Games of June 21

DURHAM 14, ROCHESTER 8 IN ROCHESTER

Batting stars:  Brian Dinkelman was 3-for-4 with a double and a home run, driving in four.  Clete Thomas was 2-for-3 with a double, a homer, and a walk.  Pedro Florimon was 2-for-3 with a double and two walks.

Pitching star:  Brendan Wise gave up one run on three hits in 3.1 innings.

Opposition stars:  Stephan Vogt was 4-for-6 and scored four times.  Jeff Keppinger was 3-for-4 with a double.  Brandon Allen was 2-for-5 with two doubles and a walk.

Key inning:  The sixth.  Rochester had come back from a 6-0 hole to trail 7-5 after five.  The Bulls scored five in the sixth to put it away.  Jeff Salazar drove in two with a single and Cole Figueroa knocked in two more with a triple.

Other:  The Red Wings have homered in eight consecutive games, the first time the team has done that since 2009…Former big-leaguer Johnny Antonelli will be in Rochester tonight.

NEW BRITAIN 5, ALTOONA 3 IN ALTOONA

Batting star:  Evan Bigley was 2-for-4 with a home run.

Pitching star:  Daniel Turpen pitched 1.2 perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Evan Chambers was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Matt Curry was 2-for-4.  Hunter Strickland struck out three in two shutout innings.

Key inning:  The fourth.  In a 2-2 tie, the Rock Cats scored three times.  Bigley and Nathan Hanson delivered RBI singles and Daniel Rohlfing hit an RBI double.  Altoona scored one in the bottom of the inning, but that was as close as they would come.

FORT MYERS 9, ST. LUCIE 5 IN ST. LUCIE

Batting stars:  Kyle Knudson was 3-for-5 with a double.  Andy Leer was 2-for-4 with a double.  Daniel Ortiz was 2-for-5 with a triple.

Pitching star:  Michael Tonkin struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks.

Opposition stars:  Allan Dykstra was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Robbie Shields was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Cory Vaughn was 2-for-5 with a double and a home run.

Key inning:  The third.  The Miracle had scored five in the first, only to see the Mets come back with three in the second.  In the third, Fort Myers scored three more to put the game out of reach early.  Leer had a two run single and Daniel Santana hit an RBI single.

ELIZABETHTON 7, DANVILLE 2 IN DANVILLE

Batting stars:  Rory Rhodes was 2-for-5 with a home run.  Jorge Polanco was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Joshua Burris threw three perfect innings, striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Aris Alcantara was 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk.  Frank Lafreniere gave up one run on four hits and a walk in five innings.

Key inning:  The sixth.  The Twins were trailing 2-1.  They loaded the bases with two singles and a hit batsman.  A walk scored one and an error scored another.  Polanco’s RBI single gave the Twins an insurance run.

Other:  The Braves had four hits and made four errors.  As we’ve seen, that’s not a winning combination.

GCL TWINS 8, RAYS 4 AT RAYS

Batting stars:  Bryan Haar was 3-for-5 with a double.  Kelvin Ortiz was 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and a walk, scoring three times.  Jose Ramirez was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Starter Sam Gibbons worked three shutout innings, striking out five while allowing three hits.

Opposition stars:  Adderly Rosa was 3-for-5 with a double.  Armando Araiza was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Johnny Eierman was 2-for-4 with a double.

Key inning:  The sixth.  Leading 1-0, the Twins put it away with five runs.  A bases clearing double by Aderlin Mejia was the key hit.  The Twins were aided by two walks and two wild pitches.

DSL TWINS 4, CUBS1 2 AT TWINS

Batting star:  Junior Amarante was 2-for-3.

Pitching star:  Javier Vargas struck out seven in five shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk.  Reudis Reyes struck out two in two shutout innings, allowing one hit.

Opposition stars:  Roney Alcala was 2-for-4.  Juancito De La Cruz pitched four shutout innings.

Key inning:  The first.  In a scoreless tie, the Twins scored all four of their runs.  They had only two hits in the inning, both singles.  One of the runs scored on an error, one on a fielder’s choice, one on a single, and one on a caught stealing.

Games of June 20

ROCHESTER 7, DURHAM 6 IN ROCHESTER

Batting stars:  Brian Dinkelman was 3-for-4.  Wilkin Ramirez was 2-for-5 with a walkoff home run, his fifth.  Matt Carson was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fifth.

Pitching star:  Caleb Thielbar worked 1.2 scoreless innings in his AAA debut, giving up only one hit.

Opposition stars:  Cole Figueroa was 4-for-4 with a triple and scored three times.  Henry Wrigley was 3-for-4.  Chris Gimenez was 2-for-4 with a home run.

Key inning:  The ninth.  In the top of the ninth, the Bulls scored twice to take a 6-5 lead.  In the bottom of the ninth, Tsuyoshi Nishioka led off the bottom of the ninth with a double.  Pedro Florimon sacrificed him to third, and Ramirez followed with the walkoff homer.  So, once again, we see that a bunt was the key to a rally, while a home run killed the rally.

Other:  Carlos Gutierrez and Lester Oliveros were placed on the seven day disabled list.  Thielbar and Bobby Lanigan were promoted from New Britain.

ALTOONA 9, NEW BRITAIN 4 IN ALTOONA

Batting stars:  Aaron Hicks was 3-for-5 with a double and a triple.  Chris Colabello was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Daniel Turpen and Bruce Pugh each pitched a perfect inning, with Turpen striking out one and Pugh fanning two.

Opposition stars:  Jarek Cunningham was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Quincy Latimore hit a three run homer.  Nathan Baker retired all six batters he faced, four by strikeout.

Key inning:  The fourth.  Trailing 4-0, the Rock Cats scored once to give hope that they might get back into the game.  That hope was quickly extinguished when the Curve scored four times in the bottom of the inning.  The big hit of the inning was a three run homer by Robbie Grossman.

FORT MYERS 7, JUPITER 3 IN JUPITER

Batting stars:  Kyle Knudson was 3-for-5.  Daniel Rams and Andy Leer were each 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Madison Boer lasted five innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out four.  Ricky Bowen worked 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Christian Yelich was 3-for-5 with a double.  Jacob Realmuto was 2-for-5.

Key inning:  The third.  Leading 2-0, the Miracle had two out and none on.  Two singles and two doubles then plated three runs.  A two run double by Leer capped off the rally.

MIDWEST LEAGUE EAST ALL-STARS 18, MIDWEST LEAGUE WEST ALL-STARS 2

Jonathan Goncalves was 1-for-2, scoring once and driving in one.  Miguel Sano was 0-for-1 with a walk.  Jairo Rodriguez was 0-for-1 with a walk. Michael Tonkin gave up a hit in a third of an inning.  A. J. Achter allowed a hit and struck out two in two-thirds of an inning.  Jason Wheeler retired both batters he faced.

ELIZABETHTON 10, DANVILLE 0 IN DANVILLE

Batting stars:  Rory Rhodes was 3-for-5 with a triple.  Niko Goodrum was 2-for-5 with two triples, driving in three.  Michael Quesada was 2-for-4 with two doubles.

Pitching stars:  Ricardo Arevalo struck out four in five innings, giving up three hits and a walk.  Dallas Gallant struck out two in two innings, allowing one hit.

Opposition stars:  Carlos Franco and Casey Kalenkosky each went 2-for-4.  Zach Jadofsky fanned three in 2.1 scoreless innings.

Key inning:  The fifth.  Leading 2-0, the Twins came up with five runs to put the game out of reach.  Three of the runs came on a bases loaded triple byGoodrum.

Other:  Whenever the Twins play in Danville, I wonder whether Phineas and Ferb are at the game.

GCL TWINS 6, RAYS 2 AT TWINS

Batting stars:  Aderlin Mejia was 3-for-4 with a double.  Bryan Haar was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Starter Josue Montanez struck out five in three hitless innings, walking two.  Hung Yi Chen and Trent Higginbotham each threw two shutout innings, each allowing a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Johnny Eierman was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Cesar Perez was 2-for-5.

Key inning:  The third.  Leading 1-0, the Twins scored four times.  Haar delivered a two run single.  The Rays made two errors in the inning.

Other:  The teams combined for five errors, three by the Rays.

DSL TWINS 3, ORIOLES 1 AT ORIOLES

Batting star:  Engelb Vielma was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Miguel Gonzalez gave up only an unearned run on three hits and a walk while striking out three in four innings.  Jadison Jimenezallowed two hits and a walk in three shutout innings.  Edgar Martinez struck out two, giving up a hit and a walk, in two shutout innings.

Opposition stars:  Rochendrick Alexander was 2-for-4 with a double.  Alexander Mercedes was 2-for-4.  Miguel Garcia allowed two runs on three hits and four walks in six innings.

Key inning:  The third.  Trailing 1-0, the Twins used Twins Baseball to take the lead.  A single, a walk, and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out.  Vielma singled to score one and put runners on first and third.  Vielma was then thrown out trying to steal second, but on the throw,Gabriel A. Ynfante scored the go-ahead run.

Games of June 19

DURHAM 8, ROCHESTER 2 IN ROCHESTER

Batting stars:  Danny Valencia was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Wilkin Ramirez hit a home run, his fourth.

Pitching star:  Kyle Waldrop threw two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Stephen Vogt was 4-for-5 with a double and a home run, driving in three.  Brandon Allen was 3-for-5.  Alexander Torres allowed only one hit and two walks in five innings while striking out six.

Key inning:  The first.  Durham opened the game with a three-run inning.  Allen had an RBI single and Vogt followed with a two-run double.

ALTOONA 8, NEW BRITAIN 1 IN ALTOONA

Batting star:  Evan Bigley was 3-for-3 with a double.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Brock Holt was 3-for-4 with two doubles, driving in three.  Jarek Cunningham was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jeff Karstens gave up a run on six hits and a walk in seven innings.

Key inning:  The third.  In a scoreless tie, the Curve put together two singles and two doubles to score three times.  Holt drove in two with a double and Cunningham drove in one with a double.

JUPITER 6, FORT MYERS 2 IN JUPITER

Batting stars:  Kyle Knudson was 3-for-4 with a double.  Levi Michael was 2-for-2 with a double and three walks.  Daniel Rams hit a home run, his second.

Pitching star:  Edgar Ibarra struck out five in 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Noah Perio was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Isaac Galloway was 2-for-4 with a double.  Danny Black was 2-for-5.

Key inning:  The fifth.  Leading 3-1, the Hammerheads opened the inning with three singles, loading the bases.  A strikeout and a popup left the runners there with two out.  Marcell Ozuna then delivered a three run double for Jupiter.

DANVILLE 7, ELIZABETHTON 5 IN DANVILLE

Batting stars:  Rory Rhodes was 3-for-4 with a double, driving in two.  Candido Pimentel was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Brett Lee gave up an unearned run on three hits in three innings.

Opposition stars:  Felix Marte was 3-for-4 with a double.  Nick DeSantiago was 2-for-4 with a double.  Trenton Moses was 2-for-4 with a double.

Key inning:  The seventh.  Leading 3-2, the Braves scored three times.  A pair of walks and a Moses double plated one run.  Following an intentional walk, DeSantiago doubled in a pair of insurance runs.

GCL TWINS 5, ORIOLES 3 AT TWINS

Batting stars:  Dereck Rodriguez was 3-for-3 with a walk.  Jose Ramirez and Kelly Cross were each 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Starter Yorman Landa struck out four in four hitless innings, walking two.  Melciades De La Cruz struck out four in two shutout innings, allowing one hit and two walks.

Opposition stars:  Andres Aguilar was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Nikolas Balog was 2-for-4.  Joel Piniero, in the GCL on a rehab assignment, gave up a run on four hits and a walk in five innings.

Key inning:  The seventh.  In a 1-1 tie, the Orioles used a single, a walk, and two doubles to take a 3-1 lead.  The Twins came back in the bottom of the inning to score four times.  Two singles, a ground out, and a wild pitch scored the first run.  Ramirez and Rodriguez delivered RBI singles to give the Twins the lead.  An insurance run scored on a passed ball.

DSL TWINS 4, ORIOLES 3 AT TWINS

Batting stars:  Eddy Concepcion was 3-for-4 with a double.  Jhon Silva was 2-for-3.  Engelb Vielma was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Pedro Arias struck out four in two scoreless, hitless innings.  Argenis Silva gave up one hit in two shutout innings.

Opposition stars:  Alexander Mercedes was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Junior Taveras was 2-for-4 with a double.  Dioni Dominguez struck out seven in 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and a walk.

Key inning:  The ninth.  In a 3-3 tie, Vielma singled, took second on an error, went to third on a passed ball, and scored on a Victor Arias single to end the game.

Appalachian League Preview

The Appalachian League season gets underway today.

There are ten teams in the league.  They are split into two divisions, the East and the West.  Teams play a sixty-eight game schedule, which ends August 28.  Four teams then go to the playoffs.

The Twins entry in the league is, of course, in Elizabethton.  Their long-time manager is Ray Smith.  Jeff Reed is the batting coach and Ivan Arteaga is the pitching coach.

Because the league is filled with players that few people know, and because your reporter is pressed for time, we will not go into great detail about the teams.  Some names you might recognize on the Twins’ pitching staff are Ricardo Arevalo, J. T. Chargois, Tyler Herr, Angel Mata, Mason Melotakis, Luis Nunez, and Hein Robb.  Some names you might recognize among the position players are Bo Altobelli, Jhonatan Arias, Niko Goodrum, Joshua Hendricks, Kennys Vargas, Max Kepler, Candido Pimentel, and Rory Rhodes.

Games of June 18

DURHAM 6, ROCHESTER 1 IN ROCHESTER

Batting stars:  Sean Burroughs was 2-for-4.  Rene Rivera hit a home run, his fourth.

Pitching star:  Carlos Gutierrez retired all six batters he faced, striking out three of them.

Opposition stars:  Reid Brignac was 3-for-5 with a double and drove in three.  Leslie Anderson and Brandon Allen were each 3-for-5 with a double.

Key inning:  The third.  Leading 1-0 with two out and a runner on first, the Bulls put together two singles and two doubles.  Brignac capped off the rally with a two-run double.

Other:  Evan Longoria is playing for Durham on a rehab assignment.  He went 0-for-1, then was removed from the game.

JUPITER 2, FORT MYERS 1 IN JUPITER

Batting stars:  None.  The Miracle had only two hits, both singles.

Pitching star:  Cole Nelson went 6.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and four walks.

Opposition star:  Rob Rasmussen struck out seven in six innings, allowing an unearned run on two hits and three walks.

Key inning:  The fifth.  With the score tied at one, the Hammerheads had two out and none on.  A walk, a single, and an error by Daniel Santana allowed the go-ahead run to score for Jupiter.

Other:  Each team made two errors.

GCL ORIOLES 5, TWINS 3 AT ORIOLES

Batting stars:  Logan Wade was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk.  Aderlin Mejia was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching star:  Kua Hua Lo struck out five in four innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks.

Opposition stars:  Gregory Lorenzo was 2-for-3 with a double and a triple.  Michael Ohlman was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jason McCracken struck out four in 3.2 innings, allowing an unearned run on no hits and three walks.

Key inning:  The eighth.  With the score tied at three, the Orioles had a runner on third with two out.  Adrian Marin singled in the go-ahead run and Ohlman doubled him home for an insurance run.

DSL TWINS AT PADRES

Rained out.

Gulf Coast League Preview

The Gulf Coast League is a fourteen-team league based in Florida.  There are three divisions, the North, the East, and the South.  There are six teams in the North and four teams in each of the other two divisions.

Teams take the names of their parent clubs, e.g. the GCL Twins, the GCL Astros, etc.  The teams play at the spring training complexes of their major league clubs.  They play a sixty-game schedule.  Four teams make the playoffs.  Rosters are capped at thirty-five, with only thirty eligible for any given game.  At least ten of these must be pitchers.  Players must have less than three years of minor league service.

The Twins’ entry is managed by Ramon Borrego.  The batting coach is Milt Cuyler, with pitching coaches Henry Bonilla and Luis Ramirez.

Looking at the roster, pitcher whose names you might recognize include Jose Barrios, Sam Gibbons, Yorman Landa, Gonzalo Sanudo, and Markus Solbach.  Batters you might recognize include Aderlin Mejia, Javier Pimentel, Jacob Younis, Byron Buxton, Kelvin Ortiz, and Dereck Rodriguez.

Games of June 17

ROCHESTER 7, LOUISVILLE 4 IN LOUISVILLE

Batting stars:  Matt Carson was 3-for-4 with two home runs, his third and fourth.  He scored three times and drove in four.  Rene Rivera was 3-for-4 with a double.  Pedro Florimon was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Samuel Deduno struck out six in 3.2 innings, giving up a run on two hits and four walks.  Casey Fien walked one and struck out two in 2.1 scoreless innings.  Kyle Waldrop worked 1.2 perfect innings.

Opposition star:  Daniel Dorn was 2-for-2 with two walks.

Key inning:  The first.  Tsuyoshi Niskioka opened the game with a double.  With one out, Danny Valencia walked.  Carson and Clete Thomas followed with back-to-back homers to give the Red Wings a 4-0 lead.  The Bats never got closer than within three the rest of the game.

ERIE 4, NEW BRITAIN 3 IN NEW BRITAIN

Batting stars:  Nathan Hanson was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fifth.  James Beresford was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Bobby Lanigan retired all six batters he faced, striking out two of them.

Opposition stars:  Niuman Romero was 3-for-4.  Brandon Douglas was 2-for-4 with a double.  Patrick Cooper threw six shutout innings, allowing three hits and three walks.

Key inning:  The ninth.  Down 4-1, the Rock Cats rallied.  Singles by Evan Bigley and Estarlin De Los Santos were followed by a walk to Rene Tosoni, loading the bases with one out.  A hit batsman scored one run, and a sacrifice fly scored another.  With two out and runners on first and second, Deibinson Romero grounded out to end the game.

Other:  The Rock Cats have had three straight sellouts and have ten for the season.

BURLINGTON 6, BELOIT 2 IN BELOIT

Batting star:  JaDamion Williams was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Douglas Landaeta was 3-for-4 with a double.  Sean Jamieson was 2-for-4 with a home run.  A. J. Cole struck out six in five innings, giving up two runs on five hits.

Key inning:  The ninth.  Leading 4-2, the Bees had two out and none on when Eliezer Mesa tripled and Jamieson homered to put the game out of reach.

Other:  Miguel Sano struck out all four times he came to the plate…This game concludes the first half of the Midwest League season.