the bottom of the seventh.  Puerto Rico did not get a man past first after that.

STANDINGS

Mexico, 2-0
Dominican Republic, 1-0
Venezuelan, 1-0
Cuba, 0-2
Puerto Rico, 0-2

Caribbean Series: Day One

MEXICO 2, CUBA 1 (MEXICO HOME TEAM)

Cuba:  Frederich Cepeda was 1-for-3 with an RBI.  Freddy Alvarez pitched six innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Mexico:  Issmael Salas was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run.  Rico Noel (San Diego) was 1-for-3 with a double and a run.  Anthony Vasquez pitched five innings, allowing one run on five hits and no walks with one strikeout.

The game:  Cepeda delivered a two-out single in the fourth to put Cuba up 1-0.  Mexico scored without a hit in the sixth to tie it, and pinch-hitter Walter Ibarra (Arizona) singled in Salas, who had walked, in the seventh to put Mexico in front.  The last seven Cuba batters were retired.

VENEZUELA 5, PUERTO RICO 2 (PUERTO RICO HOME TEAM)

Venezuela:  Niuman Romero (Oakland) was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk, driving in two.  Alexi Amarista (San Diego) was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.  Daryl Thompson pitched six innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Puerto Rico:  Reymond Fuentes (Kansas City) was 1-for-2 with two walks and a run.  Neftali Soto (Cincinnati) was 2-for-4 with a run.  J. C. Romero pitched 1.2 perfect innings.

The game:  Ehire Adrianza (San Francisco) singled in one and Amarista tripled in two, all in the third inning, to put Venezuela up 3-0.  Puerto Rico scored one in the bottom of the third, but Romero's two-run double made it 5-1 in the fourth.  Puerto Rico got a run in the ninth but did not threaten to get back into the game.

STANDINGS

Mexico, 1-0
Venezuela, 1-0
Dominican Republic, 0-0
Cuba, 0-1
Puerto Rico, 0-1

TODAY'S GAMES

Cuba at Dominican Republic
Puerto Rico at Mexico

All games are played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Australian League: Preliminary Final Game 2

PERTH 9, SYDNEY 2 IN PERTH

Sydney: Jacob Younis was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  David Kandilas (Colorado) was 1-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Markus Solbach (Arizona) struck out four in 3.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks.

Perth:  Rene Tosoni was 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs.  Brian Pointer (Philadelphia) was 2-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Warwick Saupold (Detroit) struck out seven in 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and four walks.

The game:  Three Sydney errors contributed to a 4-0 Perth lead after three and Tim Kennelly had a two-run single in the fourth to make it 6-0.  Sydney never got the lead down to less than five runs.

Series status:  Perth wins the best-of-three series two games to none.  They will play Adelaide in the championship series next weekend.