GCL Twins blank GCL Reds

GCL Twins 3 at GCL Reds 0

W: A. Sanchez (3-3, 3.26); L: L. Machuca (1-2, 4.15); SV: K. Mota (11)
HR: None.

Angelo Sanchez and three relievers held the GCL Reds to a total of 4 hits and a pair of walks over nine innings as the Twins blanked the Reds 3-0 at the City of Sarasota Complex.

All three Twins runs came in the top of the 3rd inning, which started with a Herbert Lara ground out. Aaron Hicks and Juan Sanchez hit back-to-back singles. A walk to Danny Ortiz loaded the bags. Mike Gonzales would sacrifice in Hicks before Hyeong-rok Choi singled to drive in the remaining two runners. Tyler Ladendorf's fly out ended the inning.

Three of the Reds for hits were for extra bases with Mauricio Pimentel tripling the bottom of the 3rd, but the Reds could not convert on any of their chances.

Jean Mijares, Mike Tonkin and Kelvin Mota combined to hold the Reds hitless over the last three. It was Sanchez's 3rd win of the season; Mota earned his 11th save.

The Twins had 10 hits in the game, but the tight Reds defense kept them at bay. A double to Juan Sanchez and a walk to Gonzales had runners at 2nd and 3rd in the top of the 1st, but with 2 outs on the board, Red's starter Luis Machuca would get Rok to strike out.

A walk to Danny Ortiz would be followed by Gonzales getting plunked by a pitch in the top of the 5th. Sanchez had stuck out to start the inning and Rok would strike out before Tyler Ladendorf drew a walk, but Bryan Gardner finish by getting Danny Rohlfing out on strikes.

Ladendorf would single off Efrain Rodriguez in the top of the 8th, and advance to 3rd on a Lara single. The speedy Venezuelan would then steal 2nd but Aaron Hicks would hit into a ground out, again getting the Reds out of a jam.

Ladendorf had another strong day at the plate going 2-for-3 with a walk, despite not figuring into the scoring. Hicks and Sanchez both finished up 2-for-5 with a run each, Sanchez with a double as well. Ortiz, Rok, Jakub Hajtmar, and Lara were all 1-for-4, Ortiz with a walk and a run, and Rok with a pair of RBIs.

The Pirates defeated the Red Sox 4-1, so the the win did not pick up any points in the standings for the Fort Myers squad, as they continue to trail the Bucs by one game. The other three teams in the division have been eliminated from the play picture. In the North Division, with seven (six) games left to play, the GCL Phillies lead the GCL Braves by 4.5 games.

In the East Division, the Dodgers and the Nationals are duking it out for the title with identical records. The deciding game between the two was postponed by afternoon showers at Dodgertown.

Fort Myers continues to lead the wild card race.

The Twins return home now to face the Red Sox at the Lee County Sportsplex. Thursday's game begins at Noon. Tuesday game against the Orioles will be made up on Sunday as part of a double header the Lee County Sportsplex, starting at 11:00 AM.

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Elizabethton's Angel Morales, an alumni of 2007 GCL Squad, was named the Appalachian Leagues' Offensive Player of the Week. The Puerto Rican center fielder started his week in lackluster fashion going 0-for-7 in the first two games. However, in his next four games, Morales would be dynamic as he has so often been with the E-Twins this season. Morales would club an extra-base hit in each of the team's final four games on the week and at least one homer in the final three games. His best outing came on Sunday, during which he hit a pair of shots giving him seven runs scored for the week. Minnesota's 3rd pick, 122nd over all in the 2007 first year players draft, Morales has done an admirable job crossing the plate with the Twins, especially in August, during which he has scored in all but one game.

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DSL Twins 5 at DSL Diamondbacks 1

W: R. Reverol (4-2, 3.21); L: F. Santana (0-2, 6.65); SV: L. Vargas (2)
HR: DSL TWI: O. Arcia (4).

The DSL Twins scored early and put in some great defensive work against the DSL Diamondbacks to pick up another road win, this time 5-1.

Jair Perez lead off with a double in the top of the 2nd, and moved to 3rd on Eliel Sierra's single. A throwing error on a pickoff attempt saw Perez score and Sierra advance to 3rd. Manuel Soliman would pop out, but Lesther Galvan reached on a fielding error, which also allowed Sierra to score. Randy Pina and Carlos Vasquez would both ground out, letting the Diamondbacks have a turn at bat.

Wifly Gil singled in the top of the 3rd, then stole 2nd. A catching error by the Diamondbacks' Adonys Canelo at short advanced Gil to 3rd. Diamondbacks' starter Frank Santana then unleashed a wild pitch, scoring Gil. Yancarlos Franco pop out before Oswaldo Arcia hit a solo shot home run over the center field fence, making it 4-0 Twins. Perez doubled, then stole 3rd. Sierra would draw a walk, and Santana would take a walk to the dugout, being replaced on the Diamondbacks' mound by Eury De La Rosa. Soliman ground into a force out that took Sierra out at 2nd and scored Perez. Soliman would then caught stealing in a pitch off attempt by De La Rosa to retire the Twins.

Eliencer Cardenas worked the first three for the Twins before giving way to Renzo Revorol for the next trio of innings. Lesmir Vargas would take over in the bottom of the 7th and would allow the only Diamondbacks run in the bottom of the 8th. A fielding error in left by Arcia contributed to the run, making it unearned.

It was Reverol's 4th win of the season, and Vargas' 2nd save.

Arcia would finish up 2-for-3 at the plate with the yard ball. Perez was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs. Jhonatan Arias was 1-for-2 at the plate but did not factor into the scoring. Sierra was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run. Gil batted 1-for-4 with a run.

The DSL Twins move into 2nd place in the B.C. North Division, one game behind the DSL Yankees2. I don't know the playoff format for the league, but given the explosion of participants in both the North and South Divisions which left the Venezuelan League nearly bereft of teams, thre is most likely a wild card slot available.

With 3 games left to play, perhaps we shall find out. The Twins host the DSL Orioles on Thursday for a 10:30 AM Dominican time game.

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Orioles rally past Twins in ninth

GCL TWins 3 at GCL Orioles 5

W: J. Almanzar (2-3, 6.00); L: M. Schiavoni (1-2, 2.31)
HR: ORI: E. Meyer (1).

The GCL Orioles rallied back from a 3-0 deficit to win in the 9th inning, 5-3 over the GCL Twins at the Twin Lakes Complex in Sarasota, Florida Monday.

With two outs on the board in the top of the first inning, Danny Ortiz reached on a fielding error by Orioles' 2nd baseman Jerome Hoes. Andres Diaz and Tyler Landendorf hit back-to-back singles to plate Ortiz. Hyeong-rok Choi's line drive to right scored Diaz to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.

Danny Rohlfing would single off Oriole's starter Justin Moore in the top of the 4th, then moved to 2nd on Herbert Lara's sac-bunt. Aaron Hicks took a walk, and Javier Brown went down on strikes before Ortiz singled out to center to drive in Rohlfing.

Edgar Ibarra worked five innings for the Twins scattering 3 hits while fanning seven.

He would return for the bottom of the sixth and allowed a single to Luis Ramierez and a walk to Hoes. Bruce Pugh would then come in to replace Ibarra and gave up a single to Edinho Meyer to load the bags. Garabez Rosa's line drive brought in both Ramirez and Hoes, with both runs being charged to Ibarra. A sac-bunt by Omar Casamayor advanced the runners before Pugh took Dashenko Ricardo out on strikes. He then issued a walk to Janensis Guerrero before getting Larry Rivera to pop out to end the inning with a bases load situation.

Mauro Schiavoni replaced Pugh in the bottom of the eighth and hit Casamayor with a pitch after getting Rosa to pop out. A wild pitch then moved Casamayor to 2nd. Ricardo would pop out in foul territory, and pinch hitter Dennis Perez would reach on a throwing error by Rok that also allowed Casamayor to score, tying up the game. Grolmann Gonzalez would go down on strikes to strand the two Orioles runners however.

It was a brief reprieve however. Xavier Avery popped out and Ramierez flew out before Schiavoni walked Hoes. Hoes then stole 2nd. Meyer would knock his first home run of the year over the left field fence, to give the Orioles the go ahead run, plus an insurance run, and ending the game.

Rok would finish up 3-for-5 at the plate with a RBI while Hyun-wook Choi went 2-for-4 in the designated hitter role. Ladendorf was 2-for-5 with a RBI. Dias (1-for-3), Rohlfing (1-for-4) and Ortiz (1-for-5) all had runs for the Twins, Diaz with a pair of walks, and Ortiz with a RBI as well.

Schiavoni took both the blown save, his first, and the loss, his second, on 1.2 innings worth of work. Dominican right hander Jorge Almanzar picked up the win for the Orioles.

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DSL Diamondbacks/Reds 2 at DSL Twins 8

W: J. Garcia (1-0, 5.40); L: E. Silvestre (2-5, 4.66)
HR: DSL TWI: J. Rodriguez (2).

The DSL Twins knocked out 8 runs on 8 hits and a pair of Dia-Reds errors to pick up a win in seven innings during a shortened game in the Dominican Summer League.

Jairo Rodriguez singled and Lesther Galvin doubled in the bottom of the second with one out on the board. Following a strike out to Yorby Martinez, Randy Pina reached on a fielding error that also plated the two runners. A Xavier Gonzalez double, a Jairo Perez single and a Rodriguez home run, his second of the 2008 season, gave the DSL Twins 3 more runs in the bottom of the 3rd.

Walks to Gonzalez and Oswaldo Arcia turned into runs on a Perez fly ball to left in the bottom of the 4th. Perez would try to make it to 3rd on the throw, but was caught up in between 2nd and 3rd and tagged out.

Carlos Vasquez walked in the bottom of the 8th, and moved to second when Gonzalez was hit by a pitch. Arcia singled him in with a fly ball to center.

Jhonny Garcia picked up the win in 1.2 innings of relief work. Lesmir Vargas allowed only 1 unearned run on 3 hits and a walk while fanning two over four innings, but left with the no decision.

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Twins split with Red Sox

GCL Twins 4 at GCL Red Sox 10

W: M. Lennox (1-2, 5.00); L: A. Sanchez (2-2, 3.38)
HR: RSX: R. Feliz (7).

A 5-run sixth inning broke open a close game and gave the GCL Red Sox a huge win the in the completion of the game that was suspended on Sunday, July 27.

Angelo Sanchez had taken the start and would be back on the mound when the game resumed.

Juan Sanchez would reach in the top of the 3rd on a play that took Jon Goncalves out at home. Aaron Hicks, who had singled his way on to base, would move to 3rd on the play. Sanchez advanced to 2nd when short stop Derrik Gibson missed the throw on a caught stealing attempt. Danny Ortiz would ground out, moving Sanchez to 3rd and Hicks would score on the play. A Mike Gonzales single then sent Sanchez home to give the Twins a two run lead early.

Joantoni Garcia walked in the bottom of the 3rd and Kenneth Roque singled to move him to second. A walk to Christian Vazquez loaded the bags but Angelo would get Wilfred Pichardo out on strikes. Derrik Gibson ground into a force out that put Garcia over the plate and took Vazquez out at 3nd. Bryan Peterson went down on strikes to end the inning.

Tyler Ladendorf singled and stole second. Danny Rohlfing would be called out on strikes before Javier Brown singled to move Ladendorf to 3rd. Goncalves would ground into a force out that took Brown out at 2nd, but allowed Ladendorf to score. Hicks would triple Goncalves in to make it 4-1 Twins.

Roberto Feliz homered in the bottom of the 4th, a solo shot to cut the lead in half.

Michael Lennoz would replace Wang-Yi Lin in the top of the 5th. Despite a double to Gonzales and a wild pitch, the Twins could not convert. In the bottom of the stanza Pichardo tripled and came home on a Gibson single to make it 4-3 Twins.

Then came the bottom of the sixth. Chih-Hsiang Huang and Andrew Frezza both took singles off Sanchez to start. Garcia would move the pair on a sac-bunt, and Roque singled to score Huang. Vazquez ground into a force out that plated Frezza but took Roque out at 2nd. Pichardo would steal second and Gibson walked. Peterson then singled, which - combined with a missing catch error by Ladendorf at short and a throwing error by Hicks in center - cleaned off the bags, to make it 8-4 Red Sox.

Sloppy play boys! Sloppy play!

The Red Sox iced their cake in the bottom of the eighth with Roque singling. After Vazquez flew out, Pichardo singled. The two runners then orchestrated a double steal. Gibson would double out to left to bring in the pair.

Angelo Sanchez would take the loss, giving up 8 runs, six earned on 10 hits and 3 walks. He would fan 9 over six innings however.

Gonzales was 4-for-5 at the plate with a double and a RBI. Hicks was 2-for-4 with a triple, a run and RBI. Juan Sanchez, Ladendorf and Goncalves were all 1-for-4 with a run, Goncalves with a run scored as well. Brown, 1-for-3 would share the one hit wonder title with pinch hitters Hyeong-rok Choi and Jakub Hajtmar, both of which singled in the top of the ninth. A wild pitch would move the pair but Gonzales would strike out, ending the contest.

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GCL Red Sox 1 at GCL Twins 4

W: K. Nanney (2-0, 1.50); L: C. Cabral (1-3, 6.03)
HR: None.

The Twins got a bit of revenge in the regularly scheduled game, which was shortened to 7 innings. A pair of errors by Red Sox pitcher Cesar Cabral would lead to a 3-run sixth inning to give the GCL Twins a 4-1 win.

Mike Gonzales and Hyeong-rok Choi hit back-to-back doubles off Cabral in the bottom of the 2nd to open the scoring.

The Red Sox would tie it right back up however, with Wilfred Pichardo singling then stealing 2nd. Gibson would steal 3rd, and a throwing error by Josmil Pinto would allow Pichardo to score.

It would stay that way though until the bottom of the sixth. Danny Ortiz singled and moved to second on a Tyler Ladendorf sac-bunt. A fielding error by Cabral allowed Ladendorf to reach 1st. Gonzales singled to drive in the speedy Ortiz and. Ladendorf would go to second, but Gonzales evidently though he was going to 3rd and kept running. He'd be taken out in between first and second by second baseman Kenneth Roque. A throwing error on a pick off attempt moved Ladendorf to 3rd. Rok would reach on a fielder's choice that took Ladendorf out at home. Pinto then tripled in Rok and a fielding error by Chih-Hsiang Huang allowed Jakub Hajtmar to reach and Pinto to score.

Gonzales was 2-for-3 with a run and a run scored in the designated hitter role. Ortiz, Rok and Pinto were all 1-for-3 with a run, Rok with a double and a run scored and Pinto with a RBI as well. Herbert Lara was 1-for-4 with a double. Hajtmar would end up as the one hit wonder, going 1-for-3.

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DSL Indians 2 at DSL Twins 4

W: E. Cardenas (5-1, 1.47); L: E. Araujo (3-2, 1.96); SV: L. Parra (1)
HR: None.

The DSL Twins doubled up the DSL Indians at home on Friday. Oswaldo Arcia would have two of the Twins four runs.

Danny Santana would lead off the bottom of the fourth with a line drive to left, then steal 2nd base. Jean Carlos Mercedes' sac bunt moved him to 3rd and Arcia singled to drive him in. Eliel Sierra singled, moving Arcia to 3rd. A wild pitch by Indian's starter Elvis Araujo plated Arcia and sent Sierra to 2nd. Manuel Soliman would pop out, but Jhonatan Arias singled to scored Sierra before Felix Caro ground out to end the inning.

Twins starter Eliecer Cardenas allowed only 2 hits over five innings, striking out 2. The tribe would score on him when Darling Read tripled, then came home on a Roman Vinicio ground out.

Leonardo Parra replaced Cardenas on the mound in the top of the sixth, and after getting Joly Fermin and Agustin Avila to strike out, allowed a triple to Argenis Martinez. Jesus Brito singled out to center to plate Martinez before Rolando Petit popped out to send the Twins back up to bat.

Arcia tripled off Indians' reliever Ramon Cespedes and one out later, came home on Soliman's line drive single to left.

The win was Cardenas' fifth of the season, Parra would record his first save, allowing 1 run on four hits while fanning 5 over four innings worth of work.

For the home boys, Santana and Arcia were both 2-for-4, Arcia with a RBI to go with his pair of runs, Santana with a run. Soliman, Arias and Yorby Martinez were all 1-for-3, the first two with RBIs, leaving Martinez to become the one hit wonder of the game. Sierra finished up 1-for-4 with a run.

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GCL Twins rally past GCL Red Sox

GCL Red Sox 5 at GCL Twins 6

W: B. Pugh (1-0, 0.00); L: S. Huijer (1-1, 2.25); SV: K. Mota (3)
HR: TWI: H. Choi (1).

The GCL Twins came back to win the game late, after surrendering an early lead to the GCL Red Sox Wednesday at Lee County Sportsplex.

Wilfred Pichardo opened up for the Red Sox by singling off Twins starter Edgar Ibera, stealing 2nd, and then coming home on a passed ball by Daniel Rohlfing.

The Twins answered back in the bottom of the 2nd when Andres Diaz took a walk, then moved to 2nd on Tyler Ladendorf's single. Following a strike out to Hyoing-rock Choi, Danny Rohlfing sent a fly ball single to center that served to plate Diaz.

The top of the 3rd started off badly with Christian Vazquez, Pichardo, and Andrew Frezza all drawing walks to load the bags. Following a fly out to Michael Almanzar, Tyler Yockey singled out to right and with the help of a fielding error by Jon Goncalves, cleaned off the bases. Bryan Paterson few out before Fort Myers native Thomas De Benedetto doubled to score Yockey.

Rocky homered to lead off the bottom of the 4th for the Twins, sending a ball over the right field wall. Ryan Pressly would then hit Danny Rohlfing with a pitch. Anderson Hidalgo singled out to center to move Rohlfing to second, and he'd progress to 3rd on a Herbert Lara ground out. With runners on the corners, Goncalves would then double to score the pair, making it 5-4 Red Sox.

The tying run eluded the Twins until the bottom of the 6th, when Goncalves singled his way onto base with one out, then stole 2nd. Aaron Hicks' ground out moved Goncalves to 3rd, and he'd score on a Danny Ortiz fly ball to right.

With Swen Hujer on the mound for the Red Sox, Hidalgo singled his way onto base. Juan Sanchez would replace him as a pinch runner, and he'd move to 2nd on a sac-bunt by Lara. One out later, Aaron Hicks tripled to plate the Venezuelan for the go ahead run.

Iberra would end up giving up 5 runs, 4 earned on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3 over 3 innings. Andres Lovanov worked the next two innings before giving way to Bruce Pugh, who'd pick up his first professional win, allowing only 1 hit while striking out 2 over 3 innings worth of work. Kelvin Mota mopped up, collecting his 3 win in 1 inning worth of work.

Rocky and Hidalgo were both 2-for-4, Rocky with a run and a run batted in on a double and a home run. Goncalves finished up 2-for-5 with a double, a run and 2 runs scored. Hicks and Rohlfing were 1-for-3 each at the plate, Hicks with a pair of walks, a triple and a run batted in, Rohlfing with a run and a RBI. Ortiz was 1-for-4 with walk and a RBI, while Ladendorf, who was also 1-for-4, was the one hit wonder of the game.

The Twins rest on Thursday, and face then travel to Bradenton for a 10:00 AM game against the GCL Pirates on Independence Day.

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DSL Yankees2 1 at DSL Twins 0

The DSL Yankees2 held the DSL Twins to only three hits Wednesday, and while Pedro Guerra was outstanding, he was victimized by a Carlos Vasquez fielding error in the second inning, which lead to an unearned run on a double and a single. Guerra would allow only 3 hits, and strike out 4 in six innings. Jose Gonzalez and Leonardo Parra finished up the last three innings, combining to strike out six.

Jairo Rodriguez was 2-for-3 for the Twins, while Eliel Sierra was 1-for-4 with a double.

The Twins visit the Diamondbacks/Reds on the Thursday for a 10:30 AM Dominican Time game.

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