Seth Stohs

The Twins lost another "offensive" game to Curtis Granderson and the Yankees on Thursday night by a score of 8-7. The close loss was something that all four of the Twins minor league affiliates suffered as well on Thursday as the organization went 0-5 on the day. But worry not, there were still plenty of positives to talk about. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Wednesday, and for much more on the players on each team, specifically who’s hot and who’s not for each team, be sure to listen to last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly podcast. ROCHESTER 3, EMPIRE STATE 5 The Red Wings took a tough loss to split the series on the road (but at home) against the team formerly known as Scranton/Wilkes Barre. Sam Deduno was good early, but that is hidden in his pitching line. In five innings, he gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits and two walks. He struck out six. Esmerling Vasquez gave up one run on two hits and three walks in three innings. Brian Dozier hit his sixth double. Darin Mastroianni went 2-4. Ben Revere was 2-5. Michael Hollimon was 2-4 with a triple and his second home run. The homer was the first by a Red Wings player since Friday, when Hollimon homered. It had been 58 innings in between. The Red Wings fall to 7-8. NEW BRITAIN 5, NEW HAMPSHIRE 6 Logan Darnell came into the game 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA. The lefty gave up four runs on eight hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out five. He didn’t help himself by committing two errors. Bret Jacobson gave up a run on two hits and walk in two innings. Lester Oliveros gave up a run in the ninth to take the loss. Aaron Hicks went 1-3 with two walks. Estarlin de Los Santos was 2-5. Evan Bigley went 2-4 with a walk and his second triple. Chris Colabello went 2-4 with a walk. The Rock Cats fall to 10-5. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 1, BRADENTON 2 (10 innings) It was the rematch of last week’s BJ Hermsen/Jameson Taillon matchup and both were on their games. Hermsen gave up one run on five hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out six. Edgar Ibarra dropped his ERA to 0.90 with two perfect innings. Bruce Pugh gave up a run on a hit and a walk in the tenth to take the loss. The Miracle have really been struggling with the bats of late. Dan Rohlfing, however, was 3-4 in this game and is 9 of his last 19. Jairo Perez, Lance Ray and Anderson Hidalgo each had a double in this game. The Miracle drop to 6-7. BELOIT 10, SOUTH BEND 12 This was a crazy game, but it got off to a fun start as Miguel Sano hit his sixth home run in the first frame. Tim Shibuya was terrific through three innings. However, his fourth inning began with an error on Miguel Sano. The next ball was a grounder to second base that Eddie Rosario fielded and threw to the base, but Tyler Grimes dropped the ball. Eight runs later, the inning finished. However, the Miracle came back with three in the 5th inning and six runs in the 6th inning to reclaim the lead. However, South Bend tied it up in the eighth and then grabbed two more runs in the ninth to take the 12-10 win. Shibuya gave up eight runs (2 earned) on seven hits in 3.1 innings. He walked none and struck out two. Michael Tonkin gave up one run on five hits in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Bart Carter gave up one run on two hits in two innings, while striking out two. Corey Williams gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in one inning. There was plenty of offense! Adam Bryant went 2-4 for the second straight day during which time he raised his batting average from .250 to .300. Eddie Rosario and Matthew Koch were each 2-5. AJ Pettersen went 2-3 with a walk and a sacrifice bunt. Miguel Sano was 2-4 with a walk and his sixth home run. It was his third home run in his last five games. Danny Ortiz went 3-5. The Snappers fall to 7-7. --- Players of the Day for Thursday, April 19, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Dan Rohlfing [ATTACH=CONFIG]681[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – B J Hermsen [ATTACH=CONFIG]680[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Friday, April 20, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs. Lehigh Valley – RHP PJ Walters New Britain vs New Hampshire – LHP Luke French Ft. Myers @ Bradenton – RHP Adrian Salcedo (rematch versus Gerrit Cole) Beloit @ South Bend – LHP Jason Wheeler --- 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 the Twins long 2011 season came to an end, there were a lot of questions. Who would be back? Who would be healthy? However, in general, one of the players who was expected to remain with the Twins was Ben Revere. Throughout the offseason, it was just a given that, even thought he didn’t hit well in 2011, he improved his game in September and his range and speed made up for any other deficiencies. The biggest question early in the offseason was whether the Twins should have Revere play left field or center field with Denard Span playing the other position. The Twins talked about needing to improve defense throughout the offseason, and the thought of Revere and Span roaming left field and centerfield at Target Field was assumed to be part of that. So, how did it get to the point where, last Saturday, the Twins announced Ben Revere was headed to Triple-A? How did Ben Revere get to Rochester? OK, the literal answer is that he had a Sunday afternoon flight from Minneapolis to Rochester, NY. But I think we can all dig a little deeper than that. So many things have happened since then. Each of the following has had at least something to do with Ben Revere being back in AAA. Terry Ryan Reclaims Twins GM Job – When the news came that Bill Smith was losing the GM job and Terry Ryan was taking it back, Ryan did a lot of radio interviews. He was frequently asked about Denard Span and Ben Revere. When speaking of Span, he spoke glowingly about his defense, his arm, his approach at the plate, the pop in his bat, etc. When talking about Revere, it was quite clear that he felt that Revere was maybe a fourth outfielder and needed to improve. Cuddyer/Kubel Replaced by Willingham/Doumit – Although the Twins saved $21 million in this transition, they lose very little on the field. Denard Span is Healthy – Before the concussion issues last year, Denard Span was the top defensive center fielder in the league. He is also a tremendous lead-off hitter who gets on base at a great clip and has enough pop in his bat to accumulate a lot of extra base hits. Even at that point, as spring training began, the assumption was that Span and Revere would team up in left and center with Willingham covering the smaller right field. But a couple of things happened in spring that really reduced the likelihood of playing time for Ben Revere. Chris Parmelee’s Emergence – Parmelee had a strong second half in New Britain, a tremendous debut in September and a strong spring. It was clear that he had won a spot on the team. Justin Morneau as DH – With Parmelee able to play 1B and needing to play every day, it made it much easier to let Morneau get his confidence back as a full-time DH. HOWEVER… The Catchers Need to Play Elsewhere – Ryan Doumit was likely to be the Twins DH most days simply to get his bat in the lineup, but if Morneau is the DH, Doumit needs to play elsewhere. Joe Mauer will likely DH or play 1B when he doesn’t catch. That means that Chris Parmelee may need to play elsewhere. Doumit and Parmelee would not play well in left field but could hold their own in right field (and they got some time there in spring games). Gardenhire really likes Trevor Plouffe in right field. Willingham Feels More Comfortable in Left Field – As all of these things were pushing toward needing to find at bats for several players in right field, Revere included, Josh Willingham suddenly acknowledged that he felt more comfortable in left field. That made sense. I mean, that’s the primary position that he has played in his big league career. But, is it also possible that he moves to left and right field can be a place where Doumit, Plouffe and Parmelee can play? Claiming Clete Thomas – When the Twins had the opportunity to claim Clete Thomas, a guy they had drafted long ago out of high school, they jumped on it. With Thomas, they found a guy who can play all three outfield positions well, has a good arm, and has some power potential. Frankly, Revere's arm (even if it is stronger) is not strong enough for right field. In reality, this is good news for Ben Revere for a couple of reasons: Too Young to Sit – With all of the above bats (Doumit, Parmelee, Plouffe) to try to fit into right field and Span and Willingham in the lineup everyday, where were the at bats for the 23-year-old? In Rochester. Most are in agreement that Joe Benson, Brian Dozier and Chris Parmelee are guys who should be playing every day in Rochester instead of playing one to three times a week in Minnesota. Revere is younger than all three of them. Too Talented to Sit – If there is a belief that Ben Revere’s ceiling is that of a fourth outfielder, then playing three times or less a week is fine, regardless of the age. But how quickly do we forget that he has hit .325/.384/.487 in his minor league career. Although he hit an alarming .267/.310/.309 with the Twins in 480 plate appearances in 2011, it does not mean that is his ceiling. He has about 150 plate appearances in AAA, and there are things he can work on to improve and if there is a need with the Twins, he can come up and be more ready. In three games in Rochester this week, he has already played a game at all three outfield positions. He has made two or three diving catches already. He has also caught a ball in medium-deep centerfield and had a runner tag up and go to third on him. He is getting every day at bats as the team’s leadoff hitter. Instead of sitting on the pine with the Twins, he is getting better, and at the end of the day, that is in the best interest of Ben Revere and of the Minnesota Twins. [ATTACH=CONFIG]674[/ATTACH]

I know that most Twins bloggers (myself included) were not a big fan of the Twins signing of Jason Marquis. I get that. However, if you can’t appreciate the emotions that he must have gone through tonight in his first start in Yankees Stadium, in his first start with the Twins, in his first big league start since his daughters ghastly bicycle accident, then I’m really sorry! So, he gave up three runs in the first inning after the Twins scored four in the top of the first. He gave up four runs in five innings and is credited with the Win. All I can say is good for him. And good for Brian Duensing and Jared Burton and Matt Capps. And Justin Morneau hit two home runs. And Josh Willingham’s late double extended his hitting streak. And the Twins have beaten the Yankees again. All is good! Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Wednesday: ROCHESTER 0, EMPIRE STATE (formerly SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE) 2 In a game that took less than two hours to complete, the Red Wings bats were held in check and it took just one key hit against them to turn the game to a loss. Cole DeVries was terrific in this game. He threw six shutout innings to start the game. He came out for the seventh and gave up three hits. The third was a two-run single off the bat of Steve Pearce (yes, the same guy who spent part of spring training with the Twins). That was about it for the game. Brendan Wise threw a scoreless eighth inning. The Red Wings got the sixth double of the year from Matt Carson and a single from Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Those were the only two hits. Joe Benson had an eventful game. He had the Red Wings lone walk. He had an outfield assist. He was also ejected late in the game after a strikeout. The home plate umpire called him out on a check swing. Benson argued that he should have at least requested the opinion of the first base umpire. After DeVries efforts, the Red Wings starting staff has an ERA of 2.76 in 75 innings this season! It looks like Carlos Gutierrez could be out for an extended time period after learning that he has a strain in his labrum. He will head to Ft. Myers to rehab. Also headed to Ft. Myers will be Brian Dinkelman to get more work in as he is on the Disabled List with a hand injury. NEW BRITAIN 1, PORTLAND 2 The Rock Cats got a great start from Steve Hirschfeld again. The big right-hander threw seven shutout innings. He gave up just three hits, walked none and struckout seven. Blake Martin pitched a scoreless eighth inning in which he struck out two. The Rock Cats managed just three hits. Aaron Hicks was 1-3 with a walk. Yet, entering the bottom of the 9th, the Rock Cats held on to a 1-0 lead. Luis Perdomo came in, and he gave up two runs on two hits and three walks, and the Rock Cats took the loss. Amazingly, it was the first loss of their seven game road trip. Again, it was a very tough loss to Portland, but when you can go 6-1 on a road trip, things could be much worse. Alex Wimmers was skipped in the rotation due to a sore back and a slight strain to his flexor. He is expected to miss just the one start, but with a top prospect (especially a pitching prospect), conservatism is a good thing. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 0, JUPITER 4 The Miracle had their first day off of the season, and I would encourage everyone to check out the first episode of The Miracle Insider! BELOIT 6, KANE COUNTY 3 Unlike the other affiliates, the Snappers had some bats working on Wednesday afternoon. Eddie Rosario was 2-3 with a walk, his fourth double and two RBI. Adam Bryant was 2-4 with a double. Tyler Grimes and Jairo Rodriguez each hit a double as well. Steven Gruver had a strong start. In six innings, he gave up two runs on nine hits and a walk. He struckout three. Nelvin Fuentes gave up a run on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struckout two. Ryan O’Rourke recorded the save. He got the final four outs. --- Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 18, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Eddie Rosario [ATTACH=CONFIG]668[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Steve Hirschfeld [ATTACH=CONFIG]669[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Thursday, April 19, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Empire State – RHP Sam Deduno New Britain vs New Hampshire – LHP Logan Darnell Ft. Myers vs Bradenton – RHP BJ Hermsen (rematch versus Jameson Taillon) Beloit @ South Bend – RHP Tim Shibuya --- 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 lost to the Yankees and CC Sabathia on Tuesday night, but there was plenty to talk about in the minor league system. A Japanese import had a big game. An MVP from independent ball had a second straight big game. The Snappers played two, and the big man from the Dominican launched home run #5 on the young season, to keep up with Josh Willingham for the organizational lead! The minor leagues finished the day 3-2. Here is a look at the Twins minor league games from Tuesday and even more of the highlights: ROCHESTER 4, SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 2 Tsuyoshi Nishioka raised his batting average above .200 (to .208) with a 3-4 game in which he also walked and stole his third base of the season. Brian Dozier had an RBI double (his fifth). Daryl Thompson started and gave up just one run on four hits in five innings. He walked and struck out three. Tyler Robertson struck out three in two scoreless frames. Anthony Slama made things interesting in recording his fourth save. In two innings, he gave up a run on three hits and three walks. He struck out three and did get the save. NEW BRITAIN 6, PORTLAND 3 On Monday, Chris Colabello had a two-out, two-on, game-tying, 9th inning home run, and then he had the big double in the Rock Cats five-run 11th inning. On Tuesday, he was back at it. Colabello went 2-3 with his third and fourth home runs and he drove in three runs. Chris Herrmann and Diebinson Romero were each 1-3 with a walk. David Bromberg made his first start of the season. The right-hander gave up one run on three hits in three innings. He walked two and struck out one. Bobby Lanigan threw three scoreless innings in relief. Deolis Guerra struck out two in two perfect innings. Lester Oliveros gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in the 9th, but the Rock Cats had plenty of lead to maintain the lead and get the win. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 0, JUPITER 4 The Miracle bats were silenced in this game. They managed just four hits. Angel Morales hit his second double. Pat Dean started and gave up four runs on eight hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out three. Jose Gonzalez and Caleb Thielbar each threw a scoreless inning of relief. GAME 1 - BELOIT 2, KANE COUNTY 5 Miguel Sano launched his fifth home run of the season in Game 1 of the Snappers double header, but it wasn’t enough. Madison Boer started and gave up three runs on nine hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out three. Bart Carter gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in the seventh. Danny Ortiz was 2-2. Eddie Rosario was 1-3 with his fifth and sixth stolen bases. GAME 2 - BELOIT 3, KANE COUNTY 2 Jhonathan Goncalves was 3-3 with his third and fourth doubles. Eddie Rosario was 1-1 with two walks and his third double. Rory Rhodes was 1-1 with a walk. Matt Tomshaw started on the mound and gave up one run on four hits in three innings. He walked none and struck out four. AJ Achter struck out six in three perfect innings. Clinton Dempster gave up the tying run on two hits in the top of the 7th. In the bottom of the 7th, Rhodes walked and AJ Pettersen pinch-ran for him. He was sacrificed to second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Following an intentional walk, Pettersen scored the game-winning run on another wild pitch. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, April 17, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Chris Colabello [ATTACH=CONFIG]664[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – AJ Achter [ATTACH=CONFIG]665[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Wednesday, April 18, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre – RHP Cole DeVries New Britain @ Portland – RHP Steve Hirschfeld Ft. Myers – No Game Scheduled Beloit vs Kane County – 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!

As Nick wrote yesterday, as the M&M Boys go, so go the Twins. On Monday night in the Bronx, Joe Mauer went 3-4 with a walk, two doubles and a stolen base. Justin Morneau had two hits, including a long home run. Jamey Carroll and Ryan Doumit also had multi-hit games in a game in which all nine Twins starters had at least one hit. Carl Pavano had a rought first inning, but was able to turn things around and give up just three runs in seven innings. Brian Duensing and Matt Capps each threw a scoreless inning of relief and the Twins had a 7-3 win over the Yankees in Yankees Stadium. Here is a look at the Twins minor league games from Monday: ROCHESTER 5, SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 3 The Twins AAA affiliate also beat the Yankees AAA affiliate! Scott Diamond continues to pitch well, although his string of scoreless innings ended just shy of 15. He had another Quality Start and improved to 3-0. In six innings, he gave up three runs on nine hits and a walk. He struck out five. Casey Fien came in and recorded the three-inning save. He gave up one hit, walked one and struckout four. Ben Revere was in the lineup, hitting first. He had one hit. Tsuyoshi Nishioka was 2-5. Matt Carson was 2-4 with a walk, his fifth double and his first stolen base. Matt Rizzotti was 2-5 with three RBI. Ray Chang was 1-2 with two walks. Joe Benson was 1-2 with three walks and a double. NEW BRITAIN 10, PORTLAND 5 (11 innings) Down three runs with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth, Chris Colabello connected on his second home run of the season to send the game to extra frames. His fourth double came in the five-run 11th inning. Evan Bigley went 3-4. Pedro Florimon hit his first home run. Andrew Albers started and gave up four runs on eight hits. In five innings, he walked none and struck out four. Brett Jacobson gave up a run in his inning. He struckout two. Blake Martin pitched a scoreless inning. Luis Perdomo struckout three in two scoreless innings. Daniel Turpen gets the win as he threw two scoreless innings as well. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 1, JUPITER 5 The Miracle managed just three hits in this loss. Angel Morales, who was named the Florida State League Hitter of the Week, was 1-3 with a walk. Manuel Soliman started and gave up one run on two hits in two innings. He walked three and struckout two. Ricky Bowen came in and in the next three innings, he gave up three runs (2 earned) on seven hits and a walk. Matt Hauser gave up a run on two hits in two inning. Tony Davis pitched a scoreless inning. BELOIT – KANE COUNTY Weather was the issue in southern Wisconsin on Monday. The Snappers game against Kane County was postpone. But, hey, on Tuesday, they’ll play a double header and we’ll get twice the highlights!! --- Players of the Day for Monday, April 16, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Chris Colabello [ATTACH=CONFIG]648[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Casey Fien [ATTACH=CONFIG]647[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, April 17, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre – RHP Daryl Thompson New Britain @ Portland – Ft. Myers @ Jupiter – LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs Kane County (DH) – RHP Madison Boer, 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!

The Twins took a tough 4-3 loss on Sunday afternoon to fall to 2-7 on the young season. The Twins arrived in New York City on Sunday night and will play four games against the Yankees starting on Monday. They then go to Tampa to play the Rays before getting to play the Red Sox. We all knew it would be a tough start to the season. It’s definitely shaping up to be just that. Down on the farm, the Twins affiliates went 3-1, and at least there are plenty of storylines to follow. Liam Hendrik’s first start was terrific. He mixed his pitches well and gave up just one run in six innings. The one run came on a Mike Napoli home run on a pitch he threw just once in the game, a “spinner.” Clete Thomas was inserted right into the Twins lineup. He was in right field and batted eighth. In his first at bat, he hit a long fly ball, caught at the base of the fence in right centerfield, just in front of the out-of-town scoreboard. In his second at bat, he hit one well over the out-of-town scoreboard. The two-run homer off of Neftali Feliz gave the Twins a 2-1 lead. Jamey Carroll added an RBI single to make it 3-1. Jared Burton pitched a solid 7th inning. Glen Perkins entered in the 8th. A walk, a triple and a Josh Hamilton blast later, the Twins were down 4-3. Alex Burnett came in and did well. But in the end, Joe Nathan came in to face his former team in the bottom of the 9th and recorded the save. Here is a look at the Twins minor league games from Sunday: ROCHESTER 1, LEHIGH VALLEY 3 The Red Wings got some solid pitching but very little offense in this loss to the now 8-2 Lehigh Valley IronPigs. PJ Walters started and gave up three runs on seven hits in six innings. He issued no free passes and struck out four. Jeff Manship threw two scoreless innings, issuing a hit and a walk and striking out one. Matt Carson went 2-4 with his fourth double. Matt Rizzotti and Rene Rivera each had two hits. Brian Dozier was 0-4 with a walk, ending his nine game hitting streak. Aaron Bates was 0-4. It was the first game of 2012 in which he did not get on base. Going back to 2011, he has reached base now in 28 out of his last 30 games. ROSTER NOTES – Brian Dinkelman was officially put on the 7-Day Disabled List. It is expected that Ben Revere will be in the Red Wings lineup on Monday. NEW BRITAIN 3, NEW HAMPSHIRE 0 Luke French has been terrific in his first three Rock Cats starts. The 26 year old with big league experience should be succeeding, but after seven shutout innings on Sunday, he has now given up just two runs in 18.2 innings on the season. Deolis Guerra pitched a perfect eighth, and Lester Oliveros records the save with a scoreless ninth. Pedro Florimon went 2-3 with a walk. Evan Bigley went 2-4 and drove in a run. Chris Herrmann hit his first home run of the year. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 11, JUPITER 6 Marty Popham was the beneficiary of a big, seven-run fourth inning by the Miracle. Lance Ray had a double, and then there were RBI singles by Danny Santana, Levi Michael, Angel Morales and Dan Rohlfing. They added a few more and held on. Popham gave up four runs on eight hits and three walks in five innings to “earn” his first win of the season. Jhon Garcia gave up a run on three hits in three innings. He struckout three and walked none. Edgar Ibarra gave up a run on two hits in the ninth. Rohlfing went 3-5 on the day. Josmil Pinto was 2-4 with a walk and his fourth and fifth doubles. Six other Miracle hitters contributed a hit. BELOIT 5, CLINTON 2 The Snappers got RBI groundouts from Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano in the first inning. In the second inning, they got RBI fielder’s choices from JD Williams and AJ Pettersen. However, they made the lead 5-0 in the fifth when Miguel Sano hit a long, towering home run, his fourth of the season. Jhonathan Goncalves went 2-5. Matt Summers went the first 4.2 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and three walks. Michael Tonkin came in and was perfect for an impressive 3.1 innings of relief. He improved to 2-0. Corey Williams came in for the 9th and recorded his third save with a scoreless inning. --- Players of the Day for Sunday, April 15, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Josmil Pinto [ATTACH=CONFIG]638[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Luke French [ATTACH=CONFIG]637[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Monday, April 16, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre – LHP Scott Diamond vs Dellin Betances (remember that the Yankees AAA team is playing a large number of their games in Rochester while their stadium is worked on this season. So the Red Wings will be the visiting team in their home stadium.) New Britain @ Portland – LHP Andrew Albers Ft. Myers @ Jupiter – RHP Manuel Soliman Beloit vs Kane County – RHP Madison Boer --- 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 lost for the second straight game to the Texas Rangers on Saturday. The story of the game was all of the runners stranded on bases, but it was a day full of stories for the Twins. The Yu Darvish Show made its first appearance at Target Field, and the right-hander from Japan didn’t disappoint. He showed all seven of his pitches and did a nice job of working out of some tough situations. Just before the game started, it came out that the Twins had claimed Clete Thomas, an outfielder who was DFAd by the Tigers. They made the easy 40 man roster choice by putting Scott Baker on the 60 Day Disabled List. However, following the game, they made the not-quite-so easy decision to option Ben Revere to Rochester. It actually wasn’t a difficult decision. It will allow Revere to play five or six games each week instead of two or three. Thomas is a backup and it’s no problem having him sit on the bench. Nick Blackburn actually pitched quite well, but he left early after experiencing some discomfort in his right shoulder. An MRI was conducted on Saturday afternoon, and according to 1500espn.com, it showed no serious shoulder damage. Liam Hendriks will take the mound for the Twins on Sunday to try to keep the talented Rangers from sweeping the Twins on their own field. There was a lot going on in the minor leagues as well. A hitting streak continues. A slump was broken. Each of the four games was decided in the 8th inning or later. One affiliate lost in extra innings, and there was a two out, Miracle walk-off win. For much more on the Twins affiliates and players, keep reading… it gets good! Like, Hunger Games good!! ROCHESTER 2, LEHIGH VALLEY 5 This was a close game until late when Esmerling Vasquez served up a three-run, bases-clearing triple to Dominic Brown that gave the IronPigs a 5-2 lead. Sam Deduno started and gave up two runs on six hits. In six innings, he walked two and struck out five. Brian Dozier went 2-5 and extended his hitting streak to nine games. Joe Benson and Drew Butera were each 2-4. Aaron Bates went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI. The Red Wings are now 5-5 on the season, despite losing three consecutive games now. ROSTER NOTES – With Rene Tosoni on the DL, Darin Mastroianni was promoted from New Britain in time for Saturday’s game. However, with the Twins’ claim of OF Clete Thomas on Saturday, Ben Revere was optioned to Rochester following the Twins game. It is possible that Mastroianni could be sent back to New Britain right away, but it is also possible that Brian Dinkelman and/or Ray Chang could be put on the Disabled List. NEW BRITAIN 7, NEW HAMPSHIRE 6 The Rock Cats got some early offense, terrific pitching most of the game and then held on to hold off a later furious attempt by New Hampshire to tie the game. Chris Colabello went 3-5 with his second and third doubles. Aaron Hicks went 2-4 with a walk, his fourth double and second stolen base. Deibinson Romero was 2-5 with his fifth double and three RBI. Logan Darnell improved to 2-0 with five strong innings. He gave up no runs on just three hits and two walks. Bobby Lanigan gave up one run on three hits in two innings. He struckout two. Blake Martin struckout two in his scoreless inning. David Bromberg came in for the ninth and recorded one out. However, he gave up three hits, walked on and hit another batter. Daniel Turpen came in and gave up a hit, but was able to get the final two outs and preserve the one-run win for the Rock Cats. The win gives the Rock Cats a 7-3 record. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 8 BRADENTON 7 Danny Santana actually got a day off. Or, he was supposed to. Suddenly, with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, game tied and a runner on third base, Jake Mauer looked at Santana and called on him to pinch hit. Santana came through with a game-winning single to score Lance Ray, who had doubled to lead off the 9th inning. Four Miracle hitters carried the team to the first seven runs of the day. Angel Morales went 4-5 with his first double, first homer and three RBI. Dan Rohlfing was 2-3 with two walks and his first homer. Morales and Rohlfing each homered against last year’s #1 overall pick Gerrit Cole. Levi Michael was 2-4 with a walk. Josmil Pinto was 2-5 with his third double and first home run. Adrian Salcedo got the start and gave up three runs (2 earned) on seven hits. In five innings, he walked two and struckout three. Jose Gonzalez walked one in two otherwise perfect innings. Bruce Pugh pitched a scoreless eighth inning, but Pinto’s home run in the 8th gave the Miracle a 7-3 lead. Pugh came out and gave up four hits in the ninth. With two outs, Tony Davis entered the game clinging to a one-run lead. He got a ground ball, but Michael committed an error allowing the game to be tied. Davis got the final out. Santana came through in the 9th inning for the Miracle and pushed their record back over .500 at 5-4. BELOIT 3, CLINTON 4 (11 innings) Down 3-1 in the 8th inning, Eddie Rosario doubled in two Snappers runners to tie the game and send it to extra innings, but the team fell in 11 innings and fall to 4-5 on the season. Rosario was 2-5 in the game. His single earlier in the game ended a 0-15 stretch that saw his batting average fall from .429 to .200. Jhonathan Goncalves was 2-5 with his second double. Miguel Sano was also 2-5 and drove in the Snappers other run. Jason Wheeler started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on five hits and a walk in five innings. He struckout three. Nelvin Fuentes came in and struckout four in two perfect innings. Ryan O’Rourke struckout two over the next two scoreless innings. Clinton Dempster threw a scoreless 10th frame, but gave up the game-winning run in the 11th. --- Players of the Day for Saturday, April 14, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Angel Morales [ATTACH=CONFIG]631[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Logan Darnell [ATTACH=CONFIG]632[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Sunday, April 15, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Lehigh Valley – RHP PJ Walters New Britain @ New Hampshire – LHP Luke French Ft. Myers vs. Bradenton – RHP Marty Popham 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!

The Twins two-game winning streak came to an end on Friday night with a 4-1 loss at the hands of lefty Matt Harrison and the Texas Rangers. Anthony Swarzak gave up four runs in seven innings. He was seeing-eye-singled to death in the 4th when the Rangers started swinging at Swarzak’s first pitch and scored three times. Ian Kinsler added a little insurance with a solo home in the 7th. For the first time this season, the Twins scored first in this game. Josh Willingham scored on a screaming liner to left off the bat of Danny Valencia. Ryan Doumit had two hits in the game. Josh Willingham had a single, a walk and was hit by a pitch. Jared Burton and Matt Maloney each threw a strong inning in relief. The Twins will get to see Yu Darvish on Saturday at noon. Nick Blackburn will be making his second start of the homestand. Liam Hendriks will pitch on Sunday. There were plenty of highlights in the Twins minor league system on Friday night despite going just 1-3 on the night. Here is a look at the night in the minors. ROCHESTER 3, PAWTUCKET 4 Cole DeVries was terrific in his second start of the season. The right-hander from Eden Prairie gave up only an unearned run over the first five innings. He gave up just one hit, walked two and struckout four. Carlos Gutierrez came in and walked the first batter he faced and then hit the second batter. After a line out, a passed ball and a wild pitch, he gave up a three-run homer to mega-prospect Will Middlebrooks. Gutierrez then left the game alongside a trainer. Casey Fien came in and gave up just one hit in 2.1 scoreless innings. In the ninth, Brendan Wise gave up three hits and got two outs. Tyler Robertson came in with the bases loaded and struckout the next two batters to leave the score 4-3 going to the bottom of the 9th. Unfortunately, the Red Wings were unable to score. Michael Hollimon led the offense. He went 2-4 with his first double and his first home run of the young season. When Brian Dozier hit a double in his first at bat, it extended his hit streak to eight games. INJURY NOTES – Rene Tosoni was put on the 7-day Disabled List on Friday night. Another transaction is expected on Saturday (my guess is that Wilkin Ramirez will come off the DL). I will update this place when I learn more about Carlos Gutierrez. NEW BRITAIN 6, NEW HAMPSHIRE 1 The Rock Cats got a good start, good bullpen work and plenty of offense to beat New Hampshire on Friday night. Steve Hirschfeld made his second start of the young season. He threw five shutout innings and gave up just four hits and two walks. He struckout four. Luis Perdomo gave up one run on four hits over the next two innings. He struckout two. Lester Oliveros struckout two in his scoreless frame, and Daniel Turpen pitched a 1-2-3 ninth. Chris Herrmann went 3-5 with his second and third doubles. Chris Colabello was 2-3 with his first double, first homer and four RBI. Aaron Hicks was 1-3 with a walk. Pedro Florimon was 2-4. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 2, BRADENTON 3 (10 innings) For the third time in just over a week, the Miracle went to extra innings. In this game, they were on the losing end. This game was about the pitching matchup. The Miracle sent BJ Hermsen to the mound against the Pirates’ Jameson Taillon. Taillon gave up just one run in five innings. Hermsen was even better. He threw six shutout innings, allowing just two hits. He walked three and struckout three. He left with a one run lead. Matt Hauser came in and pitched a scoreless seventh. Unfortunately, he gave up a two-run homer in the 8th that put the Miracle down a run. Caleb Thielbar got out of the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth. Offensively, the Miracle had just four hits. Angel Morales was 2-4 and drove in the first run of the game. Jairo Perez hit his second double. Lance Ray’s second home run gave the Miracle a 2-1 lead. It was 2-2 going to the tenth. Thielbar remained in the game. He gave up a double. The next batter bunted, but Thielbar threw the ball away for an error which ended the game. Fun Note – Hermsen has now thrown 11 innings this season without allowing a run. BELOIT 2, CLINTON 5 The Snappers made their fair share of errors, but they used some Clinton walks and poor defense to take a lead in the 8th and held on. Tim Shibuya was very good in his second start as well. He gave up two unearned runs on three hits in five innings. He walked two and struckout four. Matthew Tomshaw struckout two in two scoreless innings. Then Corey Williams duplicated Tomshaw with two strikeouts in two scoreless innings. Danny Ortiz led the offense going 3-5. Jairo Rodriguez went 1-3 with a walk, a double and two RBI. Jhonathan Goncalves was 1-3 with two walks and a stolen base. Tyler Grimes hit his fourth double. Not-So-Fun Note - The uber-talented Beloit infield of the Snappers (Rhodes, Rosario, Grimes and Sano) each committed an error in this game. --- Players of the Day for Friday, April 13, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Chris Herrmann [ATTACH=CONFIG]622[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – BJ Hermsen [ATTACH=CONFIG]623[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Saturday, April 14, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Lehigh Valley – RHP Sam Deduno New Britain @ New Hampshire – LHP Logan Darnell Ft. Myers vs. Bradenton – RHP Adrian Salcedo (vs Gerrit Cole) Beloit @ Clinton – LHP Jason Wheeler --- 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!