Seth Stohs

The Twins lost 9-3 to the A’s on Saturday night. It was a bad games for the Twins right from the start. Cole De Vries gave up four runs in the first innings, the big blast was a three-run homer off the bat of Chris Carter. The A’s hit three more homers in the game. The Twins rang the bases really poorly. The offense did very little against the A’s Tommy Milone. Brian Dozier and Josh Willingham each had solo home runs, but it was far from enough. With that, here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from the Saturday games in the minor leagues. ROCHESTER 4, TOLEDO 3 Nick Blackburn was back on the mound for the Red Wings after throwing eight scoreless innings in his previous start. In this game, he went seven innings. He gave up three runs (just one earned) on five hits. He walked one and struck out three. Caleb Thielbar came in and pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Lester Oliveros returned to the mound for the first time in almost a month when he went on the Disabled List with elbow issues. The right-hander recorded his fifth Red Wings save and struck out two in the inning. Danny Valencia went 2-4 and drove in a run for the fifth straight game. Michael Hollimon was 2-3. Tsuyoshi Nishioka had a walk and his ninth double. The Red Wings won for the seventh time in eight games and are now just two games below .500. NEW BRITAIN 5, TRENTON 6 The game was tied, heading to the 9th inning. The Rock Cats brought Bruce Pugh into the game. It was Pugh’s 15th game with the Rock Cats and he was yet to give up a run. However, he gave up a solo homer in the 9th frame in this game and takes the loss. Blake Martin started and gave up five runs on nine hits over six innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. David Bromberg struck out three over two scoreless innings. Chris Herrmann went 3-4. Chris Colabello hit his 25th and 26th doubles in four at bats. Nate Hanson was 2-4 with his 11th double. FT. MYERS 9, CLEARWATER 5 Joe Benson appears to be turning things around with the Miracle. In this game, he went 3-5 with two stolen bases. Jhon Goncalves was 3-4 with his 10th and 1th doubles. Danny Rames was also 3-4. Danny Ortiz was 2-5. Matt Hauser made another start. The righty went the first 4.2 innings and gave up two runs (one earned). He gave up six hits, walked four and struck out two. Nelvin Fuentes gave up two runs in the next 1.1 innings. Ricky Bowen came in and went the final 2.2 innings. He struck out four before giving up the winning run. BELOIT 2, LAKE COUNTY 5 David Hurlbut pitched much better than his line would indicate. Through six innings, the lefty had allowed just one run. Unfortunately, in the 7th frame, he gave up a four-spot. Overall, he gave up five runs on ten hits and a walk in 6.1 innings. Tim Atherton struck out two in the net 1.2 innings without giving up a run. Miguel Sano led the offense. He was 2-3 with his 18th double. He was also hit by a pitch. Stephen Wickens went 2-3. ELIZABETHTON 4, BLUEFIELD 0 Taylor Rogers, the Twins 11th round pick from the University of Kentucky, started for the E-Twins and went the first six innings. He gave up no runs and just two hits. The lefty walked one and struck out seven. JT Chargois struck out three, and walked two, over the next two innings. Mason Melotakis struck out two in his inning. Max Kepler led the offense. He was 3-4 with his third double and third triple. Romy Jimenez was 1-2 with a walk and his eighth double. Jorge Polanco doubled for the third time this year. GCL TWINS 4, GCL RED SOX 2 The Twins used six pitchers to get this win. It started with lefty Austin Malinowski. The Minnesotan went the first three innings and gave up one run on three hits in three innings. He walked none and struck out three. Trent Higginbotham struck out three over the next two innings. Markus Solbach gave up a run on two hits in his inning. Hung-yi Chen struck out two in his inning. Chis Mazza pitched a 1-2-3 inning. J.O. Berrios recorded his fourth save and struck out the side in the ninth. Aderlin Mejia led the offense by going 3-4 and stole his seventh base. Rene Tosoni went 2-4 with his fourth double. Javier Pimentel and Logan Wade each went 2-5. --- Players of the Day for Saturday, July 14, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Max Kepler [ATTACH=CONFIG]1550[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Taylor Rogers [ATTACH=CONFIG]1551[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Sunday, July 15, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Toledo – RHP Steve Hirschfeld New Britain vs Trenton – RHP BJ Hermsen Ft. Myers vs Dunedin – LHP Cole Nelson Beloit @ Lake County – LHP Ryan O’Rourke Elizabethton vs Bluefield – TBD GCL Twins – No Game Scheduled --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

Francisco Liriano struck out 15 batters in eight innings for the Twins on Friday night, and he got a loss. The talented left-hander was pitching with his form from 2006. Unfortunately, he also had the fourth inning. It started with a single by Jemile Weeks. One out later, Denard Span dropped a fly ball. Liriano then issued a walk. With the bases loaded, Liriano served up a pitch that Johnny Gomes knocked for a grand slam. Outside of the one inning, Liriano was dominant. Josh Willingham homered twice and drove in all three runs but it wasn’t enough as the Twins lost 6-3. Willingham now has 21 home runs. Joe Mauer and Denard Span were each 2-4. Friday afternoon was the deadline for 2012 draft picks to sign. In the end, the Twins signed 27 of their 43 draft picks, including their first 11 picks. With that, here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from the Friday the 13th games in the system. Kyle Gibson was back on the mound in the GCL. How did he do? Which Twins pitcher carried a no-hitter into the late innings? Did Liam Hendriks continue his IL dominance? Which five hitters had three hits on Friday? ROCHESTER 7, TOLEDO 3 Liam Hendriks continued his mastery of the International League. In seven innings, he gave up two runs on three hits. He walked none and struck out five. He improved to 7-0 with a 1.79 ERA. Kyle Waldrop got five outs and gave up one run on two hits and two walks. Luis Perdomo picked up his 5th save by recording the final out. JR Towles went 2-3 with his first home run of the season. Sean Burroughs was 2-4 with his 11th and 12th doubles. Pedro Florimon and Matt Carson were each 2-5. Danny Valencia had an RBI double. NEW BRITAIN 9, TRENTON 2 The Rock Cat bats came out in this game. All nine hitters had at least one hit. Deibinson Romero went 3-5 with his 12th double. Oswaldo Arcia then went 3-5 with two RBI. He is now hitting .316 in New Britain. He also threw out a base runner at home. Evan Bigley went 2-4 with a walk and his 12th homer. Nate Hanson was 2-4 with his 10th double. James Beresford went 2-4 with his sixth double. Aaron Hicks was 1-3 with two walks. Shairon Martis started and gave up one run on six hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out two. Daniel Turpen pitched a scoreless inning, walking one batter. Dakota Watts came in for the 9th and gave up one run on two hits and a walk. FT. MYERS 3, CLEARWATER 4 Pat Dean had one of the best performances in the organization this season. The left-hander from Boston College had a no-hitter through the first six innings. He then gave up two runs on four hits in the seventh inning when he recorded two outs. He walked two and struck out four in the game. Miguel Munoz went got the final four outs. Unfortunately, he gave up a two-run home run in the 8th inning to a rehabbing Laynce Nix that proved to be the game-winner. Josmil Pinto went 3-4 with his 15th double. Andy Leer went 3-4. Danny Rams was 2-4 with two RBI including an RBI single in the top of the 8th that gave the Miracle a 3-2 lead. Mike Nesseth recorded the save for Clearwater. The 6-5, 225 pound, 24 year old right-hander drafted out of the University of Nebraska hails from Windom, MN. BELOIT 8, FT. WAYNE 3 The Snappers completed a series in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, with an 8-3 win. Matt Summers won for the 9th time. The right-hander went six innings and gave up two runs on nine hits. He walked one and struck out four. Steve Evans came in and gave up a run on two hits in two innings. He walked one and struck out three and walked none. Steve Gruver pitched a scoreless ninth frame. Drew Leachman led the offense with a 3-5 day. Wang-Wei Lin walked three times. Stephen Wickens went 2-3 with two RBI. Miguel Sano was 1-3 and walked two times. The Snappers are in the western division of the Midwest League and are playing games now in the Eastern Division. Way in the Eastern Division. Following the game, the Snappers took the bus further east. At 3 a.m., they drove through Cleveland and soon arrived at their new destination. They will now play three games against Lake County whose home is in Eastlake, Ohio. Lake County is the smallest of Ohio’s 88 counties, but it ranks 11th in population. ELIZABETHTON 2, GREENEVILLE 3 (10 innings) Many believe that professional baseball, even in the minor leagues, is a glamorous life. Tell that to the members of the Elizabethton Twins who sat through a long rain delay and got home at about 2:30 a.m. The game was delayed at the start and didn’t start until almost 10:00. Angel Mata started and gave up one run on one hit and four walks in three innings. There was another long delay around midnight. When the game resumed, Josh Burris was on the mound. He dropped his ERA to 0.56 with two innings of work. He gave up an unearned run on two hits and a walk. Christian Powell then struck out three in two scoreless innings. DJ Baxendale struck out five in two perfect innings. Kaleb Merck came in to start the bottom of the 10th frame. He got two outs in the inning, but gave up the winning run on two hits. Max Kepler got one base four times. He had a single, two walks and was also hit by a pitch. Candido Pimentel was 3-5. He also stole his seventh base. GCL TWINS 4, GCL RAYS 1 Kyle Gibson was back on the mound on Friday morning, pitching in a game for just the second time since late last July. On this day, he gave up one run on two hits and a walk. He hit a batter as well. One of the hits was a Nevin Ashley home run. (Ashley is a AAA catcher for a Rays, a very good prospect in AAA.) He recorded just two outs before being removed from the game due to the predetermined pitch count limitation. Asked how his arm felt after the outing, Gibson responded to Twins Daily by saying he “felt good!” Regarding his performance, he said, “(I) threw some good pitches and bad one, but overall felt good.” That is all part of the process . Matthew Tomshaw, who is also rehabbing in Ft. Myers. He had not pitched in a game since May 18th with the Beloit Snappers. The left-hander gave up just two hits over two scoreless innings. Randy Rosario came in and struckout four batters in 4.1 perfect innings. Gonzalo Sanudo recorded his second save with two perfect innings. Joel Licon hit his fifth and sixth doubles. John Murphy and Kelly Cross each doubled. Will Hurt finally got his first professional hit. The middle infielder drafted in June started the year 0-25, but he was 1-4 in this game and now at least has a batting average (.034). --- Players of the Day for Friday, July 13, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Pat Dean [ATTACH=CONFIG]1541[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Deibinson Romero [ATTACH=CONFIG]1542[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Saturday, July 14, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Toledo – RHP Nick Blackburn New Britain vs Trenton – LHP Blake Martin Ft. Myers @ Clearwater – LHP Cole Nelson Beloit @ Lake County – LHP David Hurlbut Elizabethton vs Bluefield – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox – TBD --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

Pretend you have him at #46, since Mazzilli hasn't signed yet (although until 4:00 tomorrow, he still could.)

The Big Picture The Orioles are currently seven games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East. However, they are currently 45-40 as the second half starts and that puts them 0.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for the second Wild Card. The Orioles last finished with a .500 record (and last made the playoffs) in 1997. For that matter, the last time the O’s finished with more than 70 wins was 2005 when Lee Mazzilli was the team’s manager. (Mazzilli’s son LJ was the Twins 9th round pick this June. He is yet to sign and may go back to U Conn for his senior season.) All Star Adam Jones has been Mr. Everything for the O’s. He leads the team in nearly every statistical category including Batting Average (.289), OBP (.330), Hits (98), Home Runs (20) and RBI (44). Why They Will Trade With the Twins The Orioles have not won in a long time and already shown that the will be aggressive, trading weeks ago for DH Jim Thome. But what are their needs? The Orioles are 26th in baseball in batting average (.240), 26th in OBP (.302), and 19th in Slugging (.402). They are also 19th in runs scored (351). So, they need offense. The Orioles are 19th in baseball in ERA (4.05), 15th in WHIP (1.30) and 16th in Batting Average Against (.253). Their starters have 37 Quality Starts, which ranks 26th in baseball. Zach Britton and Jake Arrieta are now in AAA Norfolk, leaving a starting rotation or Jason Hammel, Wei-Yin Chin, Miguel Gonzalez and Dana Eveland. Their bullpen has actually been quite solid, with Jim Johnson leading the way. However, counting on Luis Ayala, Darren O’Day and Kevin Gregg can’t give O’s fans a lot of confidence. Nick Markakis is coming back from injury, but the Orioles could still acquire one outfielder to put into left field. Denard Span and Josh Willingham would help the offense tremendously. JJ Hardy has a .642 OPS this year but continues to play solid defense. Robert Andino is playing a lot of second base because Brian Roberts is always hurt. Could they be interested in Jamey Carroll as a second baseman or for depth? Baltimore needs pitching, starting and relieving. They could be interested in Francisco Liriano, Glen Perkins, Jared Burton or even Matt Capps, assuming his rehab continues to go well and he gets some innings with the Twins in the next week. Why They Won't Trade With the Twins To be sure, the Orioles have a lot of needs, and they do match up well with the Twins. If they want to go in and make a big push, they may be willing to over-spend, but they may also go after those big names that may or may not truly be available. They may go after Justin Upton, Zach Greinke and Cole Hamels. Also, based on all of the weaknesses that the Orioles have, the next two weeks will be very important. Their next 11 games are against the AL Central (3 vs Detroit, 4 @ Minnesota, 4 @ Cleveland). That stretch is followed by three games at home against the Rays, one of the teams that they are fighting for a playoff berth. The Orioles may need to go at least .500 over those 14 games to feel like a buyer. Frankly, the Orioles farm system, after its top two prospects (who are likely not available in any trade), things are pretty weak. Conclusion The Orioles have been running, it appears, on smoke and mirrors to this point in the 2012 season. Over the next two weeks, they will need to determine if they’re legitimate enough to make a big run, or if they just stand pat. Peter Angelos seems ready to make a run for it, whether is makes sense to do or not. ~~~ Possible Trade Targets Dylan Bundy - RHP Most consider him the top prospect in all of baseball at this point, so he is not available in any deal (one wouldn’t think). Even if he was traded, he couldn’t be traded by name. Since the 2011 fourth overall pick didn’t sign until the August deadline last year, he would have to be a Player to be Named Later. I included him because his numbers were so amazing. He debuted this spring in Low A and in 30 innings, he gave up two unearned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out 40 batters! He has since worked 32.2 innings in High-A where he has given up 13 runs on 30 hits and 11 walks and struck out 34. Manny Machado - SS Machado, the third overall pick in the 2010 draft, just turned 20 years old. At 6-3 and 185 pounds, he profiles like those great shortstops of the late ‘90s. In AA this year he is hitting .264/.347/.418 with 21 doubles, three triples and seven home runs. He has stolen ten bases and committed a respectable 14 errors. The O’s will continue with JJ Hardy and his .642 OPS for another year, but clearly they can’t wait for Machado to man the position for years to come. In other words, he’s most likely not available. (Bundy and Machado came into the year as Baseball America’s #10 and #11 prospects, respectively. At this point, both are likely in most “expert’s” Top 5 prospects. Most likely neither are available in any trade, but frankly after those two, there is a dramatic fall in talent in the Orioles farm system.) Jon Schoop – 2B Another 20 year old, Schoop is Machado’s keystone combo partner in AA Bowie this year. The Curacao native is hitting .250/.309/.382 with 14 doubles, one triple and eight home runs. I’m sure ideally the Orioles would like Schoop and Machado to stay together as a middle infield unit, replacing Hardy and Brian Roberts, for years. The Twins (And most teams) should always be looking for more middle infield depth and options. Dan Klein - RHP Klein is an intriguing prospect whose career to this point has been highlighted by injuries. He was the Orioles third round pick in 2010 out of UCLA. He had an injury in 2009. Last August he had surgery on his right labrum. He is expected to miss all of the 2012 season after having another shoulder surgery in mid-April. However, when he has pitched, he has been very good. In 2011, he posted a 1.15 ERA and a 0.77 WHIP in 15.2 High-A innings. He was promoted to AA where he was 3-0 with a 1.08 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP in 16.2 innings. In 32.1 combined innings, he walked just six and struck out 38. Baseball America said he had the best control in the system. Jake Arrieta – RHP, Zach Britton – LHP, Brian Matusz – LHP, Chris Tillman – RHP Two years ago, the Orioles were boasting some of the best pitching prospects in baseball. They had a lot of veteran bats but some terrific young arms that they wanted to build around. The four pitchers I named above have all been very disappointing this season, but could a change of scenery be what they need. Arrieta is 26 and the Twins saw his upside on Opening Night. Britton is still just 24 years old and won 11 games in 2011. Matusz is still just 25. He was one of the more promising pitchers after decent seasons as a 22 year old in 2009 and a ten win season in 2010. However, he went 1-9 with a 10.69 ERA last year, the worst ERA in baseball history for a pitcher with more than 10 starts. Tillman is also still just 24. Please add your thoughts and trade ideas (and other names the Twins could pursue) in the comments below! [ATTACH=CONFIG]1529[/ATTACH]

A ground ball to the shortstop for the first out. A walk. A ground ball to second base which was turned into an inning-ending double play. That may not seem like much to get overly excited about, but for Twins fans, it was a good day! For the first time since he was placed on the Disabled List on August 2, 2011, Kyle Gibson pitched off of a mound in a game on Tuesday morning. It may have been a 10:00 a.m. eastern time start time in the Gulf Coast League, but don’t let that minimize the huge milestone. The Twins used the 22nd overall pick in the 2009 draft to select Gibson, a right-handed pitcher from the University of Missouri. He climbed the ladder quickly, and in 2010 was named the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year when he began the year in Ft. Myers and ended it in Rochester. He began the 2011 season with the Red Wings and pitched well for two months, but then things started going south. Although he pitched in the Futures Game a year ago, something wasn’t right. His elbow was hurting and after a stretch of rough starts, he was put on the Disabled List. An MRI in early August showed a partial tear of his Ulnar Collateral Ligament, and after rehabbing for a month, he had Tommy John surgery on September 7, 2011. In early June, Gibson threw off of a mound for the first time and said it “went really good. Arm felt great!” He has gradually added more pitches to his mound sessions. Last Friday, he pitched some live batting practice. Following it, he tweeted that “it went about as well as I could hope for.” Which brings us to today. It was just one inning, but for Gibson, it was another key milestone passed with flying colors. In fact, according to the Pioneer Press’s John Shipley, assistant GM Rob Antony said that Gibson touched 94 mph during his one-inning stint. No one knows how players will return from Tommy John surgery. Pitchers like Tim Hudson and Billy Wagner came back in less than a year and were as good as ever. Others, such as Francisco Liriano, take longer to find their stuff again. Joe Mays was never able to regain his form. Knowing that, however, Kyle Gibson also knew and was aware of the path that Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg took after his surgery. Strasburg had his Tommy John surgery in September of 2010. Kyle Gibson had his Tommy John surgery in September of 2011. Strasburg made his first rehab appearance in early July, as has Gibson. Strasburg got back to the big leagues in September. If all goes well for Gibson in the next month, it is very possible that he will return to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings and be right where he was being his injury. Who knows? A September call-up also remains an outside possibility. --- GCL Twins 5, GCL RED SOX 11 The Gulf Coast Twins are the only Twins affiliate that played on All-Star game day. They had a 10:00 a.m. start time. Gibson started and worked the first inning. Yorman Landa gave up four runs (3 earned) on three hits and four walks in two innings. Hung Yi Chen gave up one run on three hits and a walk in his two innings. Markus Solbach gave up two runs on four hits in 1.1 innings. He was relieved by Trent Higginbotham who gave up four runs on four hits and two walks in 2.1 innings. Chris Mazza got the final out. Gibson wasn’t the only player rehabbing in this game. Rene Tosoni led off and went 0-3 with a walk while playing in left field. Javier Pimentel was 2-4 with his fourth and fifth doubles. Jose Ramirez went 2-3. Kelvin Ortiz went 2-4. Kelly Cross was 2-5. --- Games Scheduled for Wednesday, July 11, 2011 Rochester Red Wings – All Star Game (Pedro Florimon) New Britain Rock Cats – All Star Game (BJ Hermsen, Chris Herrmann, Daniel Turpen) Ft. Myers @ Clearwater – RHP Tom Stuifbergen Beloit @ Ft. Myers – TBD Elizabethton @ Greeneville – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles - TBD [ATTACH=CONFIG]1516[/ATTACH]

Joe Mauer is the Twins lone All Star representative tonight in Kansas City. In over 52 seasons in Minnesota, the Twins have had many All Stars, obviously at least one each year. There are the greats of the game, like Killebrew, Carew and Puckett who went to many All Star games. And there are the Coomer's and Engel's. Below, I'll post all of the Twins All Star representative by years, with some notes to follow. Feel free to discuss the best and the worst, and any other notes you find interesting: 1961 - Harmon Killebrew, Camilo Pascual 1962 - Earl Battey, Jim Kaat, Camilo Pascual, Rich Rollins 1963 - Bob Allison, Earl Battey, Harmon Killebrew, Zoilo Versailles 1964 - Bob Allison, Jimmie Hall, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Camilo Pascual 1965 - Earl Battey, Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Jimmie Hall, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Zoilo Versailles 1966 - Earl Battey, Jim Kaat, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva 1967 - Rod Carew, Dean Chance, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva 1968 - Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva 1969 - Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, John Roseboro 1970 - Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Jim Perry 1971 - Leo Cardenas, Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Jim Perry 1972 - Rod Carew 1973 - Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew 1974 - Rod Carew 1975 - Rod Carew 1976 - Rod Carew, Butch Wynegar 1977 - Rod Carew, Larry Hisle, Butch Wynegar 1978 - Rod Carew 1979 - Roy Smalley 1980 - Ken Landreaux 1981 - Doug Corbett 1982 - Kent Hrbek 1983 - Gary Ward 1984 - Dave Engle 1985 - Tom Brunansky 1986 - Kirby Puckett 1987 - Kirby Puckett 1988 - Gary Gaetti, Tim Laudner, Kirby Puckett, Jeff Reardon, Frank Viola 1989 - Gary Gaetti, Kirby Puckett 1990 - Kirby Puckett 1991 - Rick Aguilera, Jack Morris, Kirby Puckett 1992 - Rick Aguilera, Chuck Knoblauch, Kirby Puckett 1993 - Rick Aguilera, Kirby Puckett 1994 - Chuck Knoblauch, Kirby Puckett 1995 - Kirby Puckett 1996 - Chuck Knoblauch 1997 - Chuck Knoblauch 1998 - Brad Radke 1999 - Ron Coomer 2000 - Matt Lawton 2001 - Cristian Guzman, Joe Mays, Eric Milton 2002 - Eddie Guardado, Torii Hunter, AJ Pierzynski 2003 - Eddie Guardado 2004 - Joe Nathan 2005 - Joe Nathan, Johan Santana 2006 - Francisco Liriano, Joe Mauer, Johan Santana 2007 - Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau, Johan Santana 2008 - Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan 2009 - Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan 2010 - Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau 2011 - Michael Cuddyer 2012 - Joe Mauer It is a lot of fun for me to look back at the Twins All-Star history. Here are some more notes: Kirby Puckett was the All Star game MVP in 1993. In 1961 and 1962, there were two All Star games. In 1961, Harmon Killebrew was selected to play in both. In 1962, Earl Battey, Camilo Pascual and Rich Rollins played in both. Joe Mauer is representing the Twins for the 5th year in the All-Star game. That puts him in 5th place on the Twins list, moving ahead of Earl Battey, Joe Nathan and Chuck Knoblauch who each represented the Twins four times. Rod Carew is tops on that list with 12 consecutive All Star appearances with the Twins from 1967-1978. Harmon Killebrew represented the Twins ten years between 1961 and 1971 (only missing 1962). Kirby Puckett went to ten consecutive All Star games from 1986-1995 (and probably would have gone a few more times). Tony Oliva went to eight straight from 1964-1971. The 1987 World Series champion Twins only had one representative at the All Star game that season. The following year (when they actually had a better regular season record), they had five representatives. From 1967-1971, Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva went to all five All Star games. Oliva and Killebrew teamed at the All Star game each season from 1964-1971. Following that duo on the list are Rick Aguilera and Kirby Puckett who were All Stars together from 1991 through 1993, and Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau who both went in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The Twins hosted the All Star game in 1965 and 1984. What else do you enjoy about the All Star game? For me, it's about the player introductions and then to see how well the Twins players do in their opportunities. It should not be a game to determine Home Field Advantage in the World Series. It is an exhibition of MLBs players and teams and I wish that's what it was about. Fill free to share you All Star game memories or favorite moments below. [ATTACH=CONFIG]1513[/ATTACH]

Twins players scattered all over the place to enjoy their All Star breaks. Joe Mauer is the team’s lone representative in tonight’s All-Star game. On Monday night, it was the Tigers’ Prince Fielder who out-slugged Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista to win his second Home Run Derby. The Rochester Red Wings also began their All-Star break with no game on Monday. New Britain played an early afternoon game and with its completion, they are now on their All-Star break. Each of the other Twins affiliates played on Monday. Only the GCL Twins will play on Tuesday as the minor leagues do not schedule games the day of the big league All Star game. With that, here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Monday’s games in the system. For those with concerns about the Twins system, you will notice that each of the Twins three 2011 1st round picks had good days. ROCHESTER RED WINGS It is Day 1 of the Red Wings All Star break. Pedro Florimon will represent the team in the game on Wednesday night. NEW BRITAIN 7, NEW HAMPSHIRE 1 It was an early start time for the final game of the unofficial first half of the season, but the Rock Cats came ready to play. Logan Darnell started and gave up just one run on five hits over the first eight innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Dakota Watts pitched a scoreless ninth. The top of the lineup came to play as well. Leadoff hitter Aaron Hicks went 3-4 with a walk, his ninth home run and this 19th stolen base. Second hitter Chris Herrmann went 3-5. Number 3 hitter, Chris Colabello, went 3-4 with a walk and his 24th double. Cleanup hitter Evan Bigley went 2-5. Nate Hanson, batting 6th, was 2-4. FT. MYERS 4, JUPITER 10 Matt Capps started for the Miracle in this game and worked a perfect first inning. Matt Hauser came in and gave up eight runs (6 earned) on 10 hits and two walks in four innings. He struck out two. Miguel Munoz came in and worked two scoreless innings. Nelvin Fuentes gave up two runs on one hit and one walk in two innings. He struck out five. Kyle Knudson went 2-3 with a walk. Levi Michael went 2-5 with his eighth double. Joe Benson continued his rehab stint and went 1-4 with a walk and his first double. BELOIT 0, BURLINGTON 3 Ryan O’Rourke made his first start of the season for the Snappers. The lefty gave up one run on two hits and a walk in four innings. He struck out five. Tim Atherton gave up one run on three hits in two innings. He walked none and struck out three. Steven Gruver then gave up a run on five hits in two innings. He struck out two. Clinton Dempster pitched a scoreless inning. The Snappers managed just two hits in the game. Miguel Sano was 1-4 with a single… and three strikeouts. Matthew Koch hit his first triple. ELIZABETHTON 12, JOHNSON CITY 0 The E-Twins made up for the lack of Beloit offense by racking up 12 runs on 19 hits. Travis Harrison led the way by going 5-6 with his third home run (and 14th error). Jorge Polanco went 3-5 with a walk and his fifth double. Bo Altobelli went 3-6. Max Kepler was 2-4 with two walks and his second double. Candido Pimentel and Kelvin Mention were each 2-6 with their first double of the season. It was Mention’s first at bat since 2010. Adam Walker was 2-6 with his fourth double. The pitching staff was also terrific. Hudson Boyd reduced his ERA to 1.44 with six shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out five. Josh Burris dropped his ERA to 0.60 with two more scoreless innings. Kaleb Merck pitched a scoreless ninth frame. GCL TWINS 5, GCL RAYS 2 The Gulf Coast Twins used a lot of pitchers. Kuo Hua Lo started and gave up two runs on four hits and two walks in three innings. Melciades De La Cruz struck out five over the next two innings. Gerardo Ramirez gave up two hits and a walk, but no runs, in 1.1 innings. He struck out two. Gonzalo Sanudo came in and gave up just one hits over 1.2 scoreless innings. Alexander Muren pitched a scoreless frame. Jorge Fernandez went 2-4 with his first double. John Murphy was 2-4 with his sixth steal. Bryan Haar was 2-4 with his second steal. Byron Buxton was 0-1 with a walk. He also stole a base but on the play, he hurt his leg and was removed from the game. It was pain in the hamstring, whether it was a pulled hamstring or just a cramp is still being determined. --- Players of the Day for Monday, July 9, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Travis Harrison [ATTACH=CONFIG]1509[/ATTACH] (Photo by Thrylos) Pitcher of the Day – Hudson Boyd [ATTACH=CONFIG]1510[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, July 10, 2012 Schedule Rochester – All Star Break New Britain – All Star Break Ft. Myers – No Game Scheduled Beloit – No Game Scheduled Elizabethton – No Game Scheduled GCL Twins vs GCL Red Sox – TBD --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

The Twins had two, touch, extra inning losses on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday night, it was Nelson Cruz that provided the game-winning hit. On Sunday night, it was Ian Kinsler. Sam Deduno had a very wild, but effective, Twins debut on Friday night. Cole De Vries was terrific, throwing seven scoreless innings against the potent Rangers’ offense. Casey Fien made his Twins debut, showing off a mid-90s fastball in a scoreless inning. It was also a busy weekend in the Twins minor leagues this weekend with a few doubleheaders. By the way, be sure to check out the Adopt-a-Prospect forums. If there are any players that have not yet been adopted, feel free to start a thread for that player and brag him up. Find stories on them, show off their big games, and in general, just encourage discussion on those players. With that, here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Saturday and Sunday’s games in the system: SATURDAY - ROCHESTER 4, LEHIGH VALLEY 0 Liam Hendriks officially dominates the International League. In his return to the Red Wings, he threw seven shutout innings to improve to 6-0. (He increased his streak to 22.2 consecutive scoreless innings) He gave up just five hits, walked one and struck out one. Esmerling Vasquez struck out two in two scoreless innings. Clete Thomas was 2-3 with his 14th double. Wilkin Ramirez hit his seventh home run. SUNDAY- GAME 1 - ROCHESTER 1, LEHIGH VALLEY 0 (8 innings) Nick Blackburn was terrific in his first start in his return to the Red Wings. The righty went all eight innings. He gave up nine hits but no runs. He walked none and struck out two. In the bottom of the 8th inning, Pedro Florimon reached on a walk and got to second. Danny Valencia came up with two outs and drilled a single to left field that scored a sliding Florimon and gave the Red Wings the Game 1 win. Chris Parmelee and Rene Rivera each had a hit and a walk. Florimon was 2-3 with a walk. SUNDAY – GAME 2 - ROCHESTER 1, LEHIGH VALLEY 7 In the second game, Steve Hirschfeld was on the mound. He gave up seven runs (6 earned) on six hits and a walk in four innings. Unfortunately, he gave up six runs in the second inning (3-run homers to Michael Martinez and Pete Orr) and that was more than enough for the IronPigs. Dan Sattler threw two perfect innings, and Luke French pitched one scoreless frame. Danny Valencia went 2-4 with the lone RBI in this game too. Wilkin Ramirez was 2-2 and was hit by a pitch. Matt Carson was 2-3 with a walk. This puts the Red Wings at their All Star break. Pedro Florimon will represent the Red Wings in the International League All Star game. SATURDAY - NEW BRITAIN 6, NEW HAMPSHIRE 5 (10 innings) Down by three heading into the ninth, the Rock Cats got singles from Nate Hanson, Estarlin De Los Santos and James Beresford to load the bases. Chris Herrmann hit a single that got by the left fielder and cleared the bases to tie the game and send it to extra innings. In the 10th, Evan Bigley and Deibinson Romero singled to lead off the inning. Hanson sacrificed them to 2nd and 3rd. Dan Rohlfing was intentionally walked to load the bases, and De Los Santos was hit by a pitch to give the Rock Cats the lead and the eventual win. Bigley went 3-4 with a walk. Deibinson Romero was 2-5 with his 12th home run. De Los Santos was 2-4 and James Beresford was 2-5. Shairon Martis made his second start with the Rock Cats. He gave up four runs on nine hits in 6.1 innings. He struck out three. Edgar Ibarra was charged with an unearned run on one hit in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Bruce Pugh continues his AA domination. He improved to 2-0 with two more shutout innings. He has now thrown 17.1 innings without allowing a run. He has given up eight hits, walked eight and struck out 22 with the team. SUNDAY – GAME 1 - NEW BRITAIN 4, NEW HAMPSHIRE 0 The Rock Cats got plenty of offensive support in this game, but that is primarily because of the left arm of Blake Martin. The southpaw went all seven innings and gave up just three hits, walked none and struck out six. As you would expect, he kept his pitch count down, throwing just 75 pitches. His mound opponent, former Twins farmhand Yohan Pino, also worked a complete game. Chris Colabello went 3-4 with his 23rd double. Chris Herrmann hit his sixth home run and Evan Bigley hit his 11th homer. Estarlin De Los Santos was 2-3, and Aaron Hicks went 2-4. SUNDAY – GAME 2 - NEW BRITAIN 4, NEW HAMPSHIRE 5 David Bromberg made his first start with the Rock Cats since going on the Rochester disabled list last month. He gave up four runs on eight hits and a walk in three innings. He struck out four. Marty Popham made his New Britain debut and gave up just one run on one hit (a solo homer) in his three innings. He struck out two. Chris Herrmann was 2-4 and homered for the second straight game. Aaron Hicks was 1-3 with a walk. Also on Sunday, outfielder Oswaldo Arcia represented the Twins and his native Venezuela in the Futures Game in Kansas City. Arcia came in for the second half of the game. In his first at bat, he hit an RBI double off of Jameson Taillon. He got out in his second at bat. The Rock Cats play on Monday, but on Wednesday, BJ Hermsen, Chris Herrmann and Daniel Turpen will play in the Eastern League All Star game. Andrew Albers was also named to the team, but due to injury, he will not be participating. SATURDAY - FT. MYERS 6, JUPITER 11 Pat Dean started for the Miracle and gave up six runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. He walked two and struck out four. Jose Gonzalez then gave up five runs (4 earned) on six hits in two innings. AJ Achter came on and got the final five outs, three of them by strikeout. Anderson Hidalgo had three hits in five at bats. Kyle Knudson was 1-3 with two walks and his sixth double. Joe Benson was 0-3 in his first game with the Miracle. He walked twice. Miracle batters walked 11 times in this game. SUNDAY - FT. MYERS 5, JUPITER 7 The Miracle held a 4-3 lead going into the ninth, but were unable to hold it. Cole Nelson started for the Miracle and gave up one run on seven hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out three. Michael Tonkin then gave up two runs on four hits and two walks in two innings. He struck out two. AJ Achter came in and got one out in the ninth. Unfortunately, he gave up four runs (just one earned thanks to two errors, on himself) on three hits. Ricky Bowen came in and got the final two outs but not before an RBI hit. Danny Santana, Levi Michael and Josmil Pinto were all 2-4. Danny Ortiz went 1-3 with his sixth home run. Joe Benson batted fourth. He was 0-4 in the game with an RBI. SATURDAY - BELOIT 2, BURLINGTON 1 Matt Summers was terrific again for the Snappers. The right-hander went the first seven innings and gave up just one run on eight hits. He walked two and struck out three. Dallas Gallant made his Midwest League debut and got four outs despite two walks. Corey Williams recorded the final two outs for his 13th save. Nate Roberts was 2-3 with a walk and two stolen bases. Steve Liddle went 2-3 with his ninth double. Wang-Wei Lin tripled for the third time this year. Important to note, Miguel Sano returned to the Snappers lineup. He went 1-3 with two RBI. Yes, he also committed his 32nd error. SUNDAY - BELOIT 3, BURLINGTON 5 David Hurlbut has been pitching quite well for the Snappers since the beginning of June, but on this night, he gave up five runs (4 earned) on seven hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out two. Steve Evans came in and struck out three in three scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit. AJ Pettersen went 2-4 with a walk and his second home run of the season. Matthew Koch was 2-4 with his 14th double. Jhon Goncalves was 2-3 with a walk. Drew Leachman hit his seventh double. Nate Roberts was 1-3 with two walks. He also stole his ninth base. SATURDAY - ELIZABETHTON 8, JOHNSON CITY 4 The Twins and Johnson City have long been competitors in their division. That rivalry continued this weekend. Angel Mata started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out six. Brett Lee came in and gave up a run on two hits and a walk in three innings. The left-hander struck out five. Zach Jones struck out three in his inning, although he also walked three. DJ Hicks led the offense by going 3-5. Jhonathan Arias was 2-4 with three RBI. Jorge Polanco went 2-4 with his fourth double and third stolen base. Rory Rhodes hit his fourth home run. Niko Goodrum left the game after being hit by a pitch in the elbow in his first plate appearance. SUNDAY - ELIZABETHTON 2, JOHNSON CITY 6 The story was different on Sunday. Taylor Rogers started for the E-Twins and gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits in five innings. He walked five and struck out three. Christian Powell struck out two in a perfect professional debut. Powell was the Twins 8th round pick this year out of the College of Charleston. Luis Nunez came in and gave up three runs on five hits without recording an out. Tyler Herr came in and got the final three outs. Max Kepler went 2-5 and stole his third base. Romy Jimenez and Josh Hendricks each were 1-3 with a walk. Candido Pimentel was 1-3 and walked twice. SATURDAY - GCL TWINS 3, GCL RED SOX 0 The Gulf Coast League rarely plays games on Sunday. On Saturday morning, the Twins had a nice, tidy win. Austin Malinowski set the tone with a terrific start. The lefty from Minnesota started and gave up three hits in five shutout innings. He walked none and struck out seven. Chris Mazza came in and gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. J.O. Berrios came in, and for the first time, he worked two innings. He also recorded the first save of his young, professional career. He struck out two in two perfect innings. Byron Buxton was the story on the offensive side of things. The Twins top pick went 2-4 with his first pro home run and his first pro stolen base. Jose Ramirez went 2-3. Kelvin Ortiz hit his second home run of the season. --- Players of the Day for Friday & Saturday, July 7-8, 2012 Pitcher of the Day- Saturday – Liam Hendriks [ATTACH=CONFIG]1498[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day- Sunday – Blake Martin (honorable mention, Nick Blackburn) [ATTACH=CONFIG]1499[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Saturday – Evan Bigley [ATTACH=CONFIG]1500[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Sunday – Chris Herrmann [ATTACH=CONFIG]1501[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Monday, July 9, 2012 Schedule Rochester – All Star Break New Britain @ New Hampshire – LHP Logan Darnell Ft. Myers vs Jupiter – RHP Matt Hauser Beloit vs Burlington – TBD Elizabethton @ Johnson City – RHP Hudson Boyd GCL Twins vs GCL Rays – TBD

Francisco Liriano did a tremendous job on Friday night of building his trade value. The lefty gave up just one run in 6.2 innings against baseball’s best offense. Jared Burton got four outs quickly. The Twins got enough offense, as well as some help from the Rangers defense, to put up five runs. Joe Mauer drove in two runs, and Justin Morneau homered. The two teams play again on Saturday as Sam Deduno makes his first Twins start. With that, here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Friday: ROCHESTER 3, PAWTUCKET 1 PJ Walters started and appears to be close to a return to the Twins. The right-hander threw five shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked none and struck out two. Bobby Lanigan went the next 2.1 innings and gave up one run on three hits and two walks. Dan Sattler debuted with the Red Wings and got four outs. He gave up no runs despite allowing a hit and walking two. Luis Perdomo came in to record the final out. Danny Valencia went 2-4 with his seventh home run. Pedro Florimon hit his 10th and 11th doubles. Clete Thomas was 2-3 with his eighth home run. The Red Wings are now 41-47 on the season. NEW BRITAIN 1, TRENTON 7 Aaron Thompson made the start for the Rock Cats. In six innings, he gave up four runs on 11 hits. He walked none and struck out five. Brett Jacobson came in and continued his walking ways. He recorded just one out and was charged with two runs on one hit and three walks. Daniel Turpen gave up one run on three hits in 1.2 innings. He walked none and struck out three. The Rock Cats’ bats managed just five hits in the game. Aaron Hicks had two of them, including his eighth home run. With the loss, the Rock Cats fall to 47-38, 1.5 games behind Trenton (49-37). FT. MYERS 3, CHARLOTTE 5 Madison Boer continues to find ways to last longer into games. On this night, he gave up five runs (3 earned) on nine hits. He walked none and struck out two. Ricky Bowen pitched a scoreless eighth inning. The Miracle managed just six hits in the game. Danny Ortiz remains hot at the plate. He went 2-4 with his fifth home run, a three-run shot that provided all of the Miracle offense. Earlier in the day, the Miracle announced that infielder Jairo Perez had been released. The Miracle are currently 37-46 on the season. However, they are 9-7 in the early stages of the season’s second half, just one game back of Bradenton for a playoff spot. BELOIT 5, CLINTON 4 Jason Wheeler went six innings and recorded his ninth win of the season. The tall, left-hander gave up three runs on six hits. He walked four and struck out three. Cole Johnson came in and gave up an unearned run on one walk over the next 2.1 innings. He struck out three. Clinton Dempster recorded the final two outs, both via the strikeout, to record his fourth save. Matt Koch led the offense. He was 2-5. AJ Pettersen hit his sixth home run. Nate Roberts and Wang-Wei Lin each walked twice. The Snappers are 46-39 on the season. They clinched a playoff berth in the first half and are currently 7-8 in the second half, three games back of the division leader. GAME 1 - ELIZABETHTON 6, KINGSPORT 2 After being postponed on Thursday, the E-Twins and Kingsport played two seven inning games on Friday night. Ricardo Arevalo got the nod in Game 1. He went the first four innings and gave up two runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out five. Josh Burris improved to 4-0 with two more shutout innings, dropping his ERA to 0.69. He gave up a hit and walked a batter while striking out one. Mason Melotakis pitched a perfect frame. Candido Pimentel went 2-3 with his fourth and fifth stolen bases. Travis Harrison went 1-2 with a walk and his second home run. He’s now batting .368. Adam Walker was 1-3 with his third home run. Michael Quesada went 1-3 with his fifth double. He is hitting .370. Max Kepler walked twice and stole his first two bases of the season. GAME 2 - ELIZABETHTON 5, KINGSPORT 4 Corey Kimes started the second game. The lefty from Illinois gave up only an unearned run on three hits and no walks. In five innings, he struck out eight. Tyler Herr gave up three runs on five hits and recorded just two outs. Kaleb Merck got the final four outs for his first pro save. He struck out two. Candido Pimentel was 1-2 with a walk in the second game. He also stole his sixth base. Niko Goodrum walked twice. Romy Jimenez went 1-2 with a walk and is hitting .426 now. The E-Twins are 13-5 and find themselves in a familiar spot a top their division by 2.5 games. GCL TWINS 4, GCL RED SOX 9 Adrian Salcedo made a rehab start for the GCL Twins. The right-hander went 2.1 innings and gave up four runs (2 earned) on five hits and a walk. The earned runs were thanks to two errors of his own. Randy Rosario came in and gave up five runs (4 earned) on three hits and three walks in three innings. He struck out two. Trent Higginbotham got the final two outs. He was not charged with a run despite allowing two hits and a walk. Joe Benson was back in the lineup and went 1-3 with a double. John Murphy and Jorge Fernandez each went 2-3. Kelvin Ortiz was 2-2 with his first home run of the season. The GCL Twins are now 8-8. (Note – you’ll be excited to read about how Byron Buxton and Austin Malinowski did on Saturday morning!) --- Players of the Day for Friday, July 6, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – PJ Walters [ATTACH=CONFIG]1487[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Candido Pimentel [ATTACH=CONFIG]1488[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Saturday, July 7, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Lehigh Valley – RHP Liam Hendriks New Britain @ New Hampshire – RHP Shairon Martis Ft. Myers vs Jupiter – LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs Burlington – RHP Matt Summers Elizabethton @ Johnson City – RHP Angel Mata GCL Twins vs GCL Red Sox – LHP Austin Malinowski --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!