Minor Leagues

Yesterday was one of the better days the Twins organization has experienced in the last year. They followed that up with a day that ranks somewhere near the bottom.

The Twins, attempting to sweep the Brewers in Milwaukee for the first time in over thirty years, fell flat on their face, mostly thanks to the right arm of Jason Marquis. While Mauer collecting four hits and Butera impressing in a relief appearance were both silver linings, many of us are left wondering: What is the next (or correct) step to take with Marquis? Suffice it to say that not only is Marquis’ rotation spot in jeopardy, but so is his roster spot… and, to be honest, his future as a major league baseball player.

Unfortunately, the farm system experienced an equally dismal day.

A quick spin around Sunday’s action: ...

Scott Diamond actually gave up a few runs on Friday night, but because the Twins hitters brought their big bats to Miller Park, Diamond becomes the Twins first three-game winner. Josh Willingham got the offense started in the first inning with a long two-run homer. The game was 2-2 going into the 5^th inning, but Joe Mauer’s two-run double gave the Twins a 4-2 lead. They scored two the following inning on a two-run Denard Span single. They added four runs in the top of the eighth inning to put the game out of reach. Span led the offense. He went 4-5 with a double, three runs and three RBI. Joe Mauer went 3-5 with two doubles and three RBI. Justin Morneau went 2-4 with three RBI. Four Brewers errors certainly helped the Twins cause as well.

Diamond gave up three runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings. Anthony Swarzak got five outs. Alex Burnett pitched a scoreless eighth innings. Francisco Liriano came in with an eight-run lead in the ninth inning. He loaded the bases but was able to hold on to the 11-3 lead. Three-game winning streak for the Twins!

Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Friday: ...

The Twins had a big victory tonight, 11-7, over the Tigers. Everyone except Erik Komatsu was involved in the hitting, and that's a great sign. It's tough not to be excited about Brian Dozier. True, it's a small sample size, but he has exceeded expectations so far, including a big 3-run home run early in tonight's game. But enough about the current Twins. Tonight's focus is about the Future Twins. All the minor league affiliates were in action tonight, and here's a recap of what transpired. ...

The Twins don’t appear to be playing real inspired (or inspiring) baseball, so let’s get right into the farm.

A few transactions to sort through:
The Red Wings released 1B Aaron Bates and recently-signed INF Joe Thurston.
It was announced that OF Wilkin Ramirez (who has been tearing up AA) and RP Lester Oliveros have been promoted from New Britain to Rochester.

2B Tsuyoshi Nishioka - you may have heard of him - is expected to be activated before tomorrow’s game. The addition of Nishi, as well as Matt Maloney, pushes 1B/DH Matt Rizzotti from Rochester to New Britain.

There is no word on any other corresponding moves to fill the other hole in New Britain (and it would be purely speculation to point out that neither Miracle OF Oswaldo Arcia nor INF Levi Michael were in the lineup tonight).

Let’s take a spin around the farm: ...

A VERY HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY from TwinsCentric and the Twins Daily staff!!

Scott Diamond did it again. In a repeat of his first big league start of the season, the left-hander threw seven shutout innings. That he lasted seven innings is most impressive since he was drilled in the left shoulder by a line drive in the second inning. He gave up some hits, and a lot of line drives, but seven shutout innings is always appreciated. Brian Dozier had two hits, including his first big league home run. The Twins had several opportunities to add on to a four-run lead, but did not capitalize. That proved large when Jared Burton gave up three runs in the 8^th inning. Burton, who had not allowed a hit to his last 34 batters faced, gave up three straight hits before being replaced by Glen Perkins, who got out of the inning thanks to a great diving play by Joe Mauer. Matt Capps closed out the game with a big strikeout and the Twins won 4-3 to split the series with the Blue Jays.

Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Sunday: ...

The Twins and Blue Jays sat in a rain delay of nearly two hours before getting their game going just after 9:00 central time. Although the game should be done and I should be sleeping, it is a good competitive game thus far, so I will be up for a while. There were some good performances on Friday night, and there were some poor performances on Friday night.

In player news, Kyle Waldrop’s rehab in Ft. Myers has been successful to this point. He pitched in seven innings over seven games with the Twins Extended Spring Training squad. He was even able to pitch on back-to-back days earlier this week. He will begin an official rehab stint now with the Ft. Myers Miracle before evaluating what the next steps will be.

Congratulations to Darin Mastroianni on his first big league hit and two RBI.

Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Friday: ...