Seth Stohs

This is indeed very interesting and something worth noting. I think the TWins should get out of New Britain. It might be best for all involved.

Drew Butera is hitting .350 and the Twins just swept the Tigers!! All is good in Twins Territory now, right? Well, maybe not, but there are starting to be some signs of positive. Justin Morneau went opposite field for a home run, one of his two hits. Trevor Plouffe homered for the second straight game. Brian Dozier is inching up on .300. PJ Walters was terrific through four scoreless innings, but between the fifth and sixth innings, he gave up three solo home runs to cut the Twins lead to 4-3. But Francisco Liriano, Glen Perkins and Matt Capps got the final eight outs to secure back-to-back wins! Listen to Thursday’s Twins Minor League Weekly. Tim Shibuya (RHP Beloit Snappers) was a guest of the show and that was followed by answering your Twitter questions. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Thursday: ROCHESTER 2, LOUISVILLE 4 (11 innings) Not much offense for the Red Wings in this game. Danny Valencia had two hits including his first home run. He drove in both of the team’s runs. Chris Parmelee made his Red Wings debut. He was 0-2, but he walked three times. Daryl Thompson started and gave up two runs on six hits. In five innings pitched, he walked two and struck out six. Deolis Guerra worked three perfect innings. Anthony Slama gave up two hits and a walk, but struck out three, in 1.1 scoreless innings. Tyler Robertson issued a walk and got one out. Casey Fien ends up with the loss. He got out of the tenth, but gave up two runs in the 11th inning. NEW BRITAIN 1, NEW HAMPSHIRE 3 David Bromberg’s 20 inning consecutive scoreless innings streak came to an end in this game. The right-hander has been pitching very well of late. In this game, he went a season-long 6.2 innings. He gave up three runs on nine hits and two walks. Luis Perdomo got the next four ours. Brad Thompson made his Twins organization debut, working a scoreless inning and striking out two batters in his return from Tommy John surgery a year ago. Joe Benson was in the lead-off spot and went 2-3 with a walk and the lone RBI. Estarlin de Los Santos had a single and a walk. FT. MYERS 4, BREVARD COUNTY 5 (10 innings) Marty Popham got the start and gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks in 5.1 innings. He struck out two. Nelvin Fuentes was perfect through two innings. Bruce Pugh was perfect for 1.2 innings, but he then gave up three straight hits and a run in the 10th to take the loss. Oswaldo Arcia went 3-5 with his ninth double. Danny Ortiz hit his first FSL double. Twins Daily learned on Thursday that RHP Adrian Salcedo is going to have (or has had) an MRI on his elbow. Hopefully we get good news on this situation. BELOIT 7, QUAD CITIES 3 Matt Summers continues to pitch well. He improved to 4-2 with six solid innings on Thursday. He gave up two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out three. Corey Williams gave up a run (solo home run) on three hits in two innings. AJ Achter pitched a scoreless ninth frame. Jhonathan Goncalves went 3-4 with his first home run. Matt Koch went 3-4 with his seventh double and his second home run (in back-to-back games). Kyle Knudson was 2-4. Adam Bryant was 2-4 with his fifth double. Wang-Wei Lin got the Snappers on the scoreboard with his first home run of the season. --- Players of the Day for Thursday, May 17, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Deolis Guerra [ATTACH=CONFIG]984[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Matt Koch [ATTACH=CONFIG]985[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Friday, May 18, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Syracuse – RHP Liam Hendriks New Britain @ Reading – RHP BJ Hermsen Ft. Myers @ Brevard County – LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs Quad Cities – LHP Matt Tomshaw --- 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!

When spring training opened up in late February, I posted an article called Twins Two-Way Planning in which I said that the Twins 2011 roster was probably built perfectly to go one of two directions. In essence, if things went poorly, they had enough one-year, veteran contracts of guys that other teams might have interest in at the trade deadline. The Twins could get prospects to help push forward the rebuilding process. However, the other scenario was, “IF seven or eight of the factors listed above are going positively, AND the Twins are getting positive performances from their minor leaguers and these new players, AND the team is in contention in mid-July, THEN they will have plenty of payroll flexibility to add a significant piece or two at the deadline, if they choose.” So, what were the “factors listed above” and how are the Twins doing in those categories… you know, since they barely have double-digit wins on the season. FACTORS The health of Joe Mauer The health of Justin Morneau The health of Denard Span The elbow of Scott Baker The durability of Carl Pavano The mindset and performance of Francisco Liriano The improvements of Danny Valencia, Ben Revere and other young players Matt Capps ability to get outs in the 9th 2-5 bullpen arms need to step up and contribute consistently well. Minor Leaguers coming up and contributing when needed throughout the season (Hendriks, Diamond, Gutierrez, Guerra, Waldrop, Oliveros, Benson, Parmelee, Dozier, etc.) Each one of those ten Factors was a factor whether or not the Twins brought in any free agents. If seven or eight of those factors wind up positive for the Twins, they have a chance to compete. Let’s review: Joe Mauer has been healthy, or at least he has been in the lineup all but one game this year. (1) Justin Morneau just came off of the 15 day disabled list. If there are positives from this, they are that 1.) he just missed the 15 days, and 2.) it was for wrist pain, not concussion symptoms. The health of Denard Span has been good all season, until the last couple of days when he has been out of the lineup with a hamstring injury. Hopefully this is just another day at most, and he’ll be back at the top of the lineup where he has been quite good. (2) The elbow of Scott Baker certainly was a big story in spring as Baker tried so hard to get back while also trying so hard to make people understand that he really was in pain. He went in for elbow surgery that turned into Tommy John surgery too. The durability of Carl Pavano probably can’t be questioned yet as he has not yet missed a start. However, concerns about his velocity have led to an MRI. He will make his next start this weekend, but this factor certainly is in flux at this point. (2.5) The mindset of Francisco Liriano is always a question, and despite very good performance throughout spring training, his performance since Opening Day has been nothing short of immensely disappointing. He was finally moved to the bullpen a week ago. The improvements of Danny Valencia, Ben Revere and otbher young players. I would assume that I meant players like Trevor Plouffe, Alexi Casilla and Luke Hughes in the “other” players grouping. Well, Valencia is in Rochester after a really horrible start to his season. Revere has spent most of the season in AAA as well. Plouffe is hitting below .150. Hughes was lost to the A’s when he was Designated for Assignment, and Casilla has a sub-.600 OPS. Matt Capps is 7-7 save opportunities and despite two losses, he has been pitching fairly well. (3.5) Two to five bullpen arms needed to step up. I would say that Glen Perkins, Matt Capps, Brian Duensing and Jared Burton have been really good in their roles this season. Anthony Swarzak has played multiple roles, but he has been solid for the most part. Jeff Gray has walked too many, but he has been better than expected. The bullpen was a huge concern coming into the season, and to this point, they have been alright. (4.5) It’s always good to get help from the minor league roster, and this will or can happen throughout the season. Scott Diamond and PJ Walters have come up from Rochester and been very good in limited duty so far. Brian Dozier made his much-anticipated 2012 debut and has been very solid defensively and with the bat in his ten days with the club. Hendriks and Parmelee struggled after making the Opening Day roster and are back in Rochester but likely will contribute later in the. Waldrop should be healthy soon. Deolis Guerra is doing very well. (5) As for the new guys, Willingham has carried the offense most of the season. Carroll has been a stabilizing force in the infield. Doumit started slow, but he has been great with the bat the last three weeks. (and now he may be hurt) However, Marquis has been quite bad, and Zumaya didn’t throw even twenty bullpen pitches before needing Tommy John surgery. (6) Add to these factors that the Twins starting pitchers’ have all performed to a nightmarish, worst-case-scenario, and although no one could have predicted 11-25, it shouldn’t be surprising that this team is struggling already in the season.

When spring training opened up in late February, I posted an article called Twins Two-Way Planning in which I said that the Twins 2011 roster was probably built perfectly to go one of two directions. In essence, if things went poorly, they had enough one-year, veteran contracts of guys that other teams might have interest in at the trade deadline. The Twins could get prospects to help push forward the rebuilding process. However, the other scenario was, “IF seven or eight of the factors listed above are going positively, AND the Twins are getting positive performances from their minor leaguers and these new players, AND the team is in contention in mid-July, THEN they will have plenty of payroll flexibility to add a significant piece or two at the deadline, if they choose.” So, what were the “factors listed above” and how are the Twins doing in those categories… you know, since they barely have double-digit wins on the season. FACTORS The health of Joe Mauer The health of Justin Morneau The health of Denard Span The elbow of Scott Baker The durability of Carl Pavano The mindset and performance of Francisco Liriano The improvements of Danny Valencia, Ben Revere and other young players Matt Capps ability to get outs in the 9th 2-5 bullpen arms need to step up and contribute consistently well. Minor Leaguers coming up and contributing when needed throughout the season (Hendriks, Diamond, Gutierrez, Guerra, Waldrop, Oliveros, Benson, Parmelee, Dozier, etc.) Each one of those ten Factors was a factor whether or not the Twins brought in any free agents. If seven or eight of those factors wind up positive for the Twins, they have a chance to compete. Let’s review: Joe Mauer has been healthy, or at least he has been in the lineup all but one game this year. (1) Justin Morneau just came off of the 15 day disabled list. If there are positives from this, they are that 1.) he just missed the 15 days, and 2.) it was for wrist pain, not concussion symptoms. The health of Denard Span has been good all season, until the last couple of days when he has been out of the lineup with a hamstring injury. Hopefully this is just another day at most, and he’ll be back at the top of the lineup where he has been quite good. (2) The elbow of Scott Baker certainly was a big story in spring as Baker tried so hard to get back while also trying so hard to make people understand that he really was in pain. He went in for elbow surgery that turned into Tommy John surgery too. The durability of Carl Pavano probably can’t be questioned yet as he has not yet missed a start. However, concerns about his velocity have led to an MRI. He will make his next start this weekend, but this factor certainly is in flux at this point. (2.5) The mindset of Francisco Liriano is always a question, and despite very good performance throughout spring training, his performance since Opening Day has been nothing short of immensely disappointing. He was finally moved to the bullpen a week ago. The improvements of Danny Valencia, Ben Revere and otbher young players. I would assume that I meant players like Trevor Plouffe, Alexi Casilla and Luke Hughes in the “other” players grouping. Well, Valencia is in Rochester after a really horrible start to his season. Revere has spent most of the season in AAA as well. Plouffe is hitting below .150. Hughes was lost to the A’s when he was Designated for Assignment, and Casilla has a sub-.600 OPS. Matt Capps is 7-7 save opportunities and despite two losses, he has been pitching fairly well. (3.5) Two to five bullpen arms needed to step up. I would say that Glen Perkins, Matt Capps, Brian Duensing and Jared Burton have been really good in their roles this season. Anthony Swarzak has played multiple roles, but he has been solid for the most part. Jeff Gray has walked too many, but he has been better than expected. The bullpen was a huge concern coming into the season, and to this point, they have been alright. (4.5) It’s always good to get help from the minor league roster, and this will or can happen throughout the season. Scott Diamond and PJ Walters have come up from Rochester and been very good in limited duty so far. Brian Dozier made his much-anticipated 2012 debut and has been very solid defensively and with the bat in his ten days with the club. Hendriks and Parmelee struggled after making the Opening Day roster and are back in Rochester but likely will contribute later in the. Waldrop should be healthy soon. Deolis Guerra is doing very well. (5) As for the new guys, Willingham has carried the offense most of the season. Carroll has been a stabilizing force in the infield. Doumit started slow, but he has been great with the bat the last three weeks. (and now he may be hurt) However, Marquis has been quite bad, and Zumaya didn’t throw even twenty bullpen pitches before needing Tommy John surgery. (6) Add to these factors that the Twins starting pitchers’ have all performed to a nightmarish, worst-case-scenario, and although no one could have predicted 11-25, it shouldn’t be surprising that this team is struggling already in the season.

very good story/informatoin!

The Twins lost again last night to fall to 10-25 on the season. A Ryan Doumit 8th inning home run got Twins fans quite interested, but Matt Capps gave back the run in the top of the ninth. Enough about that, huh? Today, Justin Morneau turns 31 years old. New shortstop Brian Dozier celebrates his 25th birthday. And my little girl, Jozie, is more than a little bit excited to be turning a big six years old. In other words, she's been keeping me busy with her excitement the last couple of days (err... months!) anticipating today, May 15th. With so little positive to talk about with the current Minnesota Twins team, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some Twins history on May 15. 1978 - The Twins and Orioles matched up and it wasn't exactly a pitcher's dual when Dennis Martinez opposed the Twins' Roger Erickson. In this May 15 game, the two teams set the record for most walks in a game with 22. Martinez walked four Twins batters in 4.1 innings. Nelson Briles walked three in 3.2 innings. John Flinn walked three in 1.1 innings. Erickson, the Twins starter, impressively only gave up four runs in his 5.1 innings during which he gave up seven hits and eight walks (without a strikeout). St. Cloud State's Greg Thayer came in and walked three over the next three innings (he also hit two batters). Mike Marshall came in and he walked just one batter in 1.2 innings. The only pitcher in the game who did not walk a batter was Orioles' lefty Tippy Martinez, who got the one batter he faced out. The Twins managed to win this game, 9-6, in ten innings when Willie Norwood knocked a three-run, walk-off homer to score Rich Chiles and Rob Wilfong. 1981 - On the day Justin Morneau was born, the Twins lost 9-4 to the Orioles. ronizlally, the O's starter was Dennis Martinez in this game too. FOr the Twins, it was the great Pete Redfern on the mound. He gave up five runs on 11 hits and two walks in 4.1 innings. Jack O'Connor came in and gave up two runs on six hits and three walks in three innings. John Verhoeven gave up two unearned runs on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. Gary Ward led the Twins on this day. He was 2-3 with a walk, his third home run, two RBI and a stolen base. Mickey Hatcher was batting third. He hit his eighth and ninth doubles of the season in this game. For the Orioles, there was plenty of offense. Al Bumbry went 2-3 with three walks. Ken Singleton was 3-4 with a walk, his eighth home run and four RBI. Eddie Murray went 3-6 with his third double. Former Twins hitting coach Terry Crowley hit his fourth double of that season. Long-time Ft. Myers Miracle hitting coach Jim "Slice" Dwyer was 1-2. Oh, and Bobby Bonner went 4-5. Those were four of the 21 big league hits he accumulated over parts of four seasons. Just 6,268 fans came out to Met Stadium to watch this game. 1987 - Brian Dozier was born on this day, and the Twins got a very exciting win over the Boston Red Sox! When we think back to the '87 Twins World Series team, we certainly don't think about Juan Berenguer as a starter. However, he started this game and gave up just one run on three hits and a walk in eight innings. The lone run came on a solo home run off the bat of Wade Boggs. Bruce Hurst was very good for the Red Sox too, going all nine innings. Steve Lombardozzi went 2-4. Tom Brunansky, Greg Gagne and Dan Gladden each had a hit. But Kirby Puckett played hero in this one. He was 2-3 with an intentional walk in the game. After George Frazier pitched a perfect top of the ninth inning, Puckett came up with a runner on in the bottom of the ninth inning and hit a two-run, walk-off home run to give the Twins a 3-1 win over the Red Sox. 1989 - Kent Hrbek dislocated his shoulder attempting to make a diving play and wound out on the Disabled List until June 26. 1991 - On May 15, the Twins lost 4-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers. The story was St. Paul native and future Twins DH, Hall of Famer Paul Molitor. He hit a single, a double, a triple and a home run, all off of Twins starter Kevin Tapani. 2006 - My daughter was born and while in the hospital, we watched the Twins lose 7-3 to the Chicago White Sox. Scott Baker gave up five runs on 11 hits and a walk in 4.2 innings. Willie Eyre gave up a run in his inning. Dennys Reyes (aka, Big Sweat) came in and struck out four over 2.1 innings. Joe Nathan struck out two, but gave up a single run in the 9th. For the White Sox, Scott Podsednik, Joe Crede, Chris Widger and Robb Mackowiak each had three hits. Podsednik, Crede and Widger each hit a home run. For the Twins, Michael Cuddyer was 2-3 with a walk. Torii Hunter was 2-4 with his eighth home run of the season. 2011 - Jose Bautista hit three home runs against the Twins... if you can believe that. Future Hall of Famer, John Smoltz, who certainly is a memorable opponent name in Twins history (pitched Game 7 of the 1991 World Series opposite Jack Morris), turns 45 years old today. Hall of Famer, George Brett of the Royals, who had many memories against the Twins, turns 59 years old today. Finally, Red Sox starting pitcher (and all-around good guy?) Josh Beckett turns 32 years old today. Thank you for taking a day here with me and walking through some random Twins history on this date. The Twins had a couple of walk-off home runs on this date, and a couple other historical (positive or not) moments. So, what will happen when the Twins player Cleveland this afternoon? How will Brian Dozier perform on his 25th birthday? How will Cleveland outfielder Michael Brantley perform on his 25th birthday? [ATTACH=CONFIG]957[/ATTACH]

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 8th 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: ROCHESTER 2, SYRACUSE 4 The Red Wings got a very good start from Liam Hendriks. The Aussie right-hander gave up just one run in six innings. He gave up three hits, walked two and struck out four. Deolis Guerra came in and gave up runs for the first time in a month. Guerra gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits and three walks in two innings. Ben Revere and Clete Thomas were each 2-4. Matt Carson hit his tenth double. The Red Wings went 1-6 on this road trip. NEW BRITAIN 4, READING 6 The Rock Cats lost on Sunday but split a four-game series against the division-leading R-Phillies. Andrew Albers started the game with five shutout innings. He gave up two runs in the sixth inning and the first batter of the 7th inning got on before he was taken out. Albers gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk in six innings with four strikeouts. Caleb Thielbar came in and gave up three runs on five hits in 1.1 innings. Bobby Lanigan got the final five outs. Chris Herrmann hit his fourth home run of the season. Evan Bigley had a big, two-run single in the 7th inning. James Beresford was 1-3 with a walk. FT. MYERS MIRACLE No Game Scheduled on Sunday. Their first day off in the past 23 days. BELOIT 3, CLINTON 1 For the second straight game, the Snappers topped Clinton 3-1. The Snappers managed just four hits, but they were efficient. In the fourth inning, Miguel Sano came up with two runners on. He blasted a three-run homer to give the Snappers a 3-0 lead. It was his league-leading 11th home run of the year. Eddie Rosario added his 13th double. Matt Tomshaw was the Twins 42nd round pick in 2011 out of Jacksonville. The lefty has been terrific as a pro. On this day, he threw six scoreless innings. He gave up just three hits, walked one and struck out six. Michael Tonkin picked up his second save. He gave up one run on four hits over the final three innings. --- Players of the Day for Sunday, May 13, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Miguel Sano [ATTACH=CONFIG]942[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Matthew Tomshaw [ATTACH=CONFIG]943[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Monday, May 14, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Syracuse – RHP Cole DeVries New Britain – No Game Scheduled Ft. Myers @ Charlotte – RHP Madison Boer Beloit vs Clinton – LHP Steven Gruver --- 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!

PJ Walters was terrific in his Twins debut, but the Twins lost by a score of 2-1. He gave up a single run in the fifth inning. In the sixth inning, Walters hung a 3-2 curveball to Jose Bautista who hit a line drive barely over the fence in left field for his tenth Target Field home run in ten Target Field games. The unfortunate thing is that Walters made a 2-2 pitch on the outside corner at the knees, a pitch that had been called a strike all game, but it was called a ball, extending the Bautista at bat. The Twins bullpen was also terrific. Brian Duensing threw two perfect innings, and Jeff Gray pitched a scoreless ninth frame. Unfortunately, the Twins left a lot of base runners on again in this game. In the sixth inning, Brian Dozier led off the inning with a double, but was stranded at third base. In the eighth inning, Joe Mauer led off with a double off the top of the wall just left of center field. He never even got to third base. Drew Hutchinson, the Jays starter, pitched well, and got a lot of good bounces. On Sunday, Scott Diamond will take the mound for the Twins, attempting to help the Twins split this four-game series against the Blue Jays. On Saturday, the Twins minor league affiliates won tree out of four games. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from the day: ROCHESTER 0, SYRACUSE 11 The Red Wings played as if they were awaiting a night game. Unfortunately, they played an afternoon game and it didn’t go so well. Daryl Thompson made the start. The right-hander gave up seven run (6 earned) on seven hits and four walks in just 3.2 innings. Tyler Robertson struck out two over the next 1.1 innings. Anthony Slama threw two innings, allowing just a walk. Casey Fien gave up four runs on five hits in the eighth inning. The Red Wings managed just five hits in the game. Clete Thomas was 2-3 with a walk. He hit his third double and first triple. Danny Valencia was 0-4 in his return to the Red Wings. Rene Tosoni and Ben Revere were a combined 0-7 as well. NEW BRITAIN 8, READING 4 If Twins fans have learned anything early this season, it is that it all comes down to starting pitching. In this game, BJ Hermsen was terrific again. The right-hander from Iowa threw seven innings and gave up just two runs on seven hits. He walked none and struck out three. In doing so, he picked up his first AA win. Blake Martin threw a scoreless eighth frame. Luis Perdomo gave up two runs on three hits in the ninth. Wilkin Ramirez has been really good since coming up to the Rock Cats. On his night, he was 3-4 with a walk, his second and third triples and his fourth home run. He has played just 11 games with the Rock Cats and is hitting .388 with three doubles, three triples and four home runs. That is pretty strong production for the talented, 26-year-old outfielder. It was also a very productive night for Aaron Hicks. He was 3-4 with a walk and his fifth and sixth doubles. He also stole his eighth and ninth bases. Nate Hanson was 2-4 in the game. Evan Bigley’s eighth double drove in the Rock Cats first run of the game. Joe Benson is still struggling. He is now 2-21 (.095) in his first five games with the Rock Cats. FT. MYERS 3, CHARLOTTE 1 Dan Rohlfing drilled a two-out, two-run double in the first inning. It was his fourth double and proved to be all the offense that the Miracle would need. Andy Leer was 2-4. Lance Ray added his tenth double and stole his second base. Pat Dean made the start and gave up just one run on eight hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out two. Kyle Waldrop made his first rehab appearance and pitched a scoreless sixth inning. He gave up a hit, got two flyouts and a strikeout. Nelvin Fuentes came in and threw two scoreless innings. Ricky Bowen recorded his second save with a scoreless ninth inning. Oswaldo Arcia helped the pitchers. He threw out a runner at home. BELOIT 3, CLINTON 1 Matt Summers got off to a slow start for the Snappers, but he has been much better of late. On Saturday afternoon, the right-hander from UC-Irvine gave up one run on seven hits in seven innings. He walked two and struck out five. AJ Achter continued his domination of the Midwest League with a scoreless eighth inning. Corey Williams gave up a hit and two walks, but no runs, in the ninth inning to record his sixth save of the season. Tyler Grimes hit a two-run home run in the 5th inning to give the Snappers a 2-0 lead and enough run support for Summers. It was his second homer of the year. Jhonathan Goncalves was 2-4 with his ninth double. Adam Bryant and Drew Leachman were each 2-4. Eddie Rosario added his 12th double of the year. In his last three starts, Summers has given up just three earned runs in 20 innings. --- Players of the Day for Saturday, May 12, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Matt Summers (photo courtesy of Justin Rinaldi, Rinaldi Photos) [ATTACH=CONFIG]939[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Wilkin Ramirez [ATTACH=CONFIG]938[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Sunday, May 13, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Syracuse – RHP Liam Hendriks New Britain vs Reading – LHP Andrew Albers Ft. Myers – No Game Schedule Beloit @ Clinton – LHP Matt Tomshaw --- 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!

Starting at 1:00 today (Saturday), Seth wll be again answering your Twins-related questions here. Twins Daily Live Twins Chat

Starting at 1:00 today (Saturday), Seth wll be again answering your Twins-related questions here. Twins Daily Live Twins Chat

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: ROCHESTER 2, SYRACUSE 8 The Red Wings needed to go to Jeff Manship to make another spot start thanks to losing 60% of their starting rotation over the past week. Manship has been very good in relief for Rochester, but on this night, he struggled as a starter. He gave up six runs on seven hits in four innings. He walked one and struck out one. Esmerling Vasquez gave up one run on two hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Brendan Wise gave up just one run over the final three innings. He allowed four hits and a walk while striking out two. Ben Revere is definitely on a hot streak. In this game, he was 2-4 to raise his average to .319. JR Towles went 2-3 with his sixth double of the season. Aaron Bates was 1-2 with two walks in the game. NEW BRITAIN 4, READING 1 We have been pointing out the stats a lot in the last week, but David Bromberg added more to his incredible recent streak. In this game, he threw six shutout innings. He gave up only a fifth inning single. He walked four and struck out seven. Lester Oliveros came in and threw two perfect innings. Daniel Turpen pitched the ninth. He gave up a run on a hit, but he walked none and struck out two. As good as the Rock Cats pitching was, the Phillies’ affiliate was just as good. The Rock Cats managed just three hits in the game and didn’t get their first one until the 7th inning. In the 7th, Evan Bigley singled in Chris Colabello. Wilkin Ramirez led off the 8th inning with his third home run of the week for the Rock Cats. It gave the team a 2-1 lead. An Aaron Hicks walk was followed by a double from Chris Herrmann and an intentional walk of Colabello to load the bases. Deibinson Romero was walked to add an insurance run. Later, a wild pitch gave the Rock Cats the lead that they were able to hold. As you recall, Bromberg started the season in the Rock Cats bullpen. In his first three appearances, he gave up nine runs in just two innings. Since that time, he has made four starts and two relief appearances. In those six games, he has thrown 21 innings, given up eight hits, walked eight and struck out 22 batters. FT. MYERS 5, DUNEDIN 8 The Miracle lost the series finale against the Blue Jays. Marty Popham started and gave up six runs (5 earned) in 5.2 innings. He gave up seven hits, walked three and struck out four. Jose Gonzalez struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings. Matt Hauser struck out two in his inning, but not before giving up two runs. Josmil Pinto led the offense. He went 3-4 with his third home run and two RBI. Levi Michael added a two-run single. BELOIT 2, PEORIA 6 The world of social media sure was curious when we saw the Snappers Friday afternoon lineup and noticed that 3B Miguel Sano was not in it. It was his 19th birthday. Had he been promoted to Ft. Myers. Soon after, we were able to learn that he had not been promoted and was just getting a day off, his first of the season. The offense missed him. Jhonathan Goncalves was 2-3 with a walk. Wang-Wei Lin was 2-5. Jairo Rodriguez hit his first home run of the year. Jason Wheeler has been one of the best starting pitchers in the organization to this point, but it was a tough start for him on Friday. The lefty gave up six runs (5 earned) on nine hits and two walks in five innings. Ryan O’Rourke came in and struck out three in two scoreless innings. David Hurlbut struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning. --- Players of the Day for Friday, May 11, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – David Bromberg [ATTACH=CONFIG]933[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Josmil Pinto [ATTACH=CONFIG]934[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Saturday, May 12, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Syracuse – RHP Daryl Thompson New Britain vs Reading – RHP BJ Hermsen Ft. Myers @ Charlotte – LHP Pat Dean Beloit @ Clinton – RHP Matt Summers --- 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!

yes, it clearly was a hit-and-run. I get the above numbers, but when the team is struggling to score runs, I'm just fine with taking some chances with a hit and run there.