Cody Christie

While the Twins finish up their series with the Royals, there could be some reinforcements on the way. Josh Willingham and Darin Mastroianni are both on rehab at the Triple-A level and this could mean both men are back with the big league club in the near future. A healthy Willingham could be a sight for sore eyes to Twins fans. Miguel Sano returned to the line-up of the Rock Cats last night after missing four games with a tight hamstring. He wasted little time making his mark as he fell just a triple shy of the cycle. There were other familiar names and story lines across the farm system. Here are the highlights from Wednesday night's action. Rochester Red Wings 5, Durham Bulls 4 Box Score Rochester continues to find ways to win games at one of the most important parts of their season. The Red Wings scored runs in the second, third and fourth innings and relied on their pitchers to hold the lead. With the win, the Red Wings have won their first ever series at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in 16 tries. It was also the team's first season series win over the Bulls since 2008. Josh Willingham and Darin Mastroianni were both on rehab assignment with the Wings. Willingham wasted little time making his presence known as he hit a solo home run in his first plate appearance. Later in the game, the designated hitter drew a walk and finished the night 1-for-3. Mastroianni collected two RBI but he was held hitless before being pulled for a pinch runner in the fourth. Logan Darnell earned the victory but he labored to get through five frames. He spread out three earned runs and six hits to keep the Bulls far enough away. Luis Perdomo and AJ Archter pitched the next three innings and limited the Bulls to one run on three hits. Michael Tonkin was lights out in the ninth as he pitched a perfect frame and struck out two for his ninth save. New Britain Rock Cats 3, Akron Aeros 7 Box Score Multiple hit nights from Danny Santana and Eddie Rosario weren't enough to push the Rock Cats to victory. Santana added his seventh triple as part of a 2-for-4 game. Jordan Parraz smacked a 2-run shot for his tenth long ball of the season. After his monster night last night, Miguel Sano went 1-for-3 with a walk. DJ Baxendale started the game on the mound but he found a few struggles along the way. He tossed six innings and gave up four runs on nine hits. Along the way, he had four strikeouts and three walks. Matt Hauser didn't do so well in relief of Baxendale. He gave up three runs in his one inning of work. Jose Gonzalez stopped some of the bleeding by giving up no runs over one frame. Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Beloit Snappers 4 Box Score Cedar Rapids sits near the top in their division for the second half but they were visiting the division winners from the first half on Wednesday. The Kernels used a big five run fourth inning to push their lead to 7-0 before the bullpen had to hang on in the end. As part of the Kernels big fourth inning, Niko Goodrum hit a three-run home run. He compiled four RBI and finished the night 2-for-4. Jonathan Murphy helped the offense out of the leadoff spot by going 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Joel Licon and Michael Quesada each added a double. Brett Lee had his shortest outing of the season by being pulled after three innings. He didn't give up a run and the Snappers only managed two hits off of him. There might have been some kind of injury or other reason to pull Lee. David Hurlbut was asked to pitch five frames and he didn't do too badly. He gave up one earned run and struck out seven. Madison Boer earned his third save by throwing a perfect ninth inning. Fort Myers Miracle --, Charlotte Stone Crabs -- (Postponed) Weather got in the way of the Miracle trying to end their recent losing streak. The club has lost four of their last five games and they are three games out of first place in the second half standings. Since the Miracle already clinched a playoff spot by winning the division in the first half, their current record isn't as important. Tonight's game will be made up as part of a double header later this month in Port Charlotte. The date and time of this game have yet to be announced. These two teams will continue their series tomorrow night at Hammond Stadium. Elizabethon Twins 3, Johnson City Cardinals 0 Box Score
 The story in this game was all about Hein Robb. He earned his first victory of the season in dramatic fashion. Before today's game, Robb hadn't lasted further than 7.1 innings and he was averaging under 6 innings per start. Robb was terrific by scattering two hits over nine shutout innings. He struck out nine and didn't walk a batter. On the offensive side of the ball, the E-Twins didn't put on a clinic but they scored enough to support Robb's outstanding pitching effort. Mitch Garver and Dereck Rodriguez each went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Tanner Vavra notched his first extra-base hit with a double. Romy Jimenez had multiple hits for the first time in his last ten games. 
GCL Twins 1, GCL Orioles 2 (10 Innings) Box Score Lester Oliveros continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. He has yet to give up a run in a game and that streak continued today. He tossed two shutout innings on Wednesday by giving up two hits and striking out one batter. Chih-Wei Hu started the game and surrendered one run on one hit over three frames. Jose Abreu earned his third loss of the year by giving up the go-ahead run in extra innings. There wasn't a ton of offense to speak of for the GCL Twins. Four of the team's starters were held hitless. Overall, The team compiled six hits over 10 innings with Jorge Fernandez being the only player with multiple hits. He went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. Jonatan Hinojosa had an RBI and he finished the day 1-for-4.

While the Twins finish up their series with the Royals, there could be some reinforcements on the way. Josh Willingham and Darin Mastroianni are both on rehab at the Triple-A level and this could mean both men are back with the big league club in the near future. A healthy Willingham could be a sight for sore eyes to Twins fans. Miguel Sano returned to the line-up of the Rock Cats last night after missing four games with a tight hamstring. He wasted little time making his mark as he fell just a triple shy of the cycle. There were other familiar names and story lines across the farm system. Here are the highlights from Wednesday night's action. Rochester Red Wings 5, Durham Bulls 4 Box Score Rochester continues to find ways to win games at one of the most important parts of their season. The Red Wings scored runs in the second, third and fourth innings and relied on their pitchers to hold the lead. With the win, the Red Wings have won their first ever series at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in 16 tries. It was also the team's first season series win over the Bulls since 2008. Josh Willingham and Darin Mastroianni were both on rehab assignment with the Wings. Willingham wasted little time making his presence known as he hit a solo home run in his first plate appearance. Later in the game, the designated hitter drew a walk and finished the night 1-for-3. Mastroianni collected two RBI but he was held hitless before being pulled for a pinch runner in the fourth. Logan Darnell earned the victory but he labored to get through five frames. He spread out three earned runs and six hits to keep the Bulls far enough away. Luis Perdomo and AJ Archter pitched the next three innings and limited the Bulls to one run on three hits. Michael Tonkin was lights out in the ninth as he pitched a perfect frame and struck out two for his ninth save. New Britain Rock Cats 3, Akron Aeros 7 Box Score Multiple hit nights from Danny Santana and Eddie Rosario weren't enough to push the Rock Cats to victory. Santana added his seventh triple as part of a 2-for-4 game. Jordan Parraz smacked a 2-run shot for his tenth long ball of the season. After his monster night last night, Miguel Sano went 1-for-3 with a walk. DJ Baxendale started the game on the mound but he found a few struggles along the way. He tossed six innings and gave up four runs on nine hits. Along the way, he had four strikeouts and three walks. Matt Hauser didn't do so well in relief of Baxendale. He gave up three runs in his one inning of work. Jose Gonzalez stopped some of the bleeding by giving up no runs over one frame. Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Beloit Snappers 4 Box Score Cedar Rapids sits near the top in their division for the second half but they were visiting the division winners from the first half on Wednesday. The Kernels used a big five run fourth inning to push their lead to 7-0 before the bullpen had to hang on in the end. As part of the Kernels big fourth inning, Niko Goodrum hit a three-run home run. He compiled four RBI and finished the night 2-for-4. Jonathan Murphy helped the offense out of the leadoff spot by going 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Joel Licon and Michael Quesada each added a double. Brett Lee had his shortest outing of the season by being pulled after three innings. He didn't give up a run and the Snappers only managed two hits off of him. There might have been some kind of injury or other reason to pull Lee. David Hurlbut was asked to pitch five frames and he didn't do too badly. He gave up one earned run and struck out seven. Madison Boer earned his third save by throwing a perfect ninth inning. Fort Myers Miracle --, Charlotte Stone Crabs -- (Postponed) Weather got in the way of the Miracle trying to end their recent losing streak. The club has lost four of their last five games and they are three games out of first place in the second half standings. Since the Miracle already clinched a playoff spot by winning the division in the first half, their current record isn't as important. Tonight's game will be made up as part of a double header later this month in Port Charlotte. The date and time of this game have yet to be announced. These two teams will continue their series tomorrow night at Hammond Stadium. Elizabethon Twins 3, Johnson City Cardinals 0 Box Score
 The story in this game was all about Hein Robb. He earned his first victory of the season in dramatic fashion. Before today's game, Robb hadn't lasted further than 7.1 innings and he was averaging under 6 innings per start. Robb was terrific by scattering two hits over nine shutout innings. He struck out nine and didn't walk a batter. On the offensive side of the ball, the E-Twins didn't put on a clinic but they scored enough to support Robb's outstanding pitching effort. Mitch Garver and Dereck Rodriguez each went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Tanner Vavra notched his first extra-base hit with a double. Romy Jimenez had multiple hits for the first time in his last ten games. 
GCL Twins 1, GCL Orioles 2 (10 Innings) Box Score Lester Oliveros continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. He has yet to give up a run in a game and that streak continued today. He tossed two shutout innings on Wednesday by giving up two hits and striking out one batter. Chih-Wei Hu started the game and surrendered one run on one hit over three frames. Jose Abreu earned his third loss of the year by giving up the go-ahead run in extra innings. There wasn't a ton of offense to speak of for the GCL Twins. Four of the team's starters were held hitless. Overall, The team compiled six hits over 10 innings with Jorge Fernandez being the only player with multiple hits. He went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. Jonatan Hinojosa had an RBI and he finished the day 1-for-4.

Entrenched in the middle of another losing season, it can be tough to look at the Twins roster and find some positives. There are going to be disappointments but sometimes there can be good mixed in with all of the bad. Sam Deduno fits this mold. He was a surprise for the 2012 Twins team and this still didn't save his spot on the 40-man roster in the offseason. Every MLB team had a chance to claim him and no one took the opportunity to add him to their club. Deduno went back into the Twins minor league pool and a successful World Baseball Classic might have given him the confidence he needed to make some adjustments. It has been a new and improved Deduno in 2013. His career walk rate entering this season was 6.1 BB/9 and he has cut that number almost in half to 3.3 BB/9 this season. He averaged 1.2 HR/9 at the end of last year and he has reduced that number to 0.5 HR/9. With seven wins to his name, he already has a career high. Decreasing walks and keeping the ball in the park have helped to make Deduno a more effective pitcher. One of the things that might have helped Deduno the most could be his numbers while pitching in the friendly confines of Target Field. So far this season, his ERA at home (2.33) is more than 1.30 point lower than on the road (3.65) and his 0.963 WHIP at home is outstanding. He has given up one home run at Target Filed compared to three home runs on the road. These numbers are great so let's jump into them a little deeper. Opponents put up pretty decent numbers against Deduno when it came to hitting against him in the past. From 2010 to 2012, opposing batters hit .248/.371/.399, which translates to a .769 OPS. He has actually been worse than that on the road this year. In eight games, the opposition has hit .262/.340/.383 including 14 extra-base hits. When Mr. Deduno gets on the mound at Target Field this year, he has limited the opposing team to a .212/.278/.293 batting line. While the above numbers have improved for Deduno at Target Field, opponents have also found it more difficult to make hard contact. At home, the opposition has a line drive percentage of 14.4% and that number goes up to 19.1% on the road. He is also getting more ground balls at home, as his ground ball percentage is 64.4% compared to 61.8% on the road. When Deduno is at Target Field, men reach base against him at a lower rate but he is also better at leaving them on base when they do reach. At home, he has posted an 80.4% left on base percentage. On the road, he has only been able to post a LOB% of 74.9%. Deduno's home numbers could look even better if he wouldn't have hit four men with pitches. In fact, he hit three men at Target Field in his second start of the season. If those hit bats men were taken out of the equation, Deduno would be even more impressive at home. Overall, Deduno has looked greatly improved in front of the hometown crowd but there are plenty of games left in the season. He has started four more games on the road than at home and this difference in sample size could play a role in the numbers described above. Most surprising might be the fact that Deduno has shown some semblance of being a quality addition to the Twins starting rotation. Not too bad for a guy that no teams wanted to claim when he was made available in the offseason.

Entrenched in the middle of another losing season, it can be tough to look at the Twins roster and find some positives. There are going to be disappointments but sometimes there can be good mixed in with all of the bad. Sam Deduno fits this mold. He was a surprise for the 2012 Twins team and this still didn't save his spot on the 40-man roster in the offseason. Every MLB team had a chance to claim him and no one took the opportunity to add him to their club. Deduno went back into the Twins minor league pool and a successful World Baseball Classic might have given him the confidence he needed to make some adjustments. It has been a new and improved Deduno in 2013. His career walk rate entering this season was 6.1 BB/9 and he has cut that number almost in half to 3.3 BB/9 this season. He averaged 1.2 HR/9 at the end of last year and he has reduced that number to 0.5 HR/9. With seven wins to his name, he already has a career high. Decreasing walks and keeping the ball in the park have helped to make Deduno a more effective pitcher. One of the things that might have helped Deduno the most could be his numbers while pitching in the friendly confines of Target Field. So far this season, his ERA at home (2.33) is more than 1.30 point lower than on the road (3.65) and his 0.963 WHIP at home is outstanding. He has given up one home run at Target Filed compared to three home runs on the road. These numbers are great so let's jump into them a little deeper. Opponents put up pretty decent numbers against Deduno when it came to hitting against him in the past. From 2010 to 2012, opposing batters hit .248/.371/.399, which translates to a .769 OPS. He has actually been worse than that on the road this year. In eight games, the opposition has hit .262/.340/.383 including 14 extra-base hits. When Mr. Deduno gets on the mound at Target Field this year, he has limited the opposing team to a .212/.278/.293 batting line. While the above numbers have improved for Deduno at Target Field, opponents have also found it more difficult to make hard contact. At home, the opposition has a line drive percentage of 14.4% and that number goes up to 19.1% on the road. He is also getting more ground balls at home, as his ground ball percentage is 64.4% compared to 61.8% on the road. When Deduno is at Target Field, men reach base against him at a lower rate but he is also better at leaving them on base when they do reach. At home, he has posted an 80.4% left on base percentage. On the road, he has only been able to post a LOB% of 74.9%. Deduno's home numbers could look even better if he wouldn't have hit four men with pitches. In fact, he hit three men at Target Field in his second start of the season. If those hit bats men were taken out of the equation, Deduno would be even more impressive at home. Overall, Deduno has looked greatly improved in front of the hometown crowd but there are plenty of games left in the season. He has started four more games on the road than at home and this difference in sample size could play a role in the numbers described above. Most surprising might be the fact that Deduno has shown some semblance of being a quality addition to the Twins starting rotation. Not too bad for a guy that no teams wanted to claim when he was made available in the offseason.

With the trade deadline coming and going, there could be some changes on the horizon with the Twins roster. These might not be immediate changes but the club is on the way to their third straight losing season and different players should be given an opportunity at the big league level. In the next couple of weeks, I will look at some of the names on the Triple-A roster that could earn a call-up before the end of the season. This series called "Waiting With the Wings" will profile multiple minor league players and the journey each of them has taken to get on the brink of making their big league debut. For some of these players, their path to this point has been full of plenty of ups and downs. That's one of the things that makes following the minor leagues so intriguing. There are only 25-men on a big league roster at any one given time and some men work their whole lives to get a taste of baseball's highest level. The first profile in the "Waitin' With the Wings" series is left-handed pitcher Andrew Albers. Player Profile Name: Andrew Albers Born: 10/06/1985 (27 years old) Acquired: Minor League Free Agent (2011) HT: 6'1"---WT: 195 2013 Stat Line: 11-4 record, 2.90 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 112 SO, 31 BB, 124.1 IP Andrew Albers was drafted in the 10th round of the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft from the University of Kentucky. The San Diego Padres signed Albers and sent him to pitch with their rookie league squad in Arizona. He pitched in five games with the club for a total of seven innings but something wasn't right with his elbow. Albers had to undergo Tommy John surgery in April 2009. On his way back to the mound, he required another surgery to clean up some scar tissue. He made it back to pitching to hitters in the spring of 2010 but he was released by the Padres organization before he could make it back into a game. The new path set out for his career would take him to independent baseball where he would pitch for Quebec in the Canadian-American Association. This was the same league where current Twins player Chris Colabello made his mark. Albers put up outstanding numbers over 40 games as he posted a 1.40 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He struck out 59 and walked 16 in 57.2 innings. He had made his own mark and he wanted to give affiliated baseball another chance. To secure a spot with a club for spring training, Albers drove from Canada to Phoenix and then to Florida just to find a team to play with. In 2011, the Twins started him in extended spring training but he was quickly moved to Fort Myers and he finished the year in New Britain. Over 95.2 innings, he posted an 8-2 record with a 2.16 ERA and 80 strikeouts compared to just 14 walks. He was only asked to start seven games in the entire season and the Twins decided to change that approach for the future. In 2012, the organization decided to shift Albers to the starting rotation on a full-time basis. This would be the first time since his Tommy John surgery where he would make more appearances as a starter than a relief pitcher. There were a few bumps along the way in his transition back to a starter. He would start 17 games at the Double-A level and he finished the year with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP in 103.0 innings. Some thought was given to sending him back to New Britain for the start of 2013 but he would get the opportunity at Rochester and he has made the most of it. Albers has been the most consistent starter on what has been and up and down Rochester pitching staff. He leads the team in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, and games started. His eleven wins make him the first Red Wings starter to reach that mark since Brian Duensing did it back in 2007. In his last ten starts, he has an 8-2 record with a 2.33 ERA and two complete game victories. There might not be much left for him to prove at the Triple-A level and the Twins might have to look at calling him up in the coming weeks if his performances continues at this level. One thing hindering an Albers call-up is the fact that he isn't currently on the 40-man roster. If the Twins trade someone before the deadline, this could open a spot for Albers. The team could also remove some of the players on the edge of the roster that would be considered for removal from the 40-man at the end of season. Albers should at least be worth a September call-up to see what the left-hander can do against big league hitters.

With the trade deadline coming and going, there could be some changes on the horizon with the Twins roster. These might not be immediate changes but the club is on the way to their third straight losing season and different players should be given an opportunity at the big league level. In the next couple of weeks, I will look at some of the names on the Triple-A roster that could earn a call-up before the end of the season. This series called "Waiting With the Wings" will profile multiple minor league players and the journey each of them has taken to get on the brink of making their big league debut. For some of these players, their path to this point has been full of plenty of ups and downs. That's one of the things that makes following the minor leagues so intriguing. There are only 25-men on a big league roster at any one given time and some men work their whole lives to get a taste of baseball's highest level. The first profile in the "Waitin' With the Wings" series is left-handed pitcher Andrew Albers. Player Profile Name: Andrew Albers Born: 10/06/1985 (27 years old) Acquired: Minor League Free Agent (2011) HT: 6'1"---WT: 195 2013 Stat Line: 11-4 record, 2.90 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 112 SO, 31 BB, 124.1 IP Andrew Albers was drafted in the 10th round of the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft from the University of Kentucky. The San Diego Padres signed Albers and sent him to pitch with their rookie league squad in Arizona. He pitched in five games with the club for a total of seven innings but something wasn't right with his elbow. Albers had to undergo Tommy John surgery in April 2009. On his way back to the mound, he required another surgery to clean up some scar tissue. He made it back to pitching to hitters in the spring of 2010 but he was released by the Padres organization before he could make it back into a game. The new path set out for his career would take him to independent baseball where he would pitch for Quebec in the Canadian-American Association. This was the same league where current Twins player Chris Colabello made his mark. Albers put up outstanding numbers over 40 games as he posted a 1.40 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He struck out 59 and walked 16 in 57.2 innings. He had made his own mark and he wanted to give affiliated baseball another chance. To secure a spot with a club for spring training, Albers drove from Canada to Phoenix and then to Florida just to find a team to play with. In 2011, the Twins started him in extended spring training but he was quickly moved to Fort Myers and he finished the year in New Britain. Over 95.2 innings, he posted an 8-2 record with a 2.16 ERA and 80 strikeouts compared to just 14 walks. He was only asked to start seven games in the entire season and the Twins decided to change that approach for the future. In 2012, the organization decided to shift Albers to the starting rotation on a full-time basis. This would be the first time since his Tommy John surgery where he would make more appearances as a starter than a relief pitcher. There were a few bumps along the way in his transition back to a starter. He would start 17 games at the Double-A level and he finished the year with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP in 103.0 innings. Some thought was given to sending him back to New Britain for the start of 2013 but he would get the opportunity at Rochester and he has made the most of it. Albers has been the most consistent starter on what has been and up and down Rochester pitching staff. He leads the team in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, and games started. His eleven wins make him the first Red Wings starter to reach that mark since Brian Duensing did it back in 2007. In his last ten starts, he has an 8-2 record with a 2.33 ERA and two complete game victories. There might not be much left for him to prove at the Triple-A level and the Twins might have to look at calling him up in the coming weeks if his performances continues at this level. One thing hindering an Albers call-up is the fact that he isn't currently on the 40-man roster. If the Twins trade someone before the deadline, this could open a spot for Albers. The team could also remove some of the players on the edge of the roster that would be considered for removal from the 40-man at the end of season. Albers should at least be worth a September call-up to see what the left-hander can do against big league hitters.

For the Minnesota Twins, the last handful of trade deadlines have been mostly uneventful. This seems out of character for a team that has posted one of baseball's worst records in the last few seasons. There are different ways for a team to rebuild and the Twins were very active during last offseason by dealing away Denard Span and Ben Revere. Minnesota doesn't necessarily need to move away pieces that will still be with the club in the offseason. That being said, it would make the most sense to say goodbye to Justin Morneau. His contract will be expiring at the end of the season and the Twins won't be in contention for the rest of the year. This would give him a chance to help out a contender and the club could go after him in free agency if they felt that was in their best interest. Here is a look back at the moves made during the last three trade deadlines. Even though there haven't been any major moves in the last couple of years, there has been an impact on the depth of the organization. There have been ripple effects from dealing away one of the team's best catching prospects and last year's duo of players have helped the current team. 2012 Headline: Liriano dealt to White Sox for pair of players The potential was always there with Francisco Liriano but the on-field results were spotty. Since his contract was expiring at the end of the year, it made sense for the Twins to deal him. Many fans thought the Twins should be able to get more for Liriano. Instead the club got back infielder Eduardo Escobar and pitcher Pedro Hernandez. Liriano went 3-2 with the White Sox and he posted a 5.40 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP over 11 starts. According to Baseball Reference, his time in Chicago was good enough for a 0.3 WAR. Escobar has played 69 games over the last two seasons with the Twins. He has hit .217/.268/.303 with three home runs, two doubles, and two triples. He got plenty of playing time at the beginning of the year when the Twins were still trying to figure out their middle infield situation. He has been worth 0.3 WAR for the Twins. Henandez has started seven games and pitched in nine games for Minnesota. He has a 3-1 record with a 5.54 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. He has added some depth to the minor league pitching staff but he probably won't have a long-term impact on the big league club. 2011 Headline: To trade or not to trade, that is the question. There were expiring contracts like Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel on the 2011 squad but the team still wasn't able to make any moves before the deadline. After a brutal April and May, the Twins posted records above .500 in June and July. This might have given the front office a false sense of hope. Minnesota was only seven games under .500 in the first half of the year. At the end of July, the club had a 50-58 record and they were only seven games out of first place in the AL Central. Unfortunately, the second half of the season would be dreadful. Fans were forced to have faith that the club would climb back into the race. This would never happen and Cuddyer and Kubel would leave the team in the offseason. There might not have been deals on the table for these corner outfielders and it is hard to know what goes on in the general manager's office. Still, it looked silly to have veteran players with expiring contracts on a club that was headed very close to a 100-loss season. 2010 Headline: Capps acquired for stretch run In one of the most scrutinized deals in Twins history, Matt Capps was acquired from the Washington Nationals for prized catching prospect Wilson Ramos. The Twins were in the middle of another tight division race and the back end of the bullpen might have needed a little boost. Joe Nathan had suffered an elbow injury in spring training and the club had used Jon Rauch as closer for most of the first half. Adding Capps to the mix only strengthened the bullpen and he could have been a key piece if the club had gone on a lengthy run in October. As fans know, this didn't happen but the deal could have looked better with Capps closing out some games in the ALDS, ALCS, and even the World Series. The cost for Capps was a steep one. Wilson Ramos was working his way toward the big leagues and he had even had an impressive debut in Minnesota. The Twins already had Joe Mauer entrenched behind the plate so keeping Ramos around wasn't a necessity. Since joining the Nationals, there have been some injury concerns as he only played 25 games last season and a little over 30 games in 2013. He continues to hit for power and he has posted a career .271/.334/.447 batting line in the National League. Ramos hasn't turned into the next Johnny Bench and that might be a good thing for Twins fans.

For the Minnesota Twins, the last handful of trade deadlines have been mostly uneventful. This seems out of character for a team that has posted one of baseball's worst records in the last few seasons. There are different ways for a team to rebuild and the Twins were very active during last offseason by dealing away Denard Span and Ben Revere. Minnesota doesn't necessarily need to move away pieces that will still be with the club in the offseason. That being said, it would make the most sense to say goodbye to Justin Morneau. His contract will be expiring at the end of the season and the Twins won't be in contention for the rest of the year. This would give him a chance to help out a contender and the club could go after him in free agency if they felt that was in their best interest. Here is a look back at the moves made during the last three trade deadlines. Even though there haven't been any major moves in the last couple of years, there has been an impact on the depth of the organization. There have been ripple effects from dealing away one of the team's best catching prospects and last year's duo of players have helped the current team. 2012 Headline: Liriano dealt to White Sox for pair of players The potential was always there with Francisco Liriano but the on-field results were spotty. Since his contract was expiring at the end of the year, it made sense for the Twins to deal him. Many fans thought the Twins should be able to get more for Liriano. Instead the club got back infielder Eduardo Escobar and pitcher Pedro Hernandez. Liriano went 3-2 with the White Sox and he posted a 5.40 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP over 11 starts. According to Baseball Reference, his time in Chicago was good enough for a 0.3 WAR. Escobar has played 69 games over the last two seasons with the Twins. He has hit .217/.268/.303 with three home runs, two doubles, and two triples. He got plenty of playing time at the beginning of the year when the Twins were still trying to figure out their middle infield situation. He has been worth 0.3 WAR for the Twins. Henandez has started seven games and pitched in nine games for Minnesota. He has a 3-1 record with a 5.54 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. He has added some depth to the minor league pitching staff but he probably won't have a long-term impact on the big league club. 2011 Headline: To trade or not to trade, that is the question. There were expiring contracts like Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel on the 2011 squad but the team still wasn't able to make any moves before the deadline. After a brutal April and May, the Twins posted records above .500 in June and July. This might have given the front office a false sense of hope. Minnesota was only seven games under .500 in the first half of the year. At the end of July, the club had a 50-58 record and they were only seven games out of first place in the AL Central. Unfortunately, the second half of the season would be dreadful. Fans were forced to have faith that the club would climb back into the race. This would never happen and Cuddyer and Kubel would leave the team in the offseason. There might not have been deals on the table for these corner outfielders and it is hard to know what goes on in the general manager's office. Still, it looked silly to have veteran players with expiring contracts on a club that was headed very close to a 100-loss season. 2010 Headline: Capps acquired for stretch run In one of the most scrutinized deals in Twins history, Matt Capps was acquired from the Washington Nationals for prized catching prospect Wilson Ramos. The Twins were in the middle of another tight division race and the back end of the bullpen might have needed a little boost. Joe Nathan had suffered an elbow injury in spring training and the club had used Jon Rauch as closer for most of the first half. Adding Capps to the mix only strengthened the bullpen and he could have been a key piece if the club had gone on a lengthy run in October. As fans know, this didn't happen but the deal could have looked better with Capps closing out some games in the ALDS, ALCS, and even the World Series. The cost for Capps was a steep one. Wilson Ramos was working his way toward the big leagues and he had even had an impressive debut in Minnesota. The Twins already had Joe Mauer entrenched behind the plate so keeping Ramos around wasn't a necessity. Since joining the Nationals, there have been some injury concerns as he only played 25 games last season and a little over 30 games in 2013. He continues to hit for power and he has posted a career .271/.334/.447 batting line in the National League. Ramos hasn't turned into the next Johnny Bench and that might be a good thing for Twins fans.

The non-waiver trade deadline is closing in quickly and it is still tough to know what the Twins will do in the coming hours. Is Justin Morneau's Twins career over? Will Glen Perkins still be the guy at the back end of the bullpen? Can the Twins afford to part with Kevin Correia or Mike Pelfrey? There could be a lot of deals in the next couple days or there could be nothing but the sounds of crickets. During the offseason, the Twins made a lot of noise by dealing two of their starting centerfielders, Denard Span and Ben Revere. Minnesota wanted to bolster their pitching depth and shopping their team controlled outfielders seemed to bring back the biggest return. From a drafting and scouting perspective, the Twins were taking a different approach to their pitchers and this deal was supposed to be a step in the right direction. For those that don't remember, here's a timeline of the events that lead to both players being traded. The Nationals had been trying to work out a deal to acquire Span for multiple seasons. His concussion issues in 2011 might have held up a deal. On November 29th, the time was right and he was sent to Washington for former first round pick Alex Meyer. A hard throwing right-handed pitcher, Meyer looked to have the potential of a future top of the rotation starter. Within the next week, Terry Ryan went into Dave St. Peter's office and said there might be a chance to move Ben Revere. The Phillies had been interested in the newly named starting center fielder for the Twins. It turned out to be a deal the Twins couldn't refuse. Revere headed to Philadelphia and in return Vance Worley and Trevor May headed back to Minnesota. Worley was a young pitcher with some big league experience and May was a hard throwing minor league pitcher with some up side. Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com All MLB teams have played over 100 games, which means their schedule is close to 65% complete. Let's look back at the parties involved in these offseason deals and see what the outcomes have been. Denard Span, CF - Washington Nationals MLB Stat Summary (99 Games): .266/.319/.370, 2 HR, 21 2B, 7 3B, 10 SB, 0.9 WAR Things haven't gotten off to a great start for Span in Washington DC. He is a career .282 hitter with a .352 OBP but he has struggled to reach those marks this season. The Nationals have even moved him out of the leadoff spot in their batting order because their team needed some kind of spark. Entering this past weekend, Span had yet to hit a home run in a Nationals uniform. He has now hit long balls in back-to-back games and maybe he can get things going on the offensive side of the ball. Overall, the transition to the National League has been a little rough and the Nats had to have been hoping for more from Span. Ben Revere, CF - Philadelphia Phillies MLB Stat Summary (88 Games): .305/.338/.352, 9 2B, 3 3B, 22 SB, 0.7 WAR Revere is currently on the disabled list after he broke his right foot from a foul ball. This was terrible news for the Phillies since Revere was in the midst of quite the hot streak at the plate. Over his last 15 games before the injury, Revere was hitting .431/.438/.538 with six extra-base hits. He was also in the middle of a 10-game hitting streak. It was looking like the Phillies were getting some of the best baseball out of Revere and now he will be on the bench for 6-8 weeks. Vance Worley, RHP - Minnesota Twins/Rochester Red Wings MLB Stat Summary (10 Games): 1-5 record, 7.21 ERA, 48.2 IP, 25 SO, 15 BB, 1.99 WHIP MiLB Stat Summary (9 Games): 6-3 record, 3.88 ERA, 58.0 IP, 34 SO, 17 BB, 1.41 WHIP Worley was suppose to be able to stick in the Twins rotation for a couple seasons while some of the younger pitching prospects made their way to the big leagues. This didn't work out the greatest as he struggled mightily with the transition from the National League to the American League. Things have gone better for him in Rochester but this should be expected from someone with over 300 MLB innings. There may be a chance in the second half for Worley to get back to the big leagues but he has been the biggest disappointment out of all of the trade pieces. Alex Meyer, RHP - New Britain Rock Cats MiLB Stat Summary (11 Games): 3-3 record, 3.69 ERA, 61.0 IP, 73 SO, 27 BB, 1.31 WHIP Meyer was off to a decent start to the year but a shoulder injury has held him off the field since June 1st. The Twins are being extra careful with Meyer since he could be a valuable part of the team's future. In many of the mid-season prospect ranking that have been released, Meyer has consistently been in the top-100 for all of baseball. A couple of weeks ago, it sounded like Meyer was getting close to being back on the mound. The minor league season ends in early September and the Twins are hopeful that Meyer will be able to get some more innings under his belt before that time. Trevor May, RHP - New Britain Rock Cats MiLB Stat Summary (20 Games): 6-7 record, 4.07 ERA, 112.2 IP, 113 SO, 50 BB, 1.40 WHIP May has been as advertised from his time in the Phillies organization. There are going to be some strikeouts from this power-throwing right-hander but there is also some control problems. He is averaging 2.5 walks per start and this translates to 4.0 BB/9. That total would match a minor league low for May so he is making strides in the right direction. He has also stayed healthy and on the field and this can hold value to an organization. It will be interesting to see how many innings the Twins let May pitch before the end of the year. The last two years he has been around 150 IP.

The non-waiver trade deadline is closing in quickly and it is still tough to know what the Twins will do in the coming hours. Is Justin Morneau's Twins career over? Will Glen Perkins still be the guy at the back end of the bullpen? Can the Twins afford to part with Kevin Correia or Mike Pelfrey? There could be a lot of deals in the next couple days or there could be nothing but the sounds of crickets. During the offseason, the Twins made a lot of noise by dealing two of their starting centerfielders, Denard Span and Ben Revere. Minnesota wanted to bolster their pitching depth and shopping their team controlled outfielders seemed to bring back the biggest return. From a drafting and scouting perspective, the Twins were taking a different approach to their pitchers and this deal was supposed to be a step in the right direction. For those that don't remember, here's a timeline of the events that lead to both players being traded. The Nationals had been trying to work out a deal to acquire Span for multiple seasons. His concussion issues in 2011 might have held up a deal. On November 29th, the time was right and he was sent to Washington for former first round pick Alex Meyer. A hard throwing right-handed pitcher, Meyer looked to have the potential of a future top of the rotation starter. Within the next week, Terry Ryan went into Dave St. Peter's office and said there might be a chance to move Ben Revere. The Phillies had been interested in the newly named starting center fielder for the Twins. It turned out to be a deal the Twins couldn't refuse. Revere headed to Philadelphia and in return Vance Worley and Trevor May headed back to Minnesota. Worley was a young pitcher with some big league experience and May was a hard throwing minor league pitcher with some up side. Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com All MLB teams have played over 100 games, which means their schedule is close to 65% complete. Let's look back at the parties involved in these offseason deals and see what the outcomes have been. Denard Span, CF - Washington Nationals MLB Stat Summary (99 Games): .266/.319/.370, 2 HR, 21 2B, 7 3B, 10 SB, 0.9 WAR Things haven't gotten off to a great start for Span in Washington DC. He is a career .282 hitter with a .352 OBP but he has struggled to reach those marks this season. The Nationals have even moved him out of the leadoff spot in their batting order because their team needed some kind of spark. Entering this past weekend, Span had yet to hit a home run in a Nationals uniform. He has now hit long balls in back-to-back games and maybe he can get things going on the offensive side of the ball. Overall, the transition to the National League has been a little rough and the Nats had to have been hoping for more from Span. Ben Revere, CF - Philadelphia Phillies MLB Stat Summary (88 Games): .305/.338/.352, 9 2B, 3 3B, 22 SB, 0.7 WAR Revere is currently on the disabled list after he broke his right foot from a foul ball. This was terrible news for the Phillies since Revere was in the midst of quite the hot streak at the plate. Over his last 15 games before the injury, Revere was hitting .431/.438/.538 with six extra-base hits. He was also in the middle of a 10-game hitting streak. It was looking like the Phillies were getting some of the best baseball out of Revere and now he will be on the bench for 6-8 weeks. Vance Worley, RHP - Minnesota Twins/Rochester Red Wings MLB Stat Summary (10 Games): 1-5 record, 7.21 ERA, 48.2 IP, 25 SO, 15 BB, 1.99 WHIP MiLB Stat Summary (9 Games): 6-3 record, 3.88 ERA, 58.0 IP, 34 SO, 17 BB, 1.41 WHIP Worley was suppose to be able to stick in the Twins rotation for a couple seasons while some of the younger pitching prospects made their way to the big leagues. This didn't work out the greatest as he struggled mightily with the transition from the National League to the American League. Things have gone better for him in Rochester but this should be expected from someone with over 300 MLB innings. There may be a chance in the second half for Worley to get back to the big leagues but he has been the biggest disappointment out of all of the trade pieces. Alex Meyer, RHP - New Britain Rock Cats MiLB Stat Summary (11 Games): 3-3 record, 3.69 ERA, 61.0 IP, 73 SO, 27 BB, 1.31 WHIP Meyer was off to a decent start to the year but a shoulder injury has held him off the field since June 1st. The Twins are being extra careful with Meyer since he could be a valuable part of the team's future. In many of the mid-season prospect ranking that have been released, Meyer has consistently been in the top-100 for all of baseball. A couple of weeks ago, it sounded like Meyer was getting close to being back on the mound. The minor league season ends in early September and the Twins are hopeful that Meyer will be able to get some more innings under his belt before that time. Trevor May, RHP - New Britain Rock Cats MiLB Stat Summary (20 Games): 6-7 record, 4.07 ERA, 112.2 IP, 113 SO, 50 BB, 1.40 WHIP May has been as advertised from his time in the Phillies organization. There are going to be some strikeouts from this power-throwing right-hander but there is also some control problems. He is averaging 2.5 walks per start and this translates to 4.0 BB/9. That total would match a minor league low for May so he is making strides in the right direction. He has also stayed healthy and on the field and this can hold value to an organization. It will be interesting to see how many innings the Twins let May pitch before the end of the year. The last two years he has been around 150 IP.

The story of Miguel Sano's benching after a slow home run trot has certainly taken on a life of it's own. There have been multiple websites and media outlets that have picked up the tale. He wouldn't play again on Friday and it will be interesting to see when he gets back on the field. He can be a difference maker to the Rock Cats offense and the team wants to try and get back to the .500 mark. Sano can help to make that happen. Sano might be getting a lot of the attention for the Twins farm system but the guys actually on the field need some support as well. There were some great performances through multiple levels of the farm system on Friday night. It all starts in Triple-A with the man on the mound... Rochester Red Wings 5, Norfolk Tides 2 Box Score For the second time in his career, Andrew Albers tossed a complete game shutout and it helped propel the Red Wings into sole possession of the Wild Card lead. Before a leadoff homer by Luis Exposito in the 7th inning, Albers had stretched his scoreless streak to 13.1 innings and his earned run-less streak to 18.1 innings. He is the first Red Wings starter to win 11 games since Brian Duensing in 2007. Oswaldo Arcia continued his hot hitting since being sent down. He hit his third home run in eight games and he has hit safely in seven of those contests. He finished the night 2-for-4 and he is batting .478 (11-23) with three home runs, two doubles, and six RBI since his demotion. Deibinson Romero was in the middle of quite the run at the plate as well. He reached base safely in eight straight at-bats until a flyout in his last at-bat on Friday. During that streak, he went 5-for-5 with a home run, a double, and three walks. He was 3-for-4 on Friday with three singles. New Britain Rock Cats 2, Reading Fightin' Phillies 7 Box Score The Rock Cats out hit the Phillies on this night but a victory was still well out of reach. New Britain left nine men on base and the team went 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position. The Phillies were also able to pound out three home runs against the Rock Cats pitching staff while New Britain only had one extra base hit. Miguel Sano was out of the line-up again after he "pimped" a home run earlier this week. This left the offense in the hands of the other men on the team. Danny Santana collected his sixth triple of the season. Eddie Rosario and Adam Pettersen each had two hits. Pat Dean took the loss in this game after throwing seven innings and giving up four runs. He struck out eight and walked one but he did give up two home runs. It was the third straight loss for Dean but it was the first time he has pitched more than four innings in his last three starts. Fort Myers Miracle 7, Clearwater Threshers 3 Box Score Byron Buxton showed why he considered by many to be the best prospect in baseball. He belted two triples on the way to 2-for-3 night at the plate. He scored a run and drove in two runners. Anderlin Mejia also helped out the offense and extended his hitting streak to 14-games. The bottom three in the Miracle batting order provided some offensive punch. J.D. Williams, Andy Leer, and Levi Michael each had a double and a run batted in. Jason Wheeler picked up his eighth win of the season by tossing five innings and allowing three runs on seven hits. Wheeler got into a little trouble in the sixth as he hit a batter and gave up three straight hits. The Threshers scored two runs and the bullpen took over from there. Nelvin Fuentes and Tyler Jones pitched four shutout innings to close the door on another Miracle victory. Cedar Rapids Kernels 6, Peoria Chiefs 2 Box Score The Kernels used a six-run seventh inning to slip past the Chiefs on Wednesday night. It took awhile for the offense to wake up as the club had one hit through six frames. Niko Goodrum and Jorge Polanco led off the inning with back-to-back doubles. Adam Walker hit a sac fly to tie the game. Eventually, Joel Licon hit a two-out double to plate two more runs. Jonathan Murphy would cap the big inning with a two-run single. Kernels starter Brett Lee went five innings and allowed one earned run on six hits. He walked one and struck out four. Tim Shibuya earned the victory in relief by throwing two innings and giving up one hit with three strikeouts. It was the first victory of the year for Shibuya since he moved up from Elizabethton. David Hurlbut pitched two hitless innings to end the game. Elizabethton Twins 1, Johnson City 3 Box Score Hein Robb did his best to keep the E-Twins in this game but the offense wasn't there to back him up. He pitched into the eighth inning for the first time all season by scattering eight hits and three earned runs. He struck out eight batters and walked one but two home runs were tough to overcome. Andre Martinez recored the other two outs of the game on strikeouts. The E-Twins were held to five hits and the team struck out nine times. Rory Rhodes led the offense with a 2-for-4 night after being held hitless in his last four games. Stuart Turner, Romy Jimenez, and Tanner Vavra added the other hits of the game but they were all singles. Six runners were left on base and the team only batted with a runner in scoring position four times. GCL Twins 3, GCL Red Sox 7 Box Score Jonathan Hinojosa was the lone member of the Twins to collect two hits in this game. He went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Engelb Vielma scored two runs out of the leadoff spot. Alex Swim and Joel Polanco each added their fourth doubles of the season. Plenty of pitchers saw action in this game. Leonel Zazueta started and went three innings by allowing one run on three hits. Luke Bard pitched in relief and he was only asked to get the first two outs of the fourth inning. Brandon Easton took his third loss of the season by giving up four runs on five hits in a little over an inning of work. Fernando Romero had some control issues as he walked four men over 2.2 innings.

The story of Miguel Sano's benching after a slow home run trot has certainly taken on a life of it's own. There have been multiple websites and media outlets that have picked up the tale. He wouldn't play again on Friday and it will be interesting to see when he gets back on the field. He can be a difference maker to the Rock Cats offense and the team wants to try and get back to the .500 mark. Sano can help to make that happen. Sano might be getting a lot of the attention for the Twins farm system but the guys actually on the field need some support as well. There were some great performances through multiple levels of the farm system on Friday night. It all starts in Triple-A with the man on the mound... Rochester Red Wings 5, Norfolk Tides 2 Box Score For the second time in his career, Andrew Albers tossed a complete game shutout and it helped propel the Red Wings into sole possession of the Wild Card lead. Before a leadoff homer by Luis Exposito in the 7th inning, Albers had stretched his scoreless streak to 13.1 innings and his earned run-less streak to 18.1 innings. He is the first Red Wings starter to win 11 games since Brian Duensing in 2007. Oswaldo Arcia continued his hot hitting since being sent down. He hit his third home run in eight games and he has hit safely in seven of those contests. He finished the night 2-for-4 and he is batting .478 (11-23) with three home runs, two doubles, and six RBI since his demotion. Deibinson Romero was in the middle of quite the run at the plate as well. He reached base safely in eight straight at-bats until a flyout in his last at-bat on Friday. During that streak, he went 5-for-5 with a home run, a double, and three walks. He was 3-for-4 on Friday with three singles. New Britain Rock Cats 2, Reading Fightin' Phillies 7 Box Score The Rock Cats out hit the Phillies on this night but a victory was still well out of reach. New Britain left nine men on base and the team went 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position. The Phillies were also able to pound out three home runs against the Rock Cats pitching staff while New Britain only had one extra base hit. Miguel Sano was out of the line-up again after he "pimped" a home run earlier this week. This left the offense in the hands of the other men on the team. Danny Santana collected his sixth triple of the season. Eddie Rosario and Adam Pettersen each had two hits. Pat Dean took the loss in this game after throwing seven innings and giving up four runs. He struck out eight and walked one but he did give up two home runs. It was the third straight loss for Dean but it was the first time he has pitched more than four innings in his last three starts. Fort Myers Miracle 7, Clearwater Threshers 3 Box Score Byron Buxton showed why he considered by many to be the best prospect in baseball. He belted two triples on the way to 2-for-3 night at the plate. He scored a run and drove in two runners. Anderlin Mejia also helped out the offense and extended his hitting streak to 14-games. The bottom three in the Miracle batting order provided some offensive punch. J.D. Williams, Andy Leer, and Levi Michael each had a double and a run batted in. Jason Wheeler picked up his eighth win of the season by tossing five innings and allowing three runs on seven hits. Wheeler got into a little trouble in the sixth as he hit a batter and gave up three straight hits. The Threshers scored two runs and the bullpen took over from there. Nelvin Fuentes and Tyler Jones pitched four shutout innings to close the door on another Miracle victory. Cedar Rapids Kernels 6, Peoria Chiefs 2 Box Score The Kernels used a six-run seventh inning to slip past the Chiefs on Wednesday night. It took awhile for the offense to wake up as the club had one hit through six frames. Niko Goodrum and Jorge Polanco led off the inning with back-to-back doubles. Adam Walker hit a sac fly to tie the game. Eventually, Joel Licon hit a two-out double to plate two more runs. Jonathan Murphy would cap the big inning with a two-run single. Kernels starter Brett Lee went five innings and allowed one earned run on six hits. He walked one and struck out four. Tim Shibuya earned the victory in relief by throwing two innings and giving up one hit with three strikeouts. It was the first victory of the year for Shibuya since he moved up from Elizabethton. David Hurlbut pitched two hitless innings to end the game. Elizabethton Twins 1, Johnson City 3 Box Score Hein Robb did his best to keep the E-Twins in this game but the offense wasn't there to back him up. He pitched into the eighth inning for the first time all season by scattering eight hits and three earned runs. He struck out eight batters and walked one but two home runs were tough to overcome. Andre Martinez recored the other two outs of the game on strikeouts. The E-Twins were held to five hits and the team struck out nine times. Rory Rhodes led the offense with a 2-for-4 night after being held hitless in his last four games. Stuart Turner, Romy Jimenez, and Tanner Vavra added the other hits of the game but they were all singles. Six runners were left on base and the team only batted with a runner in scoring position four times. GCL Twins 3, GCL Red Sox 7 Box Score Jonathan Hinojosa was the lone member of the Twins to collect two hits in this game. He went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Engelb Vielma scored two runs out of the leadoff spot. Alex Swim and Joel Polanco each added their fourth doubles of the season. Plenty of pitchers saw action in this game. Leonel Zazueta started and went three innings by allowing one run on three hits. Luke Bard pitched in relief and he was only asked to get the first two outs of the fourth inning. Brandon Easton took his third loss of the season by giving up four runs on five hits in a little over an inning of work. Fernando Romero had some control issues as he walked four men over 2.2 innings.

Since the Twins were playing on the West Coast, their afternoon game with the Angels went into the early evening in the Central time zone. Minnesota won the first two games of the series before things got a little dicey on Wednesday. Jared Weaver was excellent on the mound but [URL="http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/24/isnt-this-why-we-have-an-infield-fly-rule/"]a bad infield fly call might have cost the Twins a chance to sweep the Angels[/URL]. [URL="http://www.nodaktwinsfan.com/2013/07/joe-mauer-welcomes-twin-girls.html"]With Joe Mauer on paternity leave for three days[/URL], Drew Butera was called up from Rochester. He has spent the entire season at Rochester where he is hitting .215/.247/.316 in 86 plate appearances. For a 29-year old with close to 500 MLB at-bats, these totals aren't very good. To take the place of Butera on Rochester's roster, Jario Rodriguez was moved up from Cedar Rapids. There were plenty of sights and sounds on Wednesday so let's go down on the pond for all the action.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] [B]Rochester Red Wings 6, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 2[/B] [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2013_07_24_lhvaaa_rocaaa_1&t=g_box&sid=milb"][B]Box Score[/B][/URL] A wild bottom of the eighth inning helped Rochester separate themselves from the IronPigs. Three passed balls and one wild pitch resulted in five runs. July has been a very good month for the Red Wings: they are 14-7 since the calendar turned from June. The club is also a season high four games over the .500 mark. One of the hottest relief pitchers in the Twins system has been Edgar Ibarra. In his last 22 innings between New Britain and Rochester, he has not allowed an earned run. The last earned run he allowed was back on May 21st at the Double-A level. He was credited with his first Triple-A victory in this game, recording the last five outs. PJ Walters went 7.1 innings and allowed two runs on six hits with six strikeouts. Chris Parmelee hit his first home run since being sent back to Rochester. Oswaldo Arcia also helped the offense by going 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI. The Red Wings managed only four hits but all the wild pitching from the IronPigs bullpen helped the team finish on the right side. [B]New Britain Rock Cats 1, Portland Sea Dogs 3[/B] [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2013_07_24_prtaax_nbraax_1&t=g_box&sid=milb"][B]Box Score[/B][/URL] For the first time in three days, Miguel Sano didn't hit a home run. He didn't get the opportunity to hit as he was out of the line-up for the first time since he left the team for the MLB Futures Game. With their power-hitting third baseman out of the line-up, New Britain had a tough time getting the offense off the ground. Josmil Pinto continued his tremendous season with another multi-hit game. He provided the most offensive punch by going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Daniel Ortiz and Pinto are tied for the team lead with 23 doubles. Danny Santana went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. On the mound, New Britain needed only one pitcher for the entire game. Virgil Vasquez threw all nine innings while giving up three runs on seven hits. He struck out eight and walked one. It was his second complete game since joining the Rock Cats, both of them have coming against the Sea Dogs. [B]Fort Myers Miracle 3, Brevard County Manatees 2 (11 innings)[/B] [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2013_07_24_ftmafa_breafa_1&t=g_box&sid=milb"][B]Box Score[/B][/URL] It took a couple big hits from Kennys Vargas and Mike Kvasnicka to help the Miracle stage a late inning comeback. In the ninth inning, with the Miracle down a run, Vargas launched his 15th home run of the season to tie the game. Kvasnicka then roped an RBI single in the top of the 11th inning to plate the winning run. It was his third hit of the night. Adrian Salcedo picked up his fifth win of the season in relief. He had to pitch around an error in the 11th inning. He threw both extra innings without allowing a hit or a run. Matt Tomshaw had a good start for the Miracle as he tossed seven innings of two-run ball. He struck out six and walked one but he didn't figure in the decision. Byron Buxton went 2-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts. Buxton was matched in the hits department by Aderlin Mejia. The shortstop finished the night 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored. Dalton Hicks had his first double at the High-A level and his 32nd(!) double for the season. [B]Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Peoria Chiefs 8 (10 Innings)[/B] [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2013_07_24_peoafx_cedafx_1&t=g_box&sid=milb"][B]Box Score[/B][/URL] Christian Powell ran into some rough moments in the early going. All nine Chiefs batters came to the plate in the first inning but he was able to limit the damage to three runs. The first inning was a harbinger of a rough night, though: he was pulled after 4.2 innings, having given up five runs on eight hits and five walks. Adam Walker continued his hot hitting as he had three hits for the second consecutive night. He is in the midst of a six game hitting streak and he is batting .340 in his last 10 games. Mike Gonzales hit his first home run for the Kernels and he is 5-for-12 since joining the team. Jorge Polanco had multiple hits for the third straight game including his 25th double. [B]Elizabethton Twins 2, Kingsport Mets 3[/B] [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2013_07_24_elirok_kptrok_1&t=g_box&sid=milb"][B]Box Score[/B][/URL] The E-Twins came back to tie the game in the top of the ninth, but the Mets found a way to push across a walk-off run in the bottom half of the frame. Mitch Garver had two hits including his 2nd home run of the season. It was the only extra-base hit for the Twins. Stuart Turner and Carlos Avila each had two hits. Josh Burris pitched 2.2 innings as the starter but there were control issues. He gave up six walks while limiting the Mets to three hits and one earned run. Brandon Bixler threw the most frames as he went 3.1 innings and didn't allow a run. Ethan Mildren got into trouble in the bottom of the ninth and was given his first professional loss. [B]GCL Twins 3, GCL Orioles 1[/B] [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2013_07_24_twirok_orirok_1&t=g_box&sid=milb"][B]Box Score[/B][/URL] The GCL Twins used a balanced offensive approach to win a close game with the GCL Orioles. Six of the nine starters for the Twins ended the game with a hit. Joel Polanco knocked in a run with his third double of the year. Jorge Fernandez hit a solo home run in the 7th inning. Overall, the team went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position; there were missed opportunities. Adonis Pacheco had an outfield assist, throwing out a runner at second. The pitching staff for the GCL Twins didn't allow an earned run. Sam Gibbons started the game and pitched four strong innings. He limited the Orioles to two hits and one unearned run. There were some control problems as he walked four and had a wild pitch. Lewis Thorpe earned his first professional win by throwing two shutout innings and striking out three. View full article

Since the Twins were playing on the West Coast, their afternoon game with the Angels went into the early evening in the Central time zone. Minnesota won the first two games of the series before things got a little dicey on Wednesday. Jared Weaver looked excellent on the mound but a bad infield fly call might have cost the Twins a chance to sweep the Angels. With Joe Mauer on paternity leave for three days, Drew Butera was called up from Rochester. He has spent the entire season at Rochester where he is hitting .215/.247/.316 in 86 plate appearances. For a 29-year old with close to 500 MLB at-bats, these totals aren't very good. To take the place of Butera on Rochester's roster, Jario Rodriguez was moved up from Cedar Rapids. There were plenty of sights and sounds on Wednesday so let's go down on the pond for all of the action. Rochester Red Wings 6, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 2 Box Score A wild bottom of the eighth inning helped Rochester to separate themselves from the IronPigs. Three passed balls and one wild pitch resulted in five runs. July has been a very good month for the Red Wings as they are 14-7 since the calendar turned from June. The club is also a season high four games over the .500 mark. One of the hottest relief pitchers in the Twins system has been Edgar Ibarra. In his last 22 innings between New Britain and Rochester, he has not allowed an earned run. The last earned run he allowed was back on May 21st at the Double-A level. He was credited with his first Triple-A victory in this game after recording the last five outs. PJ Walters went 7.1 innings and allowed two runs on six hits with six strikeouts. Chris Parmelee hit his first home run since being sent back to Rochester. Oswaldo Arcia also helped the offense by going 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI. The Red Wings only managed four hits but all of the wild pitching from the IronPigs bullpen helped the team to come out on the right side of this game. New Britain Rock Cats 1, Portland Sea Dogs 3 Box Score For the first time in three days, Miguel Sano didn't hit a home run for the Rock Cats. He didn't really get the opportunity to hit as he was out of the line-up for the first time since he left the team for the MLB Futures Game. With their power hitting third baseman out of the line-up, New Britain had a tough time getting the offense off the ground. Josmil Pinto continued his tremendous season with another multi-hit game. He provided the most offensive punch in the line-up by going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Daniel Ortiz and Pinto are tied for the team lead with 23 doubles. Danny Santana went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. On the mound, New Britain only needed one pitcher for the entire game. Virgil Vasquez threw all nine innings while giving up three runs on seven hits. He struck out eight and only walked one. It was his second complete game since joining the Rock Cats and both of them have come against the Sea Dogs. Fort Myers Miracle 3, Brevard County Manatees 2 (11 innings) Box Score It took a couple of big hits from Kennys Vargas and Mike Kvasnicka to help the Miracle to stage a late inning comeback. In the ninth inning with the Miracle down a run, Vargas launched his 15th home run of the season to tie the game. Kvasnicka would rope an RBI single in the top of the 11th inning to plate the winning run. It was his third hit of the night. Adrian Salcedo picked up his fifth win of the season in relief. He had to pitch around an error in the 11th inning. Overall, he threw both extra innings without allowing a hit or a run. Matt Tomshaw had a good start for the Miracle as he tossed seven innings of two-run ball. He struck out six and walked one but he wouldn't figure into the decision. Byron Buxton went 2-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts. Buxton was matched in the hits department by Aderlin Mejia. He finished the night 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored. Dalton Hicks had his first double at the High-A level and his 32nd double for the season. Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Peoria Chiefs 8 (10 Innings) Box Score Christian Powell ran into some rough moments in the early going of this game. All nine Chiefs batters came to the plate in the first inning but he was able to limit the damage to three runs. He wouldn't make it too deep into the game on the mound. He was pulled after 4.2 innings and giving up five runs on eight hits. His five walks really hurt him. Adam Walker continued his hot hitting as he had three hits for the second consecutive night. He is in the midst of a six game hitting streak and he is batting .340 in his last 10 games. Mike Gonzales hit his first home run for the Kernels and he is 5-for-12 since joining the team. Jorge Polanco had multiple hits for the third straight game including his 25th double. Elizabethton Twins 2, Kingsport Mets 3 Box Score The E-Twins did their best to come back and tie the game in the top of the ninth inning but the Mets found a way to push across a walk-off run in the bottom half of the frame. Mitch Garver had two hits including his 2nd home run of the season. It was the only extra-base hit for the Twins. Stuart Turner and Carlos Avila each had two hits. Josh Burris pitched 2.2 innings as the starter but there were some control issues. He allowed six walks while he did limit the Mets to three hits and one earned run. Brandon Bixler threw the most frames as he went 3.1 innings and didn't allow a run. Ethan Mildren got into trouble in the bottom of the ninth and he given his first professional loss. GCL Twins 3, GCL Orioles 1 Box Score The GCL Twins used a balanced offensive approach to win a close game with the GCL Orioles. Six of the nine starters for the Twins ended the game with a hit. Joel Polanco knocked in a run with his third double of the year. Jorge Fernandez hit a solo home run in the 7th inning. Overall, the team went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position so there were some opportunities that were missed. The pitching staff for the GCL Twins didn't allow an earned run. Sam Gibbons started the game and pitched four strong innings. He limited the Orioles to two hits and one unearned run. There were some control problems as he walked four men and had a wild pitch. Lewis Thorpe earned his first professional win by throwing two shutout innings and striking out three men.

Since the Twins were playing on the West Coast, their afternoon game with the Angels went into the early evening in the Central time zone. Minnesota won the first two games of the series before things got a little dicey on Wednesday. Jared Weaver looked excellent on the mound but a bad infield fly call might have cost the Twins a chance to sweep the Angels. With Joe Mauer on paternity leave for three days, Drew Butera was called up from Rochester. He has spent the entire season at Rochester where he is hitting .215/.247/.316 in 86 plate appearances. For a 29-year old with close to 500 MLB at-bats, these totals aren't very good. To take the place of Butera on Rochester's roster, Jario Rodriguez was moved up from Cedar Rapids. There were plenty of sights and sounds on Wednesday so let's go down on the pond for all of the action. Rochester Red Wings 6, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 2 Box Score A wild bottom of the eighth inning helped Rochester to separate themselves from the IronPigs. Three passed balls and one wild pitch resulted in five runs. July has been a very good month for the Red Wings as they are 14-7 since the calendar turned from June. The club is also a season high four games over the .500 mark. One of the hottest relief pitchers in the Twins system has been Edgar Ibarra. In his last 22 innings between New Britain and Rochester, he has not allowed an earned run. The last earned run he allowed was back on May 21st at the Double-A level. He was credited with his first Triple-A victory in this game after recording the last five outs. PJ Walters went 7.1 innings and allowed two runs on six hits with six strikeouts. Chris Parmelee hit his first home run since being sent back to Rochester. Oswaldo Arcia also helped the offense by going 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI. The Red Wings only managed four hits but all of the wild pitching from the IronPigs bullpen helped the team to come out on the right side of this game. New Britain Rock Cats 1, Portland Sea Dogs 3 Box Score For the first time in three days, Miguel Sano didn't hit a home run for the Rock Cats. He didn't really get the opportunity to hit as he was out of the line-up for the first time since he left the team for the MLB Futures Game. With their power hitting third baseman out of the line-up, New Britain had a tough time getting the offense off the ground. Josmil Pinto continued his tremendous season with another multi-hit game. He provided the most offensive punch in the line-up by going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Daniel Ortiz and Pinto are tied for the team lead with 23 doubles. Danny Santana went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. On the mound, New Britain only needed one pitcher for the entire game. Virgil Vasquez threw all nine innings while giving up three runs on seven hits. He struck out eight and only walked one. It was his second complete game since joining the Rock Cats and both of them have come against the Sea Dogs. Fort Myers Miracle 3, Brevard County Manatees 2 (11 innings) Box Score It took a couple of big hits from Kennys Vargas and Mike Kvasnicka to help the Miracle to stage a late inning comeback. In the ninth inning with the Miracle down a run, Vargas launched his 15th home run of the season to tie the game. Kvasnicka would rope an RBI single in the top of the 11th inning to plate the winning run. It was his third hit of the night. Adrian Salcedo picked up his fifth win of the season in relief. He had to pitch around an error in the 11th inning. Overall, he threw both extra innings without allowing a hit or a run. Matt Tomshaw had a good start for the Miracle as he tossed seven innings of two-run ball. He struck out six and walked one but he wouldn't figure into the decision. Byron Buxton went 2-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts. Buxton was matched in the hits department by Aderlin Mejia. He finished the night 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored. Dalton Hicks had his first double at the High-A level and his 32nd double for the season. Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Peoria Chiefs 8 (10 Innings) Box Score Christian Powell ran into some rough moments in the early going of this game. All nine Chiefs batters came to the plate in the first inning but he was able to limit the damage to three runs. He wouldn't make it too deep into the game on the mound. He was pulled after 4.2 innings and giving up five runs on eight hits. His five walks really hurt him. Adam Walker continued his hot hitting as he had three hits for the second consecutive night. He is in the midst of a six game hitting streak and he is batting .340 in his last 10 games. Mike Gonzales hit his first home run for the Kernels and he is 5-for-12 since joining the team. Jorge Polanco had multiple hits for the third straight game including his 25th double. Elizabethton Twins 2, Kingsport Mets 3 Box Score The E-Twins did their best to come back and tie the game in the top of the ninth inning but the Mets found a way to push across a walk-off run in the bottom half of the frame. Mitch Garver had two hits including his 2nd home run of the season. It was the only extra-base hit for the Twins. Stuart Turner and Carlos Avila each had two hits. Josh Burris pitched 2.2 innings as the starter but there were some control issues. He allowed six walks while he did limit the Mets to three hits and one earned run. Brandon Bixler threw the most frames as he went 3.1 innings and didn't allow a run. Ethan Mildren got into trouble in the bottom of the ninth and he given his first professional loss. GCL Twins 3, GCL Orioles 1 Box Score The GCL Twins used a balanced offensive approach to win a close game with the GCL Orioles. Six of the nine starters for the Twins ended the game with a hit. Joel Polanco knocked in a run with his third double of the year. Jorge Fernandez hit a solo home run in the 7th inning. Overall, the team went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position so there were some opportunities that were missed. The pitching staff for the GCL Twins didn't allow an earned run. Sam Gibbons started the game and pitched four strong innings. He limited the Orioles to two hits and one unearned run. There were some control problems as he walked four men and had a wild pitch. Lewis Thorpe earned his first professional win by throwing two shutout innings and striking out three men.

The second half of the minor league season is well under way. Some of the Twins affiliates are trying to find their way into the playoff race. A few of the farm teams are trying to fight through some injuries and keep players on the field. It will be an interesting couple of months leading up to the playoffs. Earlier on Tuesday, a roster move had to be made to fit Nick Blackburn into the rotation for Rochester. His promotion from Double-A meant another pitcher had to go the opposite direction. LHP Blake Martin made the trek from the International League back to the Eastern League. In 12 games, he had a 4.02 ERA and 25 strikeouts. Let's see how Blackburn did in his first start back at Triple-A. Plus there were some fireworks from Sano and Buxton on this night. Rochester Red Wings 1, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 8 Box Score Nick Blackburn made his 2013 debut at Triple-A and things went rocky to say the least. He gave up six earned runs off of 10 hits and he barely made it through five innings. It was the most runs he has ever allowed in his 32 starts for the Red Wings. It was the first time the IronPigs had won at Frontier Field since August of last season. An eighth inning double by Chris Parmelee scored the lone run of the game. On the night, Parmelee went 2-for-3 with that double and an RBI. Oswaldo Arcia had been ripping the cover off the ball since being demoted before the All-Star break. He had gone 7-for-11 with two home runs but he was pulled in the second inning tonight after going 0-1 with a strike out. New Britain Rock Cats 7, Portland Sea Dogs 8 Box Score The Rock Cats got out to an early 5-0 lead after multiple run innings in the first and second. Portland came back with a big five-run top of the fourth to tie the game. This would turn into a battle of the bullpens and the Sea Dogs had a little more bark in them. Miguel Sano continued to be hot as he hit a home run for the second consecutive night. He also has homered in four of his last six games. He smacked a double in the earlier innings to help him finish 2-for-4 with two RBI. Josmil Pinto added his 14th home run of the season, a two-run shot. Former MLB pitcher Kyle Davies made his Rock Cats debut on the mound. He got knocked around for nine hits and five earned runs in 3.1 innings. On a more positive note, he did strikeout six batters and he didn't give up any walks. Fort Myers Miracle 4, Brevard County Manatees 10 Box Score Byron Buxton hit a home run, legged out a triple, and scored three runs but it still wasn't enough. It was the first over-the-wall home run for Buxton at this level. Overall, Buxton went 3-for-4 and he added his fourth stolen base at this level. Dalton Hicks, Matt Koch, and Stephen Wickens all had two-hit games but none were for extra-bases. Miracle starter Taylor Rogers had a tough time getting out of the middle innings. The Manatees plated six runs in the fourth and fifth frames including one inning where eight batters made it to the plate. He went five innings and gave up six runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. Chad Rodgers got pounded for four runs in his one inning of relief work. Elizabethton Twins 4, Kingsport Mets 5 Box Score The E-Twins did their best to come back in this game by scoring four runs in the eighth inning to take a one run lead. Unfortunately, the Mets had different plans as they would storm back to score two runs in the bottom of the ninth and come out victorious. Romy Jimenez and Javier Pimentel both went 2-for-4 with a double. It was the seventh double of the year for Pimentel. Zach Granite also had two hits and an RBI. Starter Felix Jorge went five innings and gave up three runs on seven hits with two strikeouts. Brandon Peterson was saddled with the loss after giving up both runs in the bottom of the ninth. GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 3 Box Score Four defensive errors didn't help the GCL Twins on this day. Only one earned run was scored by the GCL Rays and that made the difference in the final score. Jonatan Hinojosa had two fielding errors at shortstop, second baseman Will Hurt had a throwing error, and first baseman Chad Christensen added an error on a pickoff. Defensive mistakes will haunt a team. Hurt tried to make up for his throwing error with a good day at the plate. He went 3-for-4 with a run scored. Amaurys Minier had the only extra-base hit, his fourth double of the season. Damian Defrank started the game and scattered three hits over four shutout innings. He struck out four and walked one. Stephen Gonsalves also pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in relief.

The second half of the minor league season is well under way. Some of the Twins affiliates are trying to find their way into the playoff race. A few of the farm teams are trying to fight through some injuries and keep players on the field. It will be an interesting couple of months leading up to the playoffs. Earlier on Tuesday, a roster move had to be made to fit Nick Blackburn into the rotation for Rochester. His promotion from Double-A meant another pitcher had to go the opposite direction. LHP Blake Martin made the trek from the International League back to the Eastern League. In 12 games, he had a 4.02 ERA and 25 strikeouts. Let's see how Blackburn did in his first start back at Triple-A. Plus there were some fireworks from Sano and Buxton on this night. Rochester Red Wings 1, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 8 Box Score Nick Blackburn made his 2013 debut at Triple-A and things went rocky to say the least. He gave up six earned runs off of 10 hits and he barely made it through five innings. It was the most runs he has ever allowed in his 32 starts for the Red Wings. It was the first time the IronPigs had won at Frontier Field since August of last season. An eighth inning double by Chris Parmelee scored the lone run of the game. On the night, Parmelee went 2-for-3 with that double and an RBI. Oswaldo Arcia had been ripping the cover off the ball since being demoted before the All-Star break. He had gone 7-for-11 with two home runs but he was pulled in the second inning tonight after going 0-1 with a strike out. New Britain Rock Cats 7, Portland Sea Dogs 8 Box Score The Rock Cats got out to an early 5-0 lead after multiple run innings in the first and second. Portland came back with a big five-run top of the fourth to tie the game. This would turn into a battle of the bullpens and the Sea Dogs had a little more bark in them. Miguel Sano continued to be hot as he hit a home run for the second consecutive night. He also has homered in four of his last six games. He smacked a double in the earlier innings to help him finish 2-for-4 with two RBI. Josmil Pinto added his 14th home run of the season, a two-run shot. Former MLB pitcher Kyle Davies made his Rock Cats debut on the mound. He got knocked around for nine hits and five earned runs in 3.1 innings. On a more positive note, he did strikeout six batters and he didn't give up any walks. Fort Myers Miracle 4, Brevard County Manatees 10 Box Score Byron Buxton hit a home run, legged out a triple, and scored three runs but it still wasn't enough. It was the first over-the-wall home run for Buxton at this level. Overall, Buxton went 3-for-4 and he added his fourth stolen base at this level. Dalton Hicks, Matt Koch, and Stephen Wickens all had two-hit games but none were for extra-bases. Miracle starter Taylor Rogers had a tough time getting out of the middle innings. The Manatees plated six runs in the fourth and fifth frames including one inning where eight batters made it to the plate. He went five innings and gave up six runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. Chad Rodgers got pounded for four runs in his one inning of relief work. Elizabethton Twins 4, Kingsport Mets 5 Box Score The E-Twins did their best to come back in this game by scoring four runs in the eighth inning to take a one run lead. Unfortunately, the Mets had different plans as they would storm back to score two runs in the bottom of the ninth and come out victorious. Romy Jimenez and Javier Pimentel both went 2-for-4 with a double. It was the seventh double of the year for Pimentel. Zach Granite also had two hits and an RBI. Starter Felix Jorge went five innings and gave up three runs on seven hits with two strikeouts. Brandon Peterson was saddled with the loss after giving up both runs in the bottom of the ninth. GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 3 Box Score Four defensive errors didn't help the GCL Twins on this day. Only one earned run was scored by the GCL Rays and that made the difference in the final score. Jonatan Hinojosa had two fielding errors at shortstop, second baseman Will Hurt had a throwing error, and first baseman Chad Christensen added an error on a pickoff. Defensive mistakes will haunt a team. Hurt tried to make up for his throwing error with a good day at the plate. He went 3-for-4 with a run scored. Amaurys Minier had the only extra-base hit, his fourth double of the season. Damian Defrank started the game and scattered three hits over four shutout innings. He struck out four and walked one. Stephen Gonsalves also pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in relief.