Seth Stohs

In what may have been his final start with the Twins, starter Francisco Liriano threw his first clunker in over two months. The lefty gave up home runs to Paul Konerko, Adam Dunn and Alex Rios and could not complete three innings. The Twins got plenty of base runners. Denard Span had three hits, and Brian Dozier had two. The Twins grounded into five double plays in the game though which ended several scoring opportunities. Brian Duensing and Alex Burnett were very good in relief. Ryan Doumit did his best to keep up with Beloit's Kennys Vargas tonight. The big question now is whether tonight's pitching performance by Liriano affected the return they could get for him. We shall find out. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from the Monday games in the minor leagues. Liam Hendriks was back on the mound for Rochester. Two players made their returns with the GCL Twins this morning. And yes, Kennys Vargas is mentioned again. ROCHESTER 0, DURHAM 4 For the first time this year, Liam Hendriks gets “credited” with a Loss for the Red Wings. Yet, he pitched pretty well. The Aussie right-hander gave up two runs on four hits in six innings. He walked three and struckout six batters. Caleb Theilbar came in and gave up two runs on three hits (including a home run) in an inning. Kyle Waldrop threw a scoreless inning in relief. The Red Wings showed very little offense. They had just six hits in the game and Ray Chang had two of them. Clete Thomas and Pedro Florimon each hit a double. Thomas stole a base, and he also threw out a runner at home. NEW BRITAIN 1, BINGHAMTON 8 Aaron Thompson started for the Rock Cats. The lefty gave up four runs (2 earned) on eight hits (two home runs) and a walk in five innings. Edgar Ibarra came in and gave up three runs on two hits (both home runs) and a walk. He struck out three. Dakota Watts was charged with an unearned run on one walk in 1.2 innings. The Rock Cats managed just four hits in the game. Oswaldo Arcia was 2-4. FT. MYERS 5, CHARLOTTE 4 Jhon Goncalves has only been back in the Florida State League, but his speed helped the Miracle to a win on Monday night. The outfielder was 3-4 after singling to lead off the bottom of the ninth. He advanced to third after a sacrifice bunt and a ground out. With two outs, and two strikes on Danny Ortiz, the pitcher threw a high fastball that bounced off the catcher’s glove, allowing Goncalves to sprint home from third base with the winning run. Anderson Hidalgo was also 3-4. He hit his eighth double, his third home run and drove in two runs. Pat Dean started. He gave up four runs on 10 hits in seven innings. He walked none and struck out three. AJ Achter came on and threw two scoreless innings for his first Miracle win. BELOIT 3, GREAT LAKES 0 Matt Tomshaw returned to the starting rotation and threw very well. The lefty worked the first four innings, giving up just two hits. He walked none and struck out six. Cole Johnson worked the next three scoreless innings. He gave up three walks, walked none and struck out one. Zach Jones recorded his first save, striking out four in two innings. Nate Roberts continues to lead the way for the Snappers out of the leadoff spot. He went 2-4 with his first triple and 14th stolen base. Kennys Vargas hit his third home run (in his second game) and later he was intentionally walked. Miguel Sano had a rough one. He went 0-4 with four walks. ELIZABETHTON 3, JOHNSON CITY 0 Angel Mata started for the E-Twins and he threw five shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out nine. Christian Powell came in and threw two scoreless innings. He gave up three hits but walked none and struck out three. He was credited with his first professional win. Tyler Duffey struckout two in a scoreless eighth inning. As he did in college, he handed the ball over to JT Chargois who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save. Travis Harrison went 2-3 with a walk. (and yes, his 17th error of the short season) Jorge Polanco and Jhonathan Arias each doubled. Max Kepler and Niko Goodrum combined to go 0-8 with five walks, but each stole his fourth base of the year. GAME 1 – GCL TWINS 1, GCL ORIOLES 4 There were a couple of returns in this game. Alex Wimmers made a start for the first time since his April debut with the New Britain Rock Cats. He has been rehabbing a partially torn UCL. On this day, he gave up three runs on four hits and a walk and recorded just two outs. Kuo Hua Lo came on and struck out two over 4.1 one-hit innings. Alex Muren came in and gave up one run on two hits and a walk in two innings. Byron Buxton returned to the GCL team in this game. He was the team’s DH and hit third. His hamstring was tested. He was 1-2 with a walk and a triple. Kelvin Ortiz walked twice and stole his fifth base. Aderlin Mejia went 1-2 with a walk. GAME 1 – GCL TWINS 1, GCL ORIOLES 2 After managing just five hits in game one, the Twins had just one hit, a Logan Wade single, in game two. Yorman Landa started and threw five shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out two. Melciades de la Cruz then gave up two runs on two hits, two walks and a hit batter in his inning to take the loss. --- Players of the Day for Monday, July 23, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Angel Mata [ATTACH=CONFIG]1639[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Anderson Hidalgo [ATTACH=CONFIG]1640[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, July 24, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Syracuse – RHP Shairon Martis New Britain vs Binghampton – LHP Blake Martin Ft. Myers @ Charlotte – RHP Matt Summers Beloit – No Game Scheduled Elizabethton @ Kingsport – LHP Corey Kimes GCL Twins vs GCL Orioles (DH) – 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!

weinshie - Buxton played today. I believe he was 1-2 with a walk and a triple. Rodriguez also had a hamstring injury but is still rehabbing. Rosario is in Ft. Myers. I woudln't be shocked if we saw him in a GCL game in the near future.

No, Butera should not be the starter, but I agree that Butera certainly does a nice job behind the plate.

I'd say No as well, but it certainly is an interesting way to look at being a seller.

Yes, he has been hitting a little bit of late, and that is good. Reports indicate that he has been pretty solid defensively too. Maybe a utility option for 2013.

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The Twins got a great mound performance from Samuel Deduno who picked up his first MLB win, giving up just one run in 6.1 innings. He got plenty of run support on this day. Ryan Doumit was 3-4 hit two home runs, one from each side of the plate. He drove in four runs. Brian Dozier drove in two more runs with a double off the wall. The Twins bullpen struggled but hung on for a 7-5 win. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from the Sunday games in the minor leagues. Rochester finally has a ten-home run hitter. The Snappers had a newcomer arrive on Sunday and he helped the team put on quite a power display. But there was a lot of power shown throughout the system. GAME 1 – ROCHESTER 5, DURHAM 1 Jeff Manship improved to 6-1 with another strong performance. He gave up one run on three hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out four. Luis Perdomo pitched a scoreless seventh inning. He gave up one hit and a walk. Clete Thomas won the Rochester Race to Ten Home Runs! He went 1-2 with a walk and the home run. Sean Burroughs went 2-3. Pedro Florimon hit his 13th double. GAME 2 – ROCHESTER 3, DURHAM 4 Luke French started game two for the Red Wings. The lefty gave up three runs on six hits in 3.2 innings. He walked three and struck out four. Dan Sattler came in and got the next four batters out, two of them on strikeouts. Lester Oliveros came in and pitched a scoreless sixth innings, but he gave up the winning run in the seventh. Tsuyoshi Nishioka went 2-3 and drove in the team’s first run. Sean Burroughs was also 2-3. In the 5th inning, Clete Thomas and Danny Valencia had back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game at three. NEW BRITAIN 8, HARRISBURG 4 The bats showed up for the Rock Cats in this game and Steve Hirschfeld pitched well yet again in this Rock Cats win. Nate Hanson led the offense by going 3-5 with his third home run and four RBI. Deibinson Romero was 2-4 with a walk, his 14th home run and three RBI. Chris Colabello went 2-4 with a walk and his 29th double. Aaron Hicks was 0-2, but he walked three times and stole his 22nd base. Hirschfeld won for the 7th time this season. He worked the first six innings and gave up three runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out four. David Bromberg gave up one run on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struck out three. Bruce Pugh got his fifth save by getting the final four outs. FT. MYERS 2, LAKELAND 4 Madison Boer falls to 4-9 after this game, but he pitched quite well. The Eden Prairie native gave up two runs (1 earned) on five hits in six innings. He walked one, hit one and struck out six. Cole Nelson came in and gave up two runs on three hits, a walk and a hit batter in one inning. Ricky Bowen then pitched a scoreless inning. Josmil Pinto had another very good game. He went 3-4. Jhon Goncalves went 2-3. Danny Santana hit a two-run homer in the 8th inning that cut the deficit in half. It was his fifth home run of the year. The Miracle had 11 hits in this game, but left too many on base. BELOIT 7, GREAT LAKES 10 It was a big day for the Snappers offense. There was a big return and a huge power display, but it wasn’t enough on this day. Kennys Vargas was having a very strong season last year at Elizabethton when it suddenly came to an end at the hands of a 50 Game Suspension for Performance Enhancing Drugs. He served about 18 games last year, so he had to serve another 32 games in 2012. Unfortunately, he needed to serve those games with the team he was with when he got the suspension. That means that his suspension couldn’t continue until the Elizabethton season started in late June. Instead of returning to the E-Twins at the end of the 50 games, the Twins had him go directly to Beloit. In his first game in almost a year, Vargas went 2-4 with a walk. In his first at bat, he hit a solo home run. In his second at bat, he hit a two-run home run. Not a bad return. Vargas wasn’t the only Snappers hitter who displayed power in this game. Steve Liddle hit his third home run. Wang-Wei Lin hit his second homer of the year. Nate Roberts was 4-4 with his eighth double and his fourth home run. He was also hit by a pitch. Tyler Jones started for the Snappers. The right-hander went just three innings and gave up seven runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out three. Ryan O’Rourke replaced him in the fourth inning and after allowing the inherited runners to score, he threw three shutout frames and struck out three. Mason Melotakis gets the loss because he gave up an unearned run on one hit and one walk in two innings. Corey Williams pitched the ninth inning and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. ELIZABETHTON 5, JOHNSON CITY 6 Max Kepler continues to rake. On this day, he was 2-4 with his fifth double and fourth home run (all in the last week). Bo Altobelli went 2-3 with a walk and his second double. Travis Harrison added his fifth double. Hein Robb started for the E-Twins. He gave up four runs (2 earned) on four hits in four innings. He walked two and struck out three. Brett Lee gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits over the next two innings. Luis Nunez walked one over the next two innings without giving up a run. GCL TWINS No game scheduled. --- Players of the Day for Sunday, July 22, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Jeff Manship [ATTACH=CONFIG]1633[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Nate Roberts [ATTACH=CONFIG]1632[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Monday, July 23, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Durham – RHP Liam Hendriks New Britain vs Binghampton – TBD Ft. Myers vs Charlotte – LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs Great Lakes – TBD Elizabethton @ Kingsport – RHP Angel Mata GCL Twins vs GCL Orioles (DH) – 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!

Like Riverbrian, at the beginning of the year, i didn't really want to see Butera on the roster. For seemingly two years now, I have agreed with the sentiment that two catchers could play and if someone got hurt, Butera (or someone) could be up the next day. Now, when Mauer and Doumit are playing pretty much every single day, Butera is literally the backup catcher, so he's not wasting a roster spot. And finally, the point of this post was really just to give credit where credit is due... Deduno deserves credit. Anderson deserves credit. But Drew Butera also deserves a lot of credit as well.

He debuted on Thursday or Friday in GCL. Gave up two runs in an inning.

Maybe that's another good point. With the temps in KC around 100 today, I wouldn't have wanted Mauer or Doumit behind the plate today.

I'm pretty much sure that, regardless of the lineup, the team is trying to win every game. Days off are part of the 162 game season. Has to be done. And, there have not been 'getaway day' lineups this year.

Oh, I'll stand behind that... if just talking defense, I'll take Butera... but as an overall catcher, of course Mauer is better.

Kennys Vargas was playing great for Elizabethton last summer when suddenly he was suspended 50 games for testing positive for a PED (a weight-loss supplement). Because a player has to serve the suspension with the team he was playing with when the suspension came down, Vargas had to wait until 30+days into the short-season Elizabethton season. Today, his suspension came to an end and he was moved to Beloit. In his first at bat, he hit a solo home run. In his second at bat, he hit a two-run homer. When it comes to pure power, it could be argued that beyond Miguel Sano, no one has as much power and power potential as Vargas.

I can't imagine that comes across in any way in what was written.

Ummmm... this... life finds ways to put all things into proper perspective.

Watching the Samuel Deduno's performance today is just a reminder of the value that Drew Butera brings to the Twins roster. I know. I know. He can't hit. And that's fine. That's certainly not his role. His role is to allow Joe Mauer and Ryan Doumit to be on the field at the same time. And his primary role appears to be working with struggling pitchers. It it clear from watching Deduno's first couple of starts that he has some "stuff." He just had no idea from pitch-to-pitch where the stuff would go. Enter Drew Butera. This is no knock on Joe Mauer (who has won Gold Gloves, for what that is worth) or Ryan Doumit (who has been much better defensively than I would have thought coming into the season). But defensively, neither comes close to Butera. And that makes sense because those two need to hit, they need their legs. When it comes to blocking balls in the dirt, Butera is the best. But the things that he does so well, in my opinion, that help a struggling pitcher are a little more subtle. First, he is more talkative and energetic behind the plate. He appears to be very encouraging and uses his hands and glove very well. He seems able to find little things that the pitcher is doing and quickly visits the mound to discuss or encourage. That's the leadership. The other is probably even more subtle, and I'm not going to look into the stats, but I think that Butera is more willing to call different pitches. When Mauer or Doumit are behind the plate, it is generally a lot of fastballs, and when the pitcher is struggling with control, they call even more changeups. Butera isn't afraid to call curveballs and offspeed pitches. He definitely seems to think more outside the box with his pitch calls. That is a good thing. When Francisco Liriano was at his low point and being used in the bullpen and then came back to the rotation, Gardenhire had no problem putting Butera out there to work with him. Sure, now that Liriano is back to his old self, which catcher goes with him doesn't really seem to matter much, so they might as well use the one that hits more. I know many will disagree with this thread, but it is clear in my mind what the value of Drew Butera is to a team beyond just letting Doumit and Mauer play almost every day.

I have no doubt in my mind that the Twins try to win every game they play.

I don't thin that I could possibly disagree with a forum entry more than I disagree with this one.

Good to see Span back in the lineup!

Hard to get too excited about a guy in his third season in the DSL that just turned 21. So, I would say No. I'd guess that he would come to spring training next year and get an opportunity to play in Beloit... If he can't make that team (which he likely wouldn't), he could get released. Or, he could play in EST until the draft and maybe get an opportunity to play in E-Town, but more likely get released at that time.

Yes, and like you said, it's strange to see box scores that use them interchangeably. You'll see the box score show that Jimenez went 3-4, then down below, it'll say 2B - Trinidad (8), HR - Trinidad (4)...

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