Games of June 29

A seven-team sweep!  ByungHo Park drives in the winning run for the Red Wings.  Kohl Stewart makes a triumphant return to the Lookouts.  Max Murphy is on a tear for the Miracle.  Sean Poppen, who is quietly having a fine year, and Gorge Munoz lead the Kernels.  Trey Cabbage leads the E-Twins to an extra-inning win.  Pedro Garcia and Vadim Balan combine for a shutout for the GCL Twins.  A nine-run inning carries the DSL Twins.

ROCHESTER 5, BUFFALO 4 IN BUFFALO

Each team scored three runs in the fourth.  Back-to-back two-out doubles by Matt Hague and Mitch Garver put the Red Wings ahead 4-3 in the seventh, but the Bisons tied it in the eighth on Jon Berti's RBI single.  In the ninth, Zack Granite led off with a single, took second on a bunt, and scored on a two-out single by ByungHo Park to take a 5-4 advantage.  Buffalo went down in order in the ninth.

Chris Heston pitched 4.2 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and five walks with three strikeouts.  Drew Rucinski pitched 1.12 scoreless innings to drop his ERA to 1.65 with a WHIP of 0.77.  John Curtiss struck out two in a perfect ninth.  He keeps his ERA at zero in 4.1 innings with a WHIP of 0.23 and 5 strikeouts.  J. B. Shuck was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Hague was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Park was 2-for-5 with a triple.  Mitch Garver was 2-for-5 with a double.  Granite was 1-for-4 with a walk and is batting .367.  Ehire Adrianza started a rehab assignment and was 1-for-4.

CHATTANOOGA 4, MISSISSIPPI 1 IN MISSISSIPPI

T. J. White hit a three-run homer in the third and led the rest of the way.  It went to 4-0 in the sixth when Travis Harrison homered.  The lone Braves run scored in the bottom of the sixth on an error.  Mississippi had the tying run up to bat in that inning, but a ground out ended the threat.  The last ten Braves batters were retired.

Kohl Stewart made a triumphant return from the disabled list, pitching six innings and giving up only an unearned run on four hits and one walk with two strikeouts.  Ryan Eades struck out four in two perfect innings.  Luke Bard struck out two in a perfect inning to make his ERA 2.60.  He has 57 strikeouts and 12 walks in 34.2 innings.  Jonathan Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with two walks.  Harrison was 2-for-4 with his second home run and a double.  White's home run was his fourth.  Nick Gordon was 0-for-4 with a walk and is batting .306.  Edgar Corcino was 1-for-5 and is batting .300.

FORT MYERS 7, CLEARWATER 2 IN FORT MYERS*

Brandon Lopez' two-run single in the second put the Miracle ahead 2-0.  It was 3-2 through six and the Threshers had a chance to take the lead in the seventh, but they left the bases loaded.  Zander Weil singled home an insurance run in the seventh and Fort Myers scored three in the eighth to put the game out of reach.

Lachlan Wells pitched five innings, giving up one run on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts.  Andrew Vasquez struck out three in 1.1 scoreless innings.  Through 9.1 innings he has 18 strikeouts and 2 walks, a WHIP of 0.75 and an ERA of zero.  Sam Clay pitched a perfect inning to make his ERA 1.86.  Max Murphy was 3-for-5 and is batting .309.  Over his last ten games, he is 19-for-41 (.463).  Tanner English was 2-for-3 with a double.  Lopez was 2-for-3 with a walk and is batting .333 (3-for-9).  Weil was 2-for-4.  Mitchell Kranson was 2-for-5.

*This was planned to be a doubleheader, making up a rainout.  Due to a lengthy rain delay, they played only one game.

CEDAR RAPIDS 11, BURLINGTON 3 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

The Bees scored three in the second to take a 3-1 lead, but the Kernels bounced back with four in the third and led the rest of the way.  Amaurys Minier had a two-run double in the inning, one of three doubles Cedar Rapids had in the third inning.  Gorge Munoz hit a three-run homer in the fifth to make it 8-3 and he also had a two-run double in a three-run eighth that rounded out the scoring.

Sean Poppen struck out nine in seven innings, giving up three unearned runs on five hits and no walks.  His ERA is now 2.90 with a WHIP of 1.07 and 81 strikeouts in 87 innings.  Alex Robinson and Hector Lujan each pitched a perfect inning, with Lujan dropping his ERA to 1.80.  Munoz was 4-for-5 with a home run, a double, and five RBIs and is batting .353.  Hank Morrison was 3-for-5 with a double.  Travis Blankenhorn was 2-for-5 with a triple.  Lewin Diaz was 2-for-5 with a double.  Ben Rortvedt was 2-for-5.  He is 12-for-29 (.414) in his last seven games and has raised his average forty points to .210.

ELIZABETHTON 8, KINGSPORT 7 IN KINGSPORT (11 INNINGS)

An RBI triple by Trey Cabbage and a two-run homer by J. J. Robinson, both in the fifth inning, put the Twins ahead 5-2.  The Mets scored three in the sixth to tie it 5-5 and it stayed there through nine innings.  The Twins took a 6-5 lead in the top of the tenth on a bases loaded walk, but the Mets tied it in the bottom of the tenth on an RBI single by Angel Manzanarez.  The Mets nearly won it then, but center fielder Mark Contreras  threw out Gabriel Jimenez, who was trying to score from second on the hit.  The Twins scored twice in the eleventh when, after the first two batters were retired, a Cabbage double was followed by three walks and a hit batsman.  The Mets got one back in the bottom of the eleventh on an error, a ground out, and a passed ball, but they never got the tying run on base.

Huascar Ynoa pitched four innings, giving up two runs on six hits and three walks with two strikeouts.  He threw 85 pitches.  Blair Lasko struck out four in three shutout innings, making his ERA 1.50 with six strikeouts in six innings.  Robinson was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and is batting .375.  Shane Carrier was 2-for-5 with a double.  Jordan Gore was 2-for-5 and is batting .615.  T. J. Dixon was 2-for-5 and is batting .333.  Cabbage was 2-for-6 with a triple and a double.  Matt Albanese was 1-for-5 and is batting .444.

GCL TWINS 1, GCL ORIOLES 0 AT ORIOLES

Akil Baddoo opened the game with a double, went to third on a Colton Davis single, and scored on a double play.  And there was no more scoring the rest of the game.  The Orioles had only three hits and at one point had ten in a row retired.  Their lone threat came in the seventh, when a walk, a hit batsman, and a bunt put men on second and third with one out.  A pair of ground outs ended the inning.

Pedro Garcia pitched 6.2 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and a walk with four strikeouts in his GCL debut.  Vadim Balan struck out two in 2.1 scoreless innings to keep his ERA at zero with a WHIP of 0.60 through five innings.  Baddoo was 2-for-4.  Jean Carlos Arias was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .333.  Colton Burns was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .400.  Alex Robles was 1-for-3 and is batting .400.  Darling Cuesto made his GCL debut and was 0-for-3.

DSL TWINS 12, DSL ROCKIES 2 AT TWINS

Already leading 3-0, the Twins scored nine in the fourth to put the game out of reach.  They had only five hits in the inning, one of them a three-run homer by Mariano Calcano.  They also had five walks, a hit batsman, four wild pitches, and a stolen base.  They were perhaps worn out from running around the bases, because they did not get a man on base after the fourth inning.

Luis Gil struck out five in four shutout innings, dropping his ERA to 1.20.  Juan Martinez was 3-for-4 with a triple and two doubles and is batting .340.  Samuel Vasquez was 2-for-4 with a walk and is batting .313.  Calcano went 1-for-3 with a home run in his first game of the season.  Ruben Santana was 1-for-2 with a triple and a walk and is batting .391.  Estamy Urena was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk and is batting .387.  Yeltsin Encarnacion was 0-for-3 with two walks and is batting .326.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:30  DSL Twins at DSL Rockies
11:00  GCL Red Sox at GCL Twins
5:30  Elizabethton (Moises Gomez, 0-0, 27.00) at Kingsport (Ezequiel Zabaleta, 0-0, 5.40)
6:05  Rochester (Tim Melville, 2-0, 3.68) at Lehigh Valley (Jake Thompson, 3-8, 6.07)
6:05  St. Lucie at Fort Myers (Lewis Thorpe, 1-2, 2.05)
6:30  Cedar Rapids (Domenick Carlini, 3-6, 5.46) at Clinton (Brandon Miller, 8-3, 3.69)
7:00  Chattanooga at Mississippi (Mike Soroca, 9-3, 2.18)

Games of June 28

Dillon Gee makes his organizational debut.  Jonathan Rodriguez and Stephen Gonsalves lead the Lookouts.  A big inning pops the Kernels.  Five no-hit innings for Edwar Colina.  Almost all the action was in the first inning for the GCL Twins.  Fredderi Soto pitches five shutout innings.

BUFFALO 3, ROCHESTER 0 IN BUFFALO

It was scoreless until the fifth, when the Bisons got an RBI double from Shane Opitz and a run-scoring single by Jon Berti.  They added a run in the seventh.  The Red Wings did not get a man to third until the ninth and at one point had ten in a row retired.

Dillon Gee started and pitched three shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk with one strikeout.  Alex Wimmers pitched two perfect innings of relief.  Engelb Vielma was 2-for-3 with a double.  Zack Granite was 1-for-4 and is batting .369.

CHATTANOOGA 5, MISSISSIPPI 1 IN MISSISSIPPI

Four consecutive two-out walks put the Lookouts on the board in the second.  Jonathan Rodriguez homered to lead off the third and make it 2-0.  Rodriguez struck again in the fourth, hitting a three-run homer to give Chattanooga control of the game.  The Braves got their lone run in the seventh on a Travis Demeritte homer.

Stephen Gonsalves pitched seven innings, giving up a run on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts.  His ERA is 2.63 with a WHIP of 0.85.  Nick Anderson and Randy Rosario each pitched a scoreless inning, making their ERAs 1.64 and 2.25, respectively.  Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his seventh and eighth), a walk, and four RBIs.  Levi Michael was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Nick Gordon was 0-for-2 with three walks and is batting .310.  Edgar Corcino was 1-for-5 and is batting .302.

CLEARWATER AT FORT MYERS

Rained out.

BURLINGTON 5, CEDAR RAPIDS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Ben Rortvedt doubled home a run in the second, but the Bees scored five in the third to take control of the game.  Jahmai Jones had a two-run double and Julian Leon hit a three-run homer in the inning.  The Kernels loaded the bases with none out in the fifth, but could only score once to make it 5-2,.  They also had the tying run up to bat in the sixth and the eighth, but they did not score again.

Eduardo Del Rosario pitched well other than in the second inning, but his line is 5.1 innings, five runs, three hits, four walks, and four strikeouts.  Logan Lombana pitched 1.2 scoreless innings and Max Cordy pitched two shutout innings.  Rortvedt was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, putting him back up over the Mendoza line at .205.  Lean Marrero was 0-for-3 with a walk to drop to .095.

ELIZABETHTON 4, KINGSPORT 0 IN KINGSPORT

J. J. Robinson singled home a run in the first.  In the fifth, Wander Javier had an RBI double to make it 2-0.  Robinson hit a two-run homer in the eighth to round out the scoring.  The Mets did not get a hit until the sixth and had only three in the game.

Edwar Colina gave up no hits and no runs in five innings.  He walked four and struck out four, throwing eighty-one pitches.  Jose Martinez struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings to keep his ERA at zero through four innings.  Calvin Faucher struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings to keep his ERA at zero through 2.1 innings.  Robinson was 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs.  He is batting .333.  Shane Carrier was 2-for-4.  Matt Albanese was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .500.  Andrew Cosgrove was 1-for-4 and is batting .375.  Andrew Bechtold was 0-for-4 and is hitless in seven at-bats.

GCL TWINS 8, GCL ORIOLES 3 AT TWINS

Two walks, a double, and two sacrifice flies put the Orioles ahead 3-0 in the top of the first, Undaunted, the Twins scored six in the bottom of the first and led the rest of the way.  They had four singles, two walks, a balk, and a triple in the inning.  It was 6-3 after one, and there was no more scoring until the seventh, when the Twins added two on an RBI triple by Ricky De La Torre and a run-scoring double by Roni Tapia.

Juan Mojica made his GCL debut but lasted only two-thirds of an inning, giving up three runs on one hit and four walks.  Control was not a major problem for him in the DSL last year, so we'll hope he was just a  little nervous.  Carlos Suniaga pitched 4.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and no walks.  Amilcar Cruz struck out four in four shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks in his GCL debut.  Benjamin Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk and is batting .333.  Tapia was 2-for-4 with a double in his first game of the season.  Humberto Maldonado was 2-for-4 with a triple in his first game of the season.  Colton Burns was 1-for-5 and is batting .417.  Royce Lewis was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .333.

DSL TWINS 7, DSL PHILLIES RED 3 AT TWINS

RBI singles by Juan Martinez and Jesus Feliz put the Twins ahead 2-0 in the first.  Agustin Marte singled home a run in the third to make it 3-0.  The Twins led 5-0 after five, but the Phillies Red started the sixth with two doubles and two singles to cut the margin to 5-3.  The Twins responded with two in the seventh to regain control of the game.

Fredderi Soto pitched four shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  His ERA is 0.93 with a WHIP of 0.98 in 14.1 innings.  Frandy Torres struck out three in two shutout innings to keep his ERA at zero.  He has a WHIP of 0.88 and has 11 strikeouts in 11.1 innings.  Feliz was 3-for-4 with a triple.  Marte was 2-for-3 with a walk and is batting .342.  Wander Valdez was 0-for-4 with a walk and is batting .327.  Martinez was 1-for-4 and is batting .313.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:30  DSL Rockies at DSL Twins
11:00  GCL Twins at GCL Orioles
12:05  Rochester (Chris Heston, 0-1, 8.44) at Buffalo (Brett Oberholtzer, 1-5, 4.63)
4:05  Clearwater (Jacob Waguespack, 4-2, 2.38) at Fort Myers (Lachlan Wells, 3-9, 4.28)
Game 2  Clearwater (Edgar Garcia, 2-2, 3.70) at Fort Myers (Lewis Thorpe, 1-2, 2.05)
5:30  Elizabethton (Huascar Ynoa, 0-1, 3.60) at Kingsport (Carlos Hernandez, 1-0, 0.00)
6:35  Burlington (Nate Bertness, 3-6, 5.57) at Cedar Rapids (Sean Poppen, 5-2, 3.15)
7:00  Chattanooga (Felix Jorge, 8-1, 3.26) at Mississippi (Max Fried, 2-10, 6.54)

Games of June 27

Zack Granite just keeps hitting as Nik Turley has a good start.  Cody Stashak makes his third straight good start.  A bullpen game doesn't go well for the Kernels.  Jordan Gore is off to a good start.  Nick Tepesch has a rough rehab start.  Estamy Urena continues to hit.

ROCHESTER 3, BUFFALO 2 IN ROCHESTER

Zack Granite's RBI single in the fourth inning tied the score 2-2.  In the seventh, ByungHo Park delivered a two-out single to bring home the go-ahead run.  The Bisons got men to first and second with none out in the ninth on consecutive hit batsmen, but three strikeouts ended the game.

Nik Turley struck out six in five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks.  D. J. Baxendale pitched two shutout innings.  Michael Tonkin struck out five in two shutout innings, making his ERA 2.50 with 28 strikeouts in 18 innings.  Zack Granite again led the offense, going 3-for-5 to raise his average to .371.  Mitch Garver was also 3-for-5.  Leonardo Reginatto was 2-for-4.  Park was 2-for-5.

CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS

No game scheduled.

FORT MYERS 3, CLEARWATER 2 IN FORT MYERS

A two-run seventh put the Miracle ahead 2-1.  A squeeze bunt tied it 2-2 in the eighth.  In the ninth, Sean Miller hit a one-out double and scored on a Shane Kennedy single to win it for Fort Myers.

Cody Stashak had his third consecutive strong game, striking out eight in 7.1 innings and giving up two runs on six hits and a walk.  Sam Clay struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings to make his ERA 1.91 with 40 strikeouts in 37.2 innings.  Miller was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Max Murphy was 2-for-5 and is batting .303.  Kennedy was also 2-for-5.

BURLINGTON 6, CEDAR RAPIDS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

The Bees scored in each of the first four innings to build a 5-0 lead.  The Kernels got single runs in the fifth and seventh.  They had the tying run up to bat with one out in the seventh, but a pair of ground outs ended the inning and Cedar Rapids never got as close again.

Colton Davis came out of the bullpen to make his first start of the season.  It did not go particularly well, as he pitched three innings and allowed four runs on six hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  Alex Robinson pitched two perfect innings.  Aaron Whitefield hit a home run, his eighth.  Lean Marrero was 1-for-4 to get his average into triple digits at .111.

PULASKI 6, ELIZABETHTON 4 IN ELIZABETHTON

T. J. Dixon's RBI single put the Twins ahead 1-0 in the second, but the Yankees came back to score two in the third and two in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead.  The Twins got single runs in the fourth and fifth to make it 4-3, but Frederick Cuevas hit a two-run homer in the sixth to put the game out of reach.  The Twins got one in the eighth but never brought the tying run up to bat.

Charlie Barnes started and pitched 2.1 innings, allowing two runs on one hit and three walks with one strikeout.  The only relief pitcher to get much accomplished was Taylor Clemensia struck out two in two shutout innings, keeping his ERA at zero through 4.2 innings with a WHIP of 0.43.  Jordan Gore was 3-for-4 to keep his average at .750.  J. J. Robinson was 2-for-4.  Matt Albanese was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .526.  Trey Cabbage was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .300.

GCL ORIOLES 13, GCL TWINS 8 AT ORIOLES

It was 5-3 Orioles after one inning and 5-4 after four.  The Orioles took control from there, scoring three in the fifth, one in the sixth, one in the seventh, and three in the eighth.  The Twins scored four in the ninth on four walks and a three-run double by Royce Lewis to make the final score look better.

Nick Tepesch made a rehab start and it did not go well.  He pitched just two-thirds of an inning, allowing five runs on four hits and a walk with one strikeout, giving him an ERA of 67.50.  Colton Burns was 3-for-5 and is batting .571.  Lewis was 2-for-5 with a double and four RBIs and is batting .444.  Jean Carlos Arias was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .500.  Alex Robles made his professional debut, going 1-for-2 with two walks.

DSL TWINS 7, DSL PHILLIES RED 2 AT PHILLIES RED

Estamy Urena had a two-run triple in a four-run third that gave the Twins a 4-0 lead.  They added two in the seventh without a hit, getting a hit batsman, two walks, and three wild pitches.  The Phillies Red got on the board with two in the eighth and the Twins closed out the scoring with one in the ninth.

Michael Montero pitched five shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk with four strikeouts to make his ERA 2.35.  Cristian Castro struck out three in two shutout innings.  Osiris German pitched a scoreless inning to make his ERA 1.50 with a WHIP of 0.83 in six innings.  Urena was 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk, and three RBIs to make his average .397.  Wander Valdez was 2-for-4 with a walk and is batting .353.  Agustin Marte was 2-for-4 with a walk and is batting .329.  Ruben Santana was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .386.  Yeltsin Encarnacion was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .350.  Samuel Vasquez was 1-for-4 and is batting .300.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:30  DSL Phillies at DSL Twins
11:00  GCL Orioles at GCL Twins
12:05  Burlington (Joe Gatto, 4-6, 3.63) at Cedar Rapids (Eduardo Del Rosario, 7-3, 4.74)
5:30  Elizabethton (Edwar Colina, 0-0, 8.31) at Kingsport (Jose Geraldo, 1-0, 3.60)
6:05  Clearwater (Jacob Waguespack, 4-2, 2.38) at Fort Myers (Lachlan Wells, 3-9, 4.28)
6:05  Rochester (Dillon Gee, no record) at Buffalo (Mike Bolsinger, 2-2, 2.10)
7:00  Chattanooga (Stephen Gonsalves, 3-3, 2.85) at Mississippi (Tyler Pike, 0-2, 5.79)

Games of June 26

Zack Granite may force his way onto the Twins whether they have a spot for him or not.  The Lookouts missed a chance in the first and didn't get another.  A rare poor start for Tyler Wells.  Not much offense for the E-Twins.  Royce Lewis and Jean Carlos Arias led the GCL Twins, as Justin Haley starts his rehab.  The DSL Twins get a split.

ROCHESTER 4, BUFFALO 3 IN ROCHESTER (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

The Bisons led 3-0 after four, but Mitch Garver hit a two-run double to cap a three-run fifth that tied the score 3-3.  in the sixth, doubles by Tommy Field and Niko Goodrum put the Red Wings ahead 4-3.  Buffalo had men on first and third with one out in the seventh but could not tie it up.

David Hurlbut struck out five in 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and four walks.  Jake Reed pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, keeping his ERA at zero through 4.2 innings in Rochester.  Goodrum was 2-for-3 with a double.  Zack Granite was 2-for-4 with a double and is batting .363.

ROCHESTER 4, BUFFALO 2 IN ROCHESTER (GAME 2--7 INNINGS--BUFFALO HOME TEAM)

A sacrifice fly scored a run in the first and the Red Wings led all the way.  Zack Granite singled home a run in the second.  With the score 2-1, Leonardo Reginatto hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 4-1.  The Bisons got one back in the bottom of the third but did no more.  They had men on first and third win none out in the seventh, but two strikeouts and a fly out ended the game.

Aaron Slegers pitched five innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts.  John Curtiss pitched a scoreless inning to keep his ERA at zero through 3.1 AAA innings.  Ryan Pressley struck out two in a scoreless inning, keeping his ERA at zero with a WHIP of 0.78 with 14 strikeouts in 9 innings.  Bengie Gonzalez was 2-for-3 with a double.  Matt Hague was 2-for-4.  Granite was 2-for-4 and is batting .365.

PENSACOLA 6, CHATTANOOGA 1 IN CHATTANOOGA

The Lookouts loaded the bases with none out in the first, but could only score on a sacrifice fly.  The 1-0 lead held until the fifth, when Josh VanMeter tripled and scored.  VanMeter struck again in the sixth, hitting a two-run double that put the Blue Wahoos up 3-1.  Gavin LaValley put the game out of reach with a three-run homer in the eighth.

Randy LeBlanc struck out seven in 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk.  Todd Van Steensel pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to drop his ERA to 1.84.  Luke Bard struck out three in a scoreless inning to make his ERA 2.67.  He has 55 strikeouts and 12 walks in 33.2 innings.  Nick Gordon was 2-for-5 and is batting .312.  Andy Wilkins was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .300.  Alex Perez was 0-for-2 with two walks and is batting .625 (5-for-8).

FORT MYERS MIRACLE

No game scheduled.

BURLINGTON 6, CEDAR RAPIDS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Already leading 1-0, the Bees opened the third with four consecutive hits, eventually scoring four runs to take a commanding lead.  The Kernels got two in the fifth on three singles and two wild pitches, but that was it for them, as they did not get another hit the rest of the game.  They did load the bases on walks in the ninth, but did not put a ball in play.

Tyler Wells had a rare bad game, pitching four innings and allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  Logan Lombana pitched two shutout innings.  Christian Cavaness was 2-for-5.  Amaurys Minier was 0-for-2 with two walks and is batting .333.  Lean Marrero got his first Class A hit and is batting .071 (1-for-14).

PULASKI 6, ELIZABETHTON 1 IN ELIZABETHTON

Leobaldo Cabrera led off the third with a home run and the Yankees went on to score four in the inning, taking control of the game.  The lone Twins run came in the sixth on a Robert Molina homer.

Griffin Jax struck out seven in 4.2 innings, giving up five runs (two earned) on six hits and no walks.  Jose Martinez retired all four batters he faced, two by strikeout, in his 2017 debut.  Matt Albanese was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .625.  Kolton Kendrick was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .364.  Molina was 1-for-3 with a home run and is batting .333.  Brent Rooker was 0-for-4 and is batting .316.

GCL TWINS 5, GCL ORIOLES 2 AT TWINS

As you may have heard, Royce Lewis hit a home run in his first professional at-bat to put the Twins up 1-0.  The Orioles scored two in the top of the sixth to go ahead 2-1, but the Twins tied it in the bottom of the sixth on a home run by Jean Carlos Arias.  Arias struck again in the seventh, capping a three-run inning with a two-run double to put the Twins ahead 5-2.

Justin Haley, on a rehab assignment, pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Brusdar Graterol struck out four in four shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Vadim Balan struck out two in two shutout innings.  Arias was 2-for-3 with three RBIs.  Lewis was 2-for-4.

DSL NATIONALS 6, DSL TWINS 2 AT NATIONALS (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

The Nationals scored two in the third and four in the fourth to take control early.  The Twins got single runs in the fifth and sixth but never threatened to get back into the game.

Andriu Marin pitched 3.2 innings, allowing four runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk with two strikeouts.  Alberoni Nunez was 2-for-4 and is batting .421.  Juan Martinez was 1-for-3 and is batting .500.  Yeltsin Encarnacion was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .300.  Jesus Feliz was 0-for-2 and is batting .083.

DSL TWINS 3, DSL NATIONALS 1 AT NATIONALS (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)

Ruben Santana singled home a run in the second, but Jesus Morales tripled one home in the third to tie it 1-1.  It remained tied until the seventh, when Agustin Marte delivered a two-run double that was the difference in the game.

Luis Bellorin pitched four innings, giving up an unearned run on five hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  His ERA is 1.32.  Robert Gutierrez pitched two shutout innings.  Yeremi Garcia pitched a scoreless inning to keep his ERA at zero with a WHIP of 0.97 through 11.1 innings.  Marte was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double and is batting .339.  Santana was 1-for-3 and is batting .390.  Estamy Urena was 0-for-3 and is batting .382.  Wander Valdez was 1-for-4 and is batting .340.  Juan Martinez was 1-for-2 and is batting .317.  Samuel Vasquez was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .304.

TODAY'S TILTS>

9:30  DSL Twins at DSL Phillies Red
11:00  GCL Twins at GCL Orioles
6:00  Pulaski at Elizabethton (Bryan Sammons, 0-0, 2.45)
6:05  Clearwater (Jose Taveras, 5-3, 2.52) at Fort Myers (Cody Stashak, 3-3, 3.57)
6:05  Rochester (Nik Turley, 1-2, 3.49) at Buffalo (Lucas Harrell, 0-0, 1.20)
6:35  Burlington (Jose Suarez, 0-1, 10.45) at Cedar Rapids (Colton Davis, 3-1, 1.36)

Gulf Coast League Preview

The Gulf Coast League starts today!  Here's a little basic information for you.

There are seventeen teams in the league.  There are four divisions:  the East, the Northeast, the Northwest, and the South.  There are five teams in the East and four teams in each of the other divisions.  Teams take the name of their parent clubs:  the GCL Twins, the GCL Red Sox, etc.  Two teams have two entries in the GCL, designated by "West" and "East":  the GCL Tigers East and the GCL Tigers West.

The GCL Twins play in the South.  Other teams in their division are the GCL Orioles, GCL Rays, and GCL Red Sox.

The teams play a sixty game schedule.  The four division winners advance to the playoffs, with the division winner with the best record playing the one with the worst record and the other two playing each other.  The semi-final is a one-game playoff.  The championship series is best-of-three.

Teams have thirty-five players on their rosters, of whom at least ten must be pitchers.  Players must have no more than two years of prior minor league service.  While there's no rule about it, the teams play at their parent clubs' spring training complexes and all games are day games.

Most of the players the Twins drafted recently will go here, so we'll see how they do.  Go Twins!

Games of June 25

An organizational sweep!  Zack Granite keeps hitting as Phil Hughes pitches in consecutive games.  Alex Perez has a great AA debut as the Lookouts take a doubleheader by identical scores.  A big day for Max Murphy.  Clark Beeker comes back to pitch well.  Lots of successful debuts for Elizabethton.

ROCHESTER 7, LEHIGH VALLEY 4 IN ROCHESTER

Trailing 3-2 in the fifth, the Red Wings got two doubles, a single, and another double to take a 5-3 lead.  The IronPigs closed to 5-4 in the sixth, but Matt Hague hit a two-run homer in the seventh to put the game out of reach.  Lehigh Valley did not get a hit after scoring in the sixth inning.  Ex-Twin Pedro Florimon was 1-for-5 for the IronPigs and is batting .278.

Tim Melville struck out six in five innings, but allowed three runs on four hits and two walks.  Phil Hughes, pitching on back-to-back days, gave up a run on two hits.  Drew Rucinski struck out two in two perfect innings, dropping his ERA to 1.74.  His WHIP is 0.77 and he has 28 strikeouts and 3 walks in 31 innings.  Michael Tonkin struck out three in a scoreless inning, to make his ERA 2.81.  He has 23 strikeouts in 16 innings.  Hague was 2-for-3 with a home run (his sixth) a double, and a walk.  ByungHo Park was 2-for-3 with a walk.  He is batting .378 in his last ten games, raising his average to .231.  Zack Granite was 2-for-4 with a home run (his third) and a walk, raising his average to .360.  J. B. Shuck and Leonardo Reginatto were each 2-for-4 with a double.

CHATTANOOGA 6, PENSACOLA 0 IN CHATTANOOGA (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

Travis Harrison homered in the second to start the scoring.  LaMonte Wade had a two-run single in the fourth.  Brian Navaretto had an RBI single in the fifth and Andy Wilkins brought home two with a single in the sixth.

Dereck Rodriguez struck out six in six innings, giving up two hits and two walks.  Paul Clemens struck out three in a scoreless inning.  Wilkins was 3-for-4 with a double and is batting .324.  Alex Perez made his AA debut and was 2-for-3.  Wade was also 2-for-3.  Ryan Walker was 2-for-4.  Brian Navaretto made his AA debut and was 1-for-3.  Edgar Corcino was 1-for-1 with three walks and is batting .304.

CHATTANOOGA 6, PENSACOLA 0 IN CHATTANOOGA (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)

The Lookouts scored in each of the first five innings to win the second game by an identical score to the first.  T. J. White had an RBI single in the first and a run scored on an error in the second.  Levi Michael doubled home two in the third, a sacrifice fly scored one in the fourth, and Travis Harrison singled in a run in the fifth.

Fernando Romero pitched a seven-inning complete game, giving up three runs and three walks with six strikeouts.  His ERA is now 2.97.  Alex Perez was 3-for-3, making him 5-for-6 in the doubleheader.  Harrison was 2-for-2 with a double and a walk.  Nick Gordon was 2-for-3 with a walk and is batting .311.

FORT MYERS 8, FLORIDA 2 IN FLORIDA

The Miracle scored two in the first and one in the second to take a 3-0 lead, but the Fire Frogs got three in the bottom of the second to tie it 3-3.  In the third, Mitchell Kranson doubled home a run and scored on a Zander Weil single to put Fort Myers ahead to stay.  The Miracle added single runs in the fourth, fifth, and eighth.

Anthony McIver pitched five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and no walks with four strikeouts.  Keaton Steele pitched two shutout innings.  David Fischer pitched a scoreless inning.  Andrew Vasquez struck out all three batters he faced, keeping his ERA at zero.  He has 15 strikeouts and 1 walk in 8 innings and has a WHIP of 0.63.  Max Murphy was 4-for-5 with a home run, his fifth, and is batting .302.  Jaylin Davis was 2-for-4.  Kranson was 2-for-5.

CEDAR RAPIDS 6, QUAD CITIES 2 IN QUAD CITIES

Amaurys Minier doubled home a run in the first to give the Kernels the early lead.  In the fourth, Caleb Hamilton and Ben Rortvedt led off with back-to-back homers, and a sacrifice fly later in the inning made it 4-0.  The River Bandits got their lone run in the fifth, but a two-run seventh by Cedar Rapids put the game out of reach.

Clark Beeker got back into form, going 5.2 innings and giving up just one run on six hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  His ERA is now 2.89 with a WHIP of 1.04.  Max Cordy pitched 2.1 scoreless innings.  Hector Lujan pitched a scoreless inning to make his ERA 1.86 with a WHIP of 0.90.  Christian Cavaness was 2-for-3.  Rortvedt was 2-for-4 with a double in addition to a home run (his second) and is above the Mendoza line at .201.  Hank Morrison was 2-for-5.  Hamilton's home run was his seventh.  Minier was 1-for-3 with a double and two walks and is 4-for-10 since his call-up.  Lean Marrero was 0-for-5 and is 0-for-11 since his call-up.

ELIZABETHTON 12, PULASKI 3 IN ELIZABETHTON

Four three-run innings carried the Twins to victory.  Jordan Gore's two-run double capped a three-run fourth that put Elizabethton up 3-1.  The Braves tied it with two in the top of the fifth, but Mark Contreras led off the bottom of the fifth with a home run and Brent Rooker hit a two-run homer later in the inning to make it 6-3 Twins.  They added three in the sixth and three in the eighth to put the game out of reach.

Melvi Acosta pitched five innings, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk.  Jovani Moran struck out six in three shutout innings in his Appalachian League debut.  Juan Gamez pitched a scoreless inning in his Appalachian League debut.  Gore was 3-for-4 in his professional debut.  Trey Cabbage was 2-for-3 with two walks and is batting .308.  Matt Albanese was 2-for-4 with a walk and is batting .692.  Andrew Cosgrove was 2-for-4 in his professional debut.  Contreras was 2-for-5 with a home run in his professional debut.  Carson Crites was 2-for-5 with three RBIs in his professional debut.  Rooker was 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk and is batting .400.  T. J. Dixon was 1-for-3 with a walk in his professional debut.

DSL TWINS

No game scheduled.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:30  DSL Twins at DSL Nationals
11:00  GCL Orioles at GCL Twins
4:35  Rochester (David Hurlbut, 4-4, 3.36) at Buffalo (Cesar Valdez, 3-1, 3.61)
Game 2  Rochester (Aaron Slegers, 6-4, 4.11) at Buffalo (Luis Santos, 2-4, 4.47)
6:00  Pulaski at Elizabethton (Griffin Jax, no record)
6:15  Pensacola (Austin Ross, 5-0, 1.21) at Chattanooga (Randy LeBlanc, 2-2, 5.35)
6:35  Burlington (Andrew Vinson, 4-6, 5.84) at Cedar Rapids (Tyler Wells, 4-1, 1.89)

Games of June 24

Every game was decided by one run.  I don't remember that ever happening before.  Phil Hughes continues his comeback.  A walkoff hit batsman carries the Lookouts as Felix Jorge pitches well.  A big day for Brent Rooker leads the E-Twins to victory.   A fine game for Jesus Toledo for the DSL Twins.

ROCHESTER 5, LEHIGH VALLEY 4 IN ROCHESTER

The Red Wings were down 4-2 when Leonardo Reginatto delivered an RBI single in the seventh to make it 4-3.  Matt Hague led off the ninth with a single.  It was followed by three consecutive walks to tie the score.  Reginatto then delivered another RBI single to win the game for Rochester.

Chris Heston pitched 4.1 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and three walks with two strikeouts.  D. J. Baxendale pitched 1.2 scoreless innings.  Phil Hughes pitched a scoreless inning.  Ryan Pressly struck out three in two perfect innings to keep his ERA at zero.  He has struck out twelve in eight innings while giving up two hits and three walks.  Reginatto was 3-for-5.  Hague was 2-for-3 with two walks.  Mitch Garver, Tommy Field, and Niko Goodrum were each 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Zack Granite was 1-for-4 with a walk and is batting .357.

CHATTANOOGA 3, PENSACOLA 2 IN CHATTANOOGA

It was scoreless until the eighth, when Gavin LaValley hit a two-run double to put the Blue Wahoos in front.  In the ninth, a walk and a single were followed by RBI singles by Jonathan Rodriguez and Andy Wilkins to tie the score.  An intentional walk loaded the bases and a hit batsman brought home the winning run.

Felix Jorge struck out seven in 7.2 innings.  He gave up two runs on eleven hits but no walks.  Randy Rosario struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings to make his ERA 2.33.  Rodriguez was 2-for-4.  Nick Gordon was 0-for-4 and is batting .307.  Edgar Corcino was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .305.  T. J. White was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .305.

FLORIDA 4, FORT MYERS 3 IN FLORIDA

Austin Riley hit a two-run homer in the first and the Fire Frogs led all the way.  The Miracle closed to 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3, but could never tie it up.  They did not get a man past first base after the fifth inning.

Brady Anderson pitched 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and four walks with four strikeouts.  Michael Theofanopoulos struck out four in 2.1 scoreless innings.  Jermaine Palacios was 2-for-4.

QUAD CITIES 3, CEDAR RAPIDS 2 IN QUAD CITIES

The Kernels led 2-0 early, but Ronnie Dawson hit a two-run homer in the fourth to tie it 2-2.  Daz Cameron homered in the fifth to make it 3-2 River Bandits, and the lead held up.  Cedar Rapids put men on first and second with one out in the ninth and eventually loaded the bases with two out, but could not get the tying run across.

Domenick Carlini struck out five in five innings but gave up three runs on five hits and a walk.  Ryan Mason struck out three in two shutout innings to drop his ERA to 1.76.  He has 15 strikeouts in 15.1 innings.  Alex Robinson struck out two in a scoreless inning.  Amaurys Minier was 3-for-4 with a home run and a double.  Gorge Munoz made his Class A debut and was 0-for-4.

ELIZABETHTON 8, DANVILLE 7 IN ELIZABETHTON

The Braves led 6-3 after two and 7-4 after six.  Brent Rooker's RBI double in the seventh made it 7-5.  A double steal of second and home in the eighth made it 7-6.  In the ninth, a walk and a single put men on first and third with two out and Matt Albanese hit a game-winning double, scoring both runners.

Moises Gomez lasted only 1.2 innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on five hits and three walks with one strikeout.  Carlos Suniaga struck out four in 3.1 scoreless innings.  Calvin Faucher struck out three in a scoreless inning.  Rooker was 4-for-5 with a home run as well as the double.  Albanese was 3-for-3 with two walks and is 7-for-9 so far.  Kolton Kendrick was 2-for-4 with a double.

DSL TWINS 3, DSL NATIONALS 2 AT TWINS

Ruben Santana tripled home a run in the third.  It was still 1-0 until the seventh, when a wild pitch and an Estamy Urena RBI single made it 3-0.  The Nationals got two in the eighth to get within one.  They had the tying run on second in the eighth and loaded the bases with two out in the ninth, but could not tie the score.

Jesus Toledo (that would appear to be a Holy Toledo) struck out six in six shutout innings, giving up four hits and a walk.  His ERA remains zero in 16.2 innings.  He has a WHIP of 0.90 and 14 strikeouts with three walks.  Frandy Torres pitched a scoreless inning to keep his ERA at zero through 9.1 innings.  Santana was 2-for-4 with a triple and is batting .395.  Urena was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .404.  Juan Martinez was 0-for-4 and is batting .308.  Agustin Marte was 0-for-3 and is batting .328.  Samuel Vasquez was 1-for-4 and is batting .321.

Games of June 23

Lots of debuts due to promotions.  John Curtiss made his AAA debut and didn't miss a beat.  Stephen Gonsalves has not been promoted yet, but probably should be.  Jaylin Davis, Jermaine Palacios, Mitchell Kranson, and Brandon Lopez all made their debuts at Fort Myers.  Amaurys Minier, Lean Marrero, and Joe Cronin all made their debuts at Cedar Rapids.  Big days for Kolton Kendrick and Matt Albanese lead the E-Twins on their season debut.  A rare loss for the DSL Twins.

LEHIGH VALLEY 4, ROCHESTER 3 IN ROCHESTER

The IronPigs scored three in the top of the third to take a 4-0 lead.  In the bottom of the third, ByungHo Park had a two-run single and John Ryan Murphy had an RBI single to make the score 4-3.  And that was where it stayed the rest of the game.  The Red Wings stranded men on first and second in the third inning, had a man on third with none out in the fifth, and got a man into scoring position in the eighth and ninth, but could not get the tying run across.

Matt Tracy struck out seven in 4.2 innings, but allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks.  John Curtiss made his AAA debut by retiring all seven batters he faced, three by strikeout.  Jake Reed pitched two perfect innings, keeping his ERA at zero through 3.1 innings.  He has allowed one hit and no walks.  Zack Granite was 3-for-5 and is batting .359.  Tommy Field was 2-for-4 with a double.

CHATTANOOGA 6, PENSACOLA 1 IN CHATTANOOGA

Two runs scored on an error in the first inning and Levi Michael hit a three-run homer in the fourth to give the Lookouts a 5-0 lead.  The lone Blue Wahoo run came in the fifth on a home run by Gavin LaValley.  Chattanooga got the run back in the seventh on Edgar Corcino's RBI single.

Stephen Gonsalves struck out nine in seven innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk.  His ERA drops to 2.85 with a WHIP of 0.85 and he has 51 strikeouts with 9 walks in 41 innings.  Nick Anderson struck out two in a scoreless inning to drop his ERA to 1.85.  Alex Muren pitched a scoreless inning.  Corcino was 2-for-4 with a double and is batting .304.  Jonathan Rodriguez was also 2-for-4 with a double.  T. J. White was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .313.  Nick Gordon was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .311.

FORT MYERS 2, FLORIDA 1 IN FLORIDA

Ray-Patrick Didder tripled and scored in the first to give the Fire Frogs a 1-0 lead.  In the fourth, Jaylin Davis had an RBI double and later scored on a wild pitch to put the Miracle up 2-1.  And that was it for the scoring.  Florida had only two hits after the fourth inning.

Lewis Thorpe pitched five innings, giving up a run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts to drop his ERA to 2.05.  He threw sixty pitches, so he apparently is still on a pitch count.  Tom Hackimer and Sam Clay each struck out two in two shutout innings, making their ERAs 1.74 and 2.00, respectively.  Max Murphy was 3-for-4 and had three of the four Fort Myers hits.  Jermaine Palacios, Mitchell Kranson, Davis, and Brandon Lopez all made their high-A debuts in this game.  Davis was the only one to get a hit, going 1-for-4, but as you can see his hit was a big one.  Palacios and Lopez were each 0-for-3 and Kranson was 0-for-4.

QUAD CITIES 7, CEDAR RAPIDS 6 IN QUAD CITIES

The Kernels scored in the first on a Lewin Diaz single, but then the River Bandits took control.  The scored one in the second, three in the fourth, and two in the sixth to go ahead 6-1.  It was 7-2 going to the ninth, when Cedar Rapids made its comeback.  A single, two walks, and a sacrifice fly made it 7-3 and Caleb Hamilton hit a three-run homer to cut the margin to one.  The home run killed the rally, however, as the next two batters grounded out to end the game.

Sean Poppen pitched six innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits and no walks with five strikeouts.  Logan Lombana pitched a scoreless inning.  Aaron Whitefield was 3-for-5 with a double.  Hank Morrison was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Amaurys Minier, Lean Marrero, and Joe Cronin each made their Class A debut.  Cronin was 1-for-4, Minier was 0-for-3 with two walks, and Marrero was 0-for-3 with a walk.

ELIZABETHTON 7, DANVILLE 6 IN ELIZABETHTON (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

The Braves had a 6-0 lead half-way through.  The Twins got on the board in the fourth on a two-run double by Kolton Kendrick.  Kendrick struck again in the sixth, hitting a three-run homer to make it 6-5.  In the seventh, a single and a single-plus-error put men on first and third.  A sacrifice fly tied the game and, following an intentional walk, Matt Albanese singled home the winning run.

Edwar Colina pitched 4.1 innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts.  Taylor Clemensia retired all eight batters he faced, striking out one.  Albanese was 3-for-4.  Kendrick was 2-for-2 with a home run, a double, and a walk, driving in five.  His slash line after the game was 1.000/1.000/3.000.  Jose Miranda was 1-for-1 with two walks.

DANVILLE 2, ELIZABETHTON 0 IN ELIZABETHTON (GAME 2--5 INNINGS--RAIN)

Three consecutive doubles with one out in the first gave the Braves two runs and that was all they needed.  The Twins had only two hits, a two-out single in the third by Rainis Silva and a one out double in the fifth by Matt Albanese.

Huascar Ynoa struck out seven in five innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk.  Silva was 1-for-1 and is batting 1.000.

DSL METS1 8, DSL TWINS 3 AT TWINS

Wander Valdez had an RBI double in the fourth and Juan Martinez had a two-run triple later in the inning to give the Twins a 3-1 lead.  It was all Mets1 after that, though.  They scored three in the fifth to get the lead back and added four in the sixth to take control of the game.

Luis Gil pitched two innings, giving up a run on one hit and two walks with two strikeouts.  His ERA is 1.64. Yeremi Garcia pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, keeping his ERA at zero with a WHIP of 0.97 in 10.1 innings.  Steven Cruz made his debut with a scoreless inning.  Martinez was 2-for-4 with a triple and is batting .343.  Davinson Pimentel was 2-for-4 and is batting .316.  Yeltsin Encarnacion was 1-for-3 and is batting .412.  Estamy Urena was 0-for-4 and is batting .408.  Valdez was 1-for-4 with a double and is batting .349.  Agustin Marte was 1-for-4 and is batting .345.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:30  DSL Nationals at DSL Twins
5:00  Danville (Kyle Muller, no record) at Elizabethton (Moises Gomez, no record)
6:05  Fort Myers (Brady Anderson, 3-2, 3.81) at Florida (Touki Toussaint, 1-8, 5.74)
6:05  Lehigh Valley (Mark Appel, 5-3, 5.05) at Rochester (Chris Heston, 0-1, 8.53)
6:15  Pensacola (Deck McGuire, 6-5, 3.50) at Chattanooga (Felix Jorge, 8-1, 3.35)
6:35  Cedar Rapids (Domenick Carlini, 3-5, 5.47) at Quad Cities (Carson LaRue, 7-2, 2.64)

Games of June 22

The Red Wings score early and hold on.  The Miracle scores early and falls apart.  Eduardo Del Rosario has a dominant start.  Three DSL Twins pitchers shut down the opposition.

ROCHESTER 4, LEHIGH VALLEY 2 IN ROCHESTER

Mitch Garver hit a two-run homer in the first and the Red Wings scored two more in the second.  That was enough, as four Rochester pitchers managed to scatter thirteen IronPigs hits so that they only produced two runs.  Lehigh Valley stranded eleven and went 2-for-13 with men in scoring position.

Yohan Pino pitched 4.1 innings, giving up one run on six hits and a walk with one strikeout.  Drew Rucinski pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, making his ERA 1.86.  Michael Tonkin struck out two in a scoreless inning.  Garver was 2-for-4 with a double in addition to his seventh home run.  Niko Goodrum and Bengie Gonzalez were each 2-for-4 with a double.  Zack Granite was 2-for-4 and is batting .352.

PENSACOLA AT CHATTANOOGA

Rained out.

FLORIDA 8, FORT MYERS 1 IN FLORIDA

Zander Weil singled in a run in the first inning, but that was as good as it would get for the Miracle.  The Fire Frogs tied it in the fourth on a wild pitch and took the lead later in the inning on Carlos Castro's RBI double.  Florida added one in the fifth, three in the sixth, and two in the eighth to put the game out of reach.  Ex-Twin Pedro Florimon was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk and is batting .286.

Lachlan Wells struck out eight in 5.2 innings but allowed four runs on five hits and a walk.  Max Murphy was 3-for-3 with a walk.  Alex Perez was 3-for-4.  Brian Navaretto was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.

CEDAR RAPIDS 4, QUAD CITIES 0 IN QUAD CITIES

Jermaine Palacios singled in a run in the third to give the Kernels a 1-0 lead.  It stayed there through six, but Cedar Rapids got single runs in each of the last three innings to put the game out of reach.

Eduardo Del Rosario struck out seven in six shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.  Colton Davis pitched two perfect innings and has an ERA of 1.36.  Hector Lujan pitched a perfect inning and has an ERA of 1.93.  Ben Rortvedt was 2-for-4 with a double.  Mitchell Kranson was 2-for-4.  Lewin Diaz hit a home run, his eighth.  Palacios was 1-for-4 with a walk and is batting .320.

DANVILLE AT ELIZABETHTON

Rained out.

DSL TWINS 4, DSL METS1 0 AT METS1

A sacrifice fly plated a run in the first.  In the second, Zaino Henriquez singled home one run and Agustin Marte doubled home another to make it 3-0.  Felix Reyes singled home a run in the third.  The Twins did no more on offense, but it was not necessary, as three pitchers shut down the Mets1.  The Mets1 had only one hit, a two-out single in the second inning.

Fredderi Soto struck out four in four shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks.  His ERA is 1.17 and his WHIP is 0.98.  Elvis Rivas pitched three shutout innings and has an ERA of 1.69.  Frandy Torres pitched two shutout innings to keep his ERA at zero through 8.1 innings.  He has a WHIP of 0.72.  Ruben Santana was 2-for-3 and is batting .382.  Marte was 2-for-4 with a double and is batting .353.  Yeltsin Encarnacion was 2-for-4 and is batting .419.  Reyes and Henriquez were each 2-for-4.  Samuel Vasquez was 1-for-5 and is batting .327.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:30  DSL Mets1 at DSL Twins
5:00  Danville (Odalvi Javier, no record) at Elizabethton (Edwar Colina, no record)
Game 2  Danville (Dilmer Mejia, no record) at Elizabethton
6:05  Fort Myers (Lewis Thorpe, 0-2, 2.12) at Florida (Andres Santiago, 0-2, 6.75)
6:05  Lehigh Valley (John Richy, 0-0, 0.00) at Rochester (Matt Tracy, 2-0, 7.20)
6:15  Pensacola (Keury Mella, 2-4, 4.35) at Chattanooga (Stephen Gonsalves, 2-3, 3.18)
6:35  Cedar Rapids (Sean Poppen, 5-1, 2.80) at Quad Cities (Yohan Ramirez, 0-1, 4.02)

Appalachian League Preview

The Appalachian League starts its season tonight, so we thought we'd give you a quick preview.

There are ten teams in the Appalachian League.  They are divided into two divisions, East and West.  The teams take the names of their parent clubs.  Our Elizabethton Twins play in the West.  The other teams in their division are the Bristol Pirates, Greeneville Astros, Johnson City Cardinals, and Kingsport Mets.

The teams play a sixty-eight game schedule.  Play starts tonight and will end August 31.  The top two teams in each division reach the playoffs.  The first place and second place team in each division play each other in a best-of-three series, with the second place team hosting the first game and the first place team hosting the next two (if necessary).  The two winners then play each other in a best-of-three series.

The Twins play at Joe O'Brien Field.  They are managed by Ray Smith, who is assisted by batting coach Jeff Reed and pitching coach Luis Ramirez.  We could go through the roster, but it's not like there are a lot of recognizable names.  If you want to look at it, you can find it at http://www.milb.com/roster/index.jsp?sid=t576

Go Twins!

Games of June 21

Solo home runs with the game for the Red Wings.  Hector Santiago and Phil Hughes make their rehab debuts.  Michael Montero pitches a complete game in the DSL.  The Appalachian League starts tonight!

ROCHESTER 3, BUFFALO 1 IN ROCHESTER

It was scoreless until the fourth, when Mitch Garver led off with a home run.  Niko Goodrum homered later in the inning to make it 2-0.  In the fifth, Zack Granite hit another homer to make it 3-0.  The Bisons did not get a hit until the seventh and got their lone run in the eighth on Mike Ohlman's RBI single.  I guess solo home run can hurt you, after all.

Hector Santiago made his first rehab start and pitched three shutout innings, giving up no hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  Phil Hughes made his first rehab appearance and pitched a scoreless inning, giving up only a walk.  Trevor Hildenberger struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, dropping his ERA to 2.05.  He has 35 strikeouts and 8 walks in 30.2 innings.  Garver was 2-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.  Goodrum was 2-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Tommy Field was 2-for-4.  Zack Granite was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk and is batting .349.

CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS

No game scheduled--all-star break

FORT MYERS 3, JUPITER 0 IN JUPITER

Two walks, a single, another walk, and a sacrifice fly gave the Miracle two runs in the fourth.  An error, a walk, and another error plated a third run in the eighth.  That was all they needed, as the Hammerheads did not get a hit until the fifth and only twice got a man as far as second base.  Jupiter had only two hits and made four errors.

Cody Stashak had his second consecutive good game, striking out seven in six shutout innings while giving up just one hit and two walks.  Andrew Vasquez struck out five of the six batters he faced in two perfect innings, keeping his ERA at zero in seven innings of high-A ball.  He has 12 strikeouts and 1 walk in those innings.  Sam Clay pitched a scoreless inning to drop his ERA to 2.12.  Alex Perez was 2-for-4.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS

No game scheduled--all-star break.

DSL TWINS 4, DSL ANGELS 1 AT ANGELS (6 INNINGS--RAIN)

It was 1-1 through four, but the Twins scored three in the fifth to win.  The go-ahead run came on a straight steal of home by Victor Heredia.  RBI singles by Agustin Marte and Wander Valdez brought home insurance runs.

Michael Montero pitched a complete game, giving up one run on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts.  There have been six complete games in the DSL this season, all of them rain-shortened.  Marte was 3-for-3 and is batting .340.  Valdez was 2-for-3 with a double and is batting .359.  Samuel Vasquez was 0-for-4 and is batting .341.  Yeltsin Encarnacion was 1-for-2 with a walk and is batting .407.  Juan Martinez was 0-for-3 and is batting .323.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:30  DSL Twins at DSL Mets1
6:00  Danville (Odalvi Javier) at Elizabethton (Edwar Colina)
6:05  Fort Myers (Lachlan Wells, 3-8, 4.09) at Florida (Enderson Franco, 1-4, 8.46)
6:05  Lehigh Valley (Tom Eshelman, 5-1, 1.68) at Rochester (Yohan Pino, 0-4, 5.75)
6:15  Pensacola (Luis Castillo, 4-4, 2.58) at Chattanooga
6:35  Cedar Rapids (Eduardo Del Rosario, 6-3, 5.16) at Quad Cities

Games of June 20

ByungHo Park may finally be getting it going.  Anthony McIver makes his first professional start.  The DSL Twins keep rolling.

ROCHESTER 4, BUFFALO 3 IN ROCHESTER

A single, two doubles, and another single produced three first-inning runs for the Red Wings.  Christian Lopes homered in the third to make it 3-1, but Matt Hague got an RBI single in the fourth to make it 4-1.  The Bisons got two in the sixth and had men on first and second with two out, but could not get the tying run across.  They did not get a hit after the sixth.

Aaron Slegers struck out six in five innings but gave up three runs on six hits and three walks.  Jake Reed made his AAA debut, striking out two in 1.1 scoreless innings.  Ryan Pressly struck out two in two shutout innings, keeping his ERA at zero with nine strikeouts in six innings.  ByungHo Park was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  He is 10-for-22 in his last six games.  Niko Goodrum was 2-for-4.  J. B. Shuck was 2-for-5.

CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS

No game scheduled.  The Southern League all-star game was rained out and apparently will not be played.

JUPITER 2, FORT MYERS 0 IN JUPITER

It was scoreless through six, but the Hammerheads got an RBI single by Kyle Barrett in the seventh and by Dustin Geiger in the eighth.  The Miracle did not get a hit until the fourth.  Their only threat was in the eighth, when they had men on second and third with one out and loaded the bases with two out.  A strikeout ended the inning.

Anthony McIver came out of the bullpen to make his first start of the season, and in fact the first start of his professional career.  He struck out four in 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and no walks.  His ERA is 2.27.  Tom Hackimer pitched 2.1 scoreless innings and has an ERA of 2.16.  Fort Myers had only five hits and no batter had more than one.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS

In the Midwest League all-star game, the West defeated the East 5-2.  Jermaine Palacios started and was 1-for-2.  Lewin Diaz started and was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer.  Travis Blankenhorn started and was 0-for-2.  Mitchell Kranson played the entire game and was 1-for-4 with a double.  Sean Poppen pitched the second inning perfectly with one strikeout.  Clark Beeker pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs and one hit.

DSL TWINS 5, DSL ANGELS 4 AT TWINS

The Twins scored four in the first, getting a double, two singles, three walks, and an error.  Wander Valdez hit an RBI triple in the third inning to make it 5-0 and the Twins held on from there.  The Angels got two in the fourth, one in the fifth, and one in the seventh to cut the lead to 5-4.  They were not able to tie the score, however, as they did not get a hit after the fifth inning.

Andreu Marin struck out five in four innings but gave up two runs on three hits and three walks.  Yeremi Garcia pitched two shutout innings, keeping his ERA at zero through eight innings.  Valdez was 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk and is batting .333.  Ruben Santana was 1-for-4 with a walk and is batting .355.  Alberoni Nunez was 1-for-5 and is batting .308.  Estamy Urena was 0-for-5 and is batting .444.  Juan Martinez was 0-for-2 with a walk and is batting .357.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:30  DSL Twins at DSL Angels
12:35  Buffalo (Cesar Valdez, 3-1, 3.67) at Rochester (Hector Santiago, no record
5:30  Fort Myers (Cody Stashak, 2-3, 4.02) at Jupiter

Games of June 19

David Hurlbut has an excellent game.  Zack Granite keeps hitting.  The Miracle loses in extra innings.  The DSL Twins keep hitting, too.

ROCHESTER 7, BUFFALO 0 IN ROCHESTER

Four singles produced two Red Wings runs in the second.  In the third, four doubles, a single, and two walks brought home four runs to make it 6-0 and Rochester cruised to a win.  They really should have had more runs--they had seventeen hits and five walks but stranded fourteen runners.

The cruising was made possible by David Hurlbut, who had his best game of the season.  He struck out seven in seven shutout innings, giving up four hits and two walks.  Mason Melotakis made his Red Wings debut with a perfect inning.  Kam Mickolio also pitched a perfect inning.  Matt Hague was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk.  John Ryan Murphy was 3-for-5 with two doubles.  Zack Granite was 3-for-5 with a double and is batting .349.  J. B. Shuck was 2-for-3 with two walks.  Tommy Field was 2-for-4 with a double.  Mitch Garver and ByungHo Park were each 2-for-5 with a double.

CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS

No game scheduled--all-star break.

JUPITER 4, FORT MYERS 3 IN JUPITER (10 INNINGS)

The Miracle trailed 3-1 through seven.  In the eighth, a walk, a hit batsman, and two more walks made it 3-2.  In the ninth, Max Murphy singled home Tanner English with the tying run.  The go-ahead run was thrown out trying to score from second on an error, however, and in the tenth Fort Myers left men on second and third.  In the bottom of the tenth, J. J. Gould scored from first on a double by Dustin Geiger to end the game.  Steve Lombardozzi, Jr. was 0-for-2 for the Hammerheads.  Martin Prado was 2-for-4 with a double.

Brady Anderson pitched five innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  Jonny Drozd pitched two shutout innings to drop his ERA to 2.92.  Michael Theofanopoulos struck out three in two perfect innings.  English was 3-for-5 with two doubles.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS

No game scheduled--all-star break.

DSL TWINS 8, DSL YANKEES 2 AT YANKEES

Leading 3-1 through six, the Twins scored five in the seventh to put the game out of reach.  Wander Valdez homered in the inning and Yeison Perez contributed a two-run single.

Jesus Toledo struck out three in 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and no walks.  He is unscored upon in 10.2 innings.  Elvis Rivas pitched a scoreless inning to make his ERA 2.35.  Valdez was 2-for-4 with a double in addition to the home run and is batting .303.  Yeltsin Encarnacion was 2-for-4 with a double and is batting .400.  Perez was 2-for-5 with a home run.  Samuel Vasquez was 1-for-5 with a triple and is batting .375.  Estamy Urena was 1-for-3 with two walks and is batting .488.  Alberoni Nunez was 0-for-3 and is batting .324.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:30  DSL Angels at DSL Twins
5:30  Fort Myers (Anthony McIver, 1-2, 1.53) at Jupiter (Scott Squier, 2-6, 4.52)
6:05  Buffalo (T. J. House, 6-5, 3.44) at Rochester (Aaron Slegers, 5-4, 4.06)