Cats, Wings both lose

New Britain 4 at Bowie 6

W: Z. Clark (2-1, 3.57); L: J. Manship (1-6, 5.04); SV: J. Manon (27)
HR: None.

Since his promotion to the New Britain Rock Cats, Jeff Manship has picked up only one win. Sunday was not his day either as the gave up 6 runs, all earned, on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5.

The Bowie Baysox wasted no time jumping on the Notre Dame grad, with Jonathan Tucker doubling out to center. A sac bunt moved him to 3rd before and Nolan Reimold's follow up single scored him to put the home team on the board first.

Blake Davis singled in the bottom of the 3rd. After Manship took Tucker and Rojas down on strikes, Davis would steal 2nd, then 3rd. Reimold singled him in for the second Baysox run. Matt Wieters walked, moving Reimold to 2nd. Ryan Finan singled out to center to plate Reimold, to give the Orioles' AA affiliate a 3-0 run lead.

Zach Clark would give up a walk in the top of the first to the Rock Cats, a double in the second, a single in the 3rd, and double in the 4th. The Cats just couldn't put anything together until the top of the 5th when Rocky Palacios singled then moved to second on Brandon Roberts ground out. Brian Dinkelman then double Palacios in for the first New Britain Run.

The Baysox answered back in the bottom of the fifth with Wieters taking a walk. Finan struck out, but Jeff Nettles drew a walk as well. Mike Rodriguez singled Wieters and Brian Peterson's follow up single drove in Nettles. Zach Ward would replace Manship on the mound at the point, and allow a ground ball single to Davis that brought in Rodriguez before getting Tucker to ground out.

David Winfree reached in the top of the sixth on Peterson's throwing error. Matt Moses and Danny Valencia hit back-to-back to singles to load up the bags. Felix Molina's ground out to would score Winfree, and Palacios doubled in Moses and Valencia.

Clark would give up a double to Dinkleman in the top of the 7th, but Wilfredo Perez would replace Clark on the mound, getting Martin to line out and Winfree to pop out to leave the runner stranded.

Davis would single in the bottom of the 7th and Jonthan Tucker hit a ground rule double. Carlos Rojas would hit into a fielder's choice however, as the Winfree threw the ball to Palacios to take Davis down at home, saving the run.

New Britain would see nothing more out of Bowie in the eighth or ninth, while Ben Julianel only allowed a single to Nettles in the eight to finish of the Baysox. The 6-4 score would stand, with Clark improving to 2-1 on the season.

Dinkelman finish up 3-for-4 for the Cats with a pair of doubles and a RBI, plus the only Rock Cats walk. Palacios was 2-for-4 with a double, a run, and 2 RBIs. Martin, Winfree, Moses and Vancia were all 1-for-4, with the last three also having a run, while Martin and Winfree hit for doubles.

The Rock Cats nap on Monday, they being a three-game series in Erie against the Sea Wolves on Tuesday.

Box
Log
Bowie/OSC
Courant
Orioles Hangout
Inky and the Sports Guys Blog

---

Indianopolis 6 at Rochester 4

W: T. Gorzelanny (2-1, 2.57); L: D. Graves (3-5, 5.96); SV: M. Salas (3)
HR: ROC: L. Hughes (2).

Danny Graves gave up four runs in the first inning and the Rochester Red Wings would not recover, falling 6-4 to the Indianapolis Indians at Frontier field.

Nyjer Morgan singled, but was taken out on Brian Bixler's force out. Andrew McCutchen then doubled Bixler in, and came home on Neil Walker's single to center. Ronny Paulino and Ryan Mulhern hit back-to-back doubles to add two more runs. After a brief pause during which Cliburn & Company had a word with their stater, Graves would get Jason Delaney out on strikes and Luis Cruz on a fly out.

Graves would work the next three in relative comfort. He'd walk Bixler in the top of the fifth and after getting McCutchen and Walker to fly out, would give up a single to Paulino. That finished it for Graves and Casey Daigle came in to get the final out.

Delaney tripled in the top of the sixth of Daigle however and Cruz took a walk, then stole 2nd. Carlos Maldonado would sacrifice in Dalaney and Morgan's double brought in Cruz to give the tribe six.

Christy would walk for the Wings in the bottom of the sixth. Jason Pridie singled and following a fly out to Alejando Machado, Howie Clark would single to load up the bags. Garrett Jones would go down on strikes, but Luke Hughes doubled to clean off the bases, putting the wings on the board.

Luke Hughes second AAA homer gave the wings one more run in the bottom of the ninth but it was brief rally as Matt Macri ground out and Trevor Plouffe and Brock Peterson flew out to end the contest.

Daigle worked 3.1 innings allowing 2 earned runs on 4 hits and a walk while strike out 3. Julio Depaula pitched the ninth for the Wings.

Clark would go 3-for-4 with a run, while yard bird Luke Hughes was 2-for-4 with a double, a run and 4 RBIs. Pridie and Machado were each 1-for-4, Pridie with a run, leaving Machado to become the one hit wonder.

The two teams play at 12:05 pm matinee game on Monday. Tom Shearn (7-2, 2.88) will take the start on Monday against Indy's Daniel McCutchen (5-8, 3.73).

Box
Log
Indians
Red Wings
R-News
RD&C
IndyStar
Sandlot Swashbucklers blog
Extra Bases blog

Alejandro Machado now has a 18-game hitting streak, the second longest streak by a Red Wing this season (Randy Ruiz, 24-game hitting streak).

Red Wings closer Bobby Korecky recorded his 20th save of the season Friday night. With that save Korecky becomes the first Red Wings pitcher to ever post 20 or more saves in back-to-back seasons (saves became an official stat in the International League in 1969). If Korecky can over take Toledo’s Blaine Neal for the IL lead in saves (currently Neal has 25) he will become the first ever pitcher to lead the International League in saves in back-to-back season. Korecky holds the Red Wings record for saves in a season with 35 set in 2007.

Outfielder Jason Pridie leads the IL with 16 triples. Pridie is the first Red Wing to hit 16 triples in one season since Ray Pepper hit 20 in 1931. The last Red Wings player to lead the IL in triples was outfielder Wayne Kirby (tied with Scranton shortstop Jimmy Rollins with 11) in 2000. The last time a player in the IL had more than 15 triples in a season was 2005 when Shane Victorino of Scranton had 16. The Red Wings record (since 1929 when the Rochester became the Red Wings) for triples in a season is 20 by Pepper in 1931, but the franchise record is 28 set by William Lush back in 1895.

Cats fall to Bowie; Wings upend Iron Pigs

New Britain 5 at Bowie 7

W: F. Romero (7-3, 3.04); L: J. Rainville (8-9, 6.50); SV: J. Manon (26)
HR: NBR: D. Martin (8). BOW: J. Tucker (5).

A three-run home run by Jonathan Tucker in the fifth inning helped lift the Bowie Baysox to a 7-2 win over the New Britain Rock Cats Thursday night.

Back-to-back doubles by Carlos Rojas and Nolan Reimold in the bottom of the first inning saw Sebastien Boucher, who'd led off with a single, and Rojas cross the plate to give the Orioles' affiliate an early 2-0 lead.

David Winfree singled his way onto the basepaths. Dustin Martin would strike out, but Felix Molina and Matt Moses hit back-to-back singles that plated Winfree. Drew Butera then doubled the pair of runners in to make it 3-2 Rock Cats in the top of the 2nd. Toby Gardenhire would take a walk, but Steve Tolleson went down on strikes and Brian Dinkelman ground into a force out to end the inning.

Brock Peterson doubled to lead off the top of the 3rd, then moved to 3rd on a wild pitch by Brad Bergesen. Winfree would strike out before Dustin Martin put his eighth home run of the season over the right field fence. That made it 5-2 Rock Cats and signaled a pitching change that brought Felix Romero out to the mound. The new hurler would get Felix Molina to ground out and Matt Moses to strike out to end the top of the set.

The bottom the fifth saw Rojas doubled and Reimold single. Matt Wieters' sac-fly plated Rojas. Ryan Finan took a walk before Jay Rainville got Steve Torrealba to fly out. Jeff Nettles then gave up a double that scored Reimold. Tucker would go yard at that point, bring in 3 for the game winning run, plus an insurance marker.

The Cats would only manage six hits in the contest, all limited to the first 2.1 innings, with Peterson, Winfree, Martin, Molina and Moses, all going 1-for-4 with a run. Peterson would add a double, Martin a pair of runs scored and Moses an RBI. Butera finished up 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.

It was Rainville's ninth loss of the season. Jason Miller would work the last three inning, giving up a pair of hits while fanning one.

The two teams rematch Friday at Prince George's Stadium for a 7:05 PM contest. RHP David Hernandez (6-4, 2.60 ERA) throws out the first pitch for Bowie against Rock Cats LHP Ryan Mullins (7-8, 4.56 ERA).

Box
Log
Baysox
Wednesday:
NB Herald
Gazette
Tuesday:
NB Herald
NB Herald: Meja



Lehigh Valley 7 at Rochester 11

W: J. DePaula (2-5, 6.33); L: T. Blackley (5-9, 5.47); SV: B. Korecky (19)
HR: LHV: J. Knott (18), A. Tracy (18). ROC: G. Jones (16), L. Hughes (1).

Garrett Jones and Luke Hughes each hit 2-run homers in the 3rd inning to help propel the Rochester Red Wings over the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs Thursday at Frontier Field.

Andy Tracy doubled in Jason Jaramillo in the top of the first to give the Iron Pigs one run early. Hughes, Matt Macri and Trevor Plouffe all hit singles in the bottom of the 2nd to tie up the contest.

Jason Pridie would lead off the bottom of the 3rd with a triple and Alejandro Machado would single him in. Michael Cuddyer double to plate Machado before Jones went yard to make it 5-1 Wings. Howie Clark singled and Luke Hughes put his first AAA home run over the center field wall to make it 7-1 Cats.

Tracy and Jon Knott hit back-to-back solo shot home runs off Phillip Humber. It was the 18th of the year for both players. Oscar Robles and Joey Hammond both singled before Humber got Rouse to pop out. T.J. Bohn singled to plate Robles, which finished up Humber's tenur on the hill. Julio DePaula would replace him getting Brandon Watson to pop out before walking Rich Thompson to load the bags. Jaramillo would ground out however to leave the runners stranded.

For some reason, the Iron Pigs left Travis Blackley on the mound for the bottom of the fourth. Machado would single and Cuddyer double. Jones grounder to center scored the pair. Clark's single moved Jones to 3rd and, following a strike out to Hughes, Macri would sacrifice him in. Plouffe would take a walk before the Pigs finally trotted Jason Anderson out to the mound to get Jeff Christy to strike out and end the inning.

Hughes singled in the bottom of the 6th and one out later, Trevor Plouffe doubled him to 3rd. A sac fly by Christy got the Aussie across the plate for the final Wings run.

The Pigs would take 3 off of Carmen Cali in the top of the 9th, with Bohn tripling and Watson doubling him in. Thomspon singled. Jaramillo hit into a ground out, but Tracy singled to bring in Watson. Knott's grounder scored Jaramillo before Bobby Korecky came in to replace Cali, getting Robles to fly out and Hammond to strike out to end the contest.

Hughes would finish off 3-for-4 with a walk, 3 runs and a pair of RBIs. Machado was 4-for-4 in the designated hitter roll with pair of walks, a pair of runs and a run scored. Pride, Jones and Clark were all 2-for-5, each with a run except for Jones, who had two. Pridie added a walk and a triple, and Jones recorded 4 RBIs. Plouffe was a modest 2-for-4 with a walk, a double and a RBI, while Macri and Christy were both 1-for-4, missing out on the one hit wonder title by picking up a RBI each.

The Indy Indians come to Frontier Field on Friday, August 8, for a 7:05 PM contest. RHP Kevin Mulvey (4-8, 3.85 ERA) gets the start for the Twins against Indians RHP Ross Ohlendorf (1-1, 4.61).

Box
Log
Red Wings
Iron Pigs
RD&C
RD&C
Morning Call

Alejandro Machado now has a 16-game hitting streak, batting .426 (26-for-61) during the streak. It's the second longest streak by a Red Wing this season (Randy Ruiz, 24-game hitting streak).

Jason Pridie hit his league-leading 15th triple.

The Wings won their eighth straight home game.

Luke Hughes had three hits, three runs scored and two RBI, and is now hitting .323 at Triple-A.

Despite the Red Wings' 58-63 record they’ve outscored their opponents 577-559.

Twins OF Michael Cuddyer continued his rehab assignment with the Wings; Cuddyer had a pair of doubles and a walk in five plate appearances.

Brian Duensing is blogging about Beijing and the Olympics. You can read his exploits on MLB Blogs.

McDonald done, Hughes Promoted

The Rochester Red Wings are reporting that outfielder Darnell McDonald is out for the season with a broken left hand. He suffered the injury when hit by a pitch in Wednesday’s 8-3 win in Pawtucket. He was hitting .268 with 11 HRs, 57 RBI and 19 stolen bases in 93 games.

Third baseman Luke Hughes was promoted from New Britain of the Double-A Eastern League to take McDonald’s roster spot. In 70 games at New Britain, Hughes has hit .319 with a team-leading 15 HRs and 40 RBI.

There hasn't been an announcement of a corresponding roster move from New Britain yet.

Twins outfielder Michael Cuddyer took his first swings on the field in nearly five weeks on Wednesday afternoon, but he said that there still is no timetable for him to be sent on a Minor League rehabilitation assignment. Cuddyer has been on the 15-day disabled list since June 28 with a strained tendon in his left index finger.

RD&C

On a side note, Brian Kirwan was at the last Miracle home game, sitting in the stands, so I optimistically pulled the cards for the injured players that I need signed. Never know who might show up next around here. The number of players sitting out right now is staggering.

Photo of McDonald courtesy of Nancy Zinni.

Cats drop 3rd straight to Bowie

New Britain 6 at Bowie 8

W: R. Keefer (2-4, 4.56); L: J. Miller (1-2, 5.15); SV: J. Manon (25)
HR: NBR: D. Valencia (2). BOW: L. Montanez (24), J. Nettles (20), C. Rojas (1).

The New Britain Rock Cats finally mounted an offense Wednesday evening at Prince Georges Stadium, but pitching proved to be the problem as they fell again, this time 8-6 to the Bowie Baysox.

Carlos Rojas knocked his first home run of the season over the left field wall and Luis Montenez put this 24th over the same left field wall off starter Yohan Pino in the bottom of the first with one out on the board. Nolan Reimold then took a free pass and Matt Wieters doubled out to right to plate Reimold. Wieters would make it to 3rd with men on the corners when Pino finally got Ryan Finan to ground out to end the inning.

Danny Valencia went yard in the top of the second, launching his 2nd of the year over the center field fence.

Rocky Palacios singled and Luke Hughes doubled in the top of the 3rd. Dustin Martin went down on strikes before Brock Peterson singled to plate the two runners, tying up the game. Erik Lis reached on a force attempt and Valencia drew a walk to load the bags. Matt Moses would ground into a force out which took Peterson out at home, but Steve Tolleson then drew a walk, forcing in Lis. Felix Molina would fly out to end the scoring threat.

Reimold doubled in the bottom of the 3rd but would try to make it a triple and was taken out at 3rd. Matt Wieters then doubled and came home on a Mike Rodriguez single. Rodriguez then stole 2nd and Jeff Nettles sent him over the plate with a ground ball to left.

Luke Hughes singled in the bottom of the fourth and went to 2nd on a wild pitch. Martin's ground out got him to 3rd and he'd come home on a Brock Peterson single to again tie up the game.

Jason Miller replaced Pino on the mound in the bottom of the fourth and set down 3 straight batters.

The top of the 5th saw Valencia single, then steal 2nd. Moses drew a walk. After Toleosn went down on strikes, Molina would be hit by a pitch to load the bags. Palacious sacrificed in Valencia, but Hughes struck out, ending the cat's threat.

Wieters would walk in the bottom of the 5th and Mike Gonzalez singled. Nettles then put his 20th home run of the year over the left center field wall to bring in 3, putting the Baysox on top for good.

The Cats had a good chance to tie up the game in the 7th with Moses on 3rd and Tolleson on 2nd but Molina popped out and Palacios ground out, leaving them stranded.

Pino end the game after giving up 5 runs, all earned, on 7 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 1 over 3 innings. Miller took his 2nd loss of the year, giving up 3 runs on 2 hits and a walk while fanning 3 over 3 innings. Rob Delaney worked the last two innings, giving up 3 hits, but no runs. He's strike out only one.

Hughes was 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of runs while Valencia and Tolleson were 2-for-4 each, Valencia with a walk, a pair of runs, and a run score, while Tolleson had a walk, a double and a RBI.

Peterson was 2-for-5 with 3 RBIs. Lis was 0-for-5 at the plate but contributed a run. Moses was 1-for-4 with a walk, while Palacios was 1-for-3 with a run and a run scored.

Bowie will look for brooms in an attempt to sweep the Cats out of town on Thursday night. New Britain returns home on Friday to fireworks and the Binghamton Mets for a three game set.

However they must get by Bowie's Zach Clark (1-0, 2.81) first and will look to Jeff Manship (1-5, 4.70) to give them a solid performance on the mound. Thursday's contest begins at 7:05 P.M.

Box
Log
Baysox
Rock Cats
Gazette.net
Courant

Aussie powers Eastern League North win

South All-Stars 3 at North All-Stars 5

W: J. Martinez; L: P. Bresnehan; SV: B. Julianel
HR: EASS: G. Golson, R. Roberson. EASN: L. Hughes.

Luke Hughes hit a 3-run home run in the sixth inning to lead the Eastern League North All-Stars to a 5-3 over the South All-Stars at MerchantsAuto.com Stadium in Manchester.

Hughes finished up 1-for-4 at the plate with a run and 3 RBIs. Ben Julianel picked up the save in the game, while Ryan Mullins, also named to the All-Star game, did not make an appearance.

Steve Tolleson was selected to the All-Star team as well, but did not participate due to an injury.

Box
Log
Rock Cats
Fisher Cats
MiLB
Union Leader
Twins Insider Blog

The New Britain Rock Cats begin a four-game set in New Hampshire on Thursday with the first pitch due at 7:05 PM.

PCL All-Stars 6 at INT All-Stars 5

W: L. Pena; L: B. Neal
HR: INTA: C. Carter

Rochester Red Wing Darnell McDonald was 1-for-2 at the plate as the PCL All-Stars edged the Int All-Stars 6-5 at Louisville Slugger Field. McDonald singled in the first inning. He reached on a fielder's choice in the third, then stole 2nd base.

The Pacific Coast League errupted for a six-run ninth inning to pick up the win after being shut out through eight.

Former Miracle Terry Tiffee was 0-for-4 with a pair of strike outs for the Pacific Coast League squad.

Detroit prospect Blaine Neal allowed all six Pacific Coast runs, five earned, on 4 hits and walk in .1 innings worth of work. He fanned only 1 and had a stellar 135.00 ERA while representing the Mud Hens in at the All-Star Game.

Box
Log
Bats/MiLB
Courier-Journal
RD&C
Extra Bases Blog

The Red Wings host the Norfolk Tide for a four-game set starting on Friday. First pitch its 7:05 at Frontier Field. Southpaw Francisco Liriano (7-2, 3.53 ERA) will take on the Tides RHP Hayden Penn (4-4, 4.97).

Randy Ruiz will bring his 22-game hitting streak - tied for the club record - into Thursday night's contest.

Soggy Miracle split twin bill with Hammerheads

Jupiter 0 at Fort Myers 1

W: B. Erickson (3-0, 1.96); L: C. Leroux (5-6, 3.92)
HR: None.

Anibal Sanchez, on rehab, and Oswaldo Sosa matched each other pitch-for-pitch in game one of the double header Sunday that got underway at 3:15 after a 3+ hour rain delay.

Sanchez would give up 3 hits and a pair of bases on ball, while fanning 6 over 5.2 innings, while Sosa gave up 1 hit and 3 walks and struck out 2 over five.

Neither team found much to hit at. But who needs bats anyway?

Edward Ovalle would get plunked by a pitch to get on base. Juan Portes moved him to second on a sac-bunt and he'd steal 3rd. A throwing error by catcher Chris Hatcher put the ball in the outfield while he was trying to catch Ovalle, and put Ovalle over the plate for the only run in the contest.

Yangervis Solarte was 1-for-1 with a walk, while Wilson Ramos (1-for-3) and Danny Berg (1-for-2) shared the one hit wonder of the game title.

Carlos Gutierrez made his professional debut, working 1 inning and allowing 1 hit while striking out 2. Blair Erickson finished the game, striking out 3 in the final inning.

Box
Log

Jupiter 8 at Fort Myers 0

W: G. Taylor (9-5, 2.91); L: M. Fox (5-4, 3.72)
HR: JUP: S. Cousins (5).

While there were more hits in game two, there was 1 few runs for the Miracle at least, which was not good.

Graham Taylor worked all 7 innings for the Hammerheads, scattering six hits over that period and striking out one.

Matt Fox worked six for the Miracle. In the top of the 3rd, Justin Webb took a single off of Fox, but Danny Lehmann made a successful pick off attempt at 1st with a throw to Danny Berg. Emilio Ontiveros would fly out to put two outs on the board. Scott Cousins and Ernesto Manzanillo then hit back-to-back singles and Logan Morrison doubled the pair in to put two runs on the board for Jupiter.

That would prove to be all they need, but Spencer Steedley came in for the seventh inning.

The Midwest League All-star walked Gregory Burns, who then stole second. Chris Dunn singled to score burns and moved to 2nd on a throwing error by Steedley. Webb singled and Ontiveros walked to load the bags. A wild pitch by Steedley put Dunn over the plate and Cousins would go yard over the right center field wall to bring in Webb and Ontiveros. Ernesto Manzarillo singled before Jose Lugo was brought into to replace Steedley. Lugo would allow a single to Morrison and a double to Vasil Spanos to score Manzarillo. He'd then walk Spike McDougal before Gregory Burns flew out to retire the side.

Eli Tintor and Yangervis Solarte attempted to rally the team by hitting back-to-back singles in the bottom of the 7th, but with Edward Ovalle already out, Danny Santiesteban ground into a double play, finishing the contest and sending the water logged crowd of 531 - or at least those that remained after 3 hours of rain delay - home.

Tintor finished up 2-for-3 while Berg, Ovalle, Solarte and Garrett Olson all had a single a piece.

The final game of the series is Monday night, mother nature permitting. Cole Devries (7-6, 2.45) will take the start for the Miracle.

Box
Log
Miracle
News Press
Breeze
NDN
Let's go Miracle Blog

Speaking of Cole Devries, the Fort Myers right handed pitcher is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week for July 5-11. Devries, 23, went 1-0 with a four-hit complete game win over Vero Beach. In 17 games (16 starts) this season he is 7-6 with a 2.45 ERA.

Devries, who is from Eden Prairie, MN, signed with the Twins August 22, 2006 as a non-drafted free agent out of the University of Minnesota. He made his professional debut last season with Beloit and went 9-5 with a 3.41 ERA.

The World Team took a 3-0 victory from Team USA in the Future's Game on Sunday. Former Miracle Luke Hughes started at 3rd base for the World Team.

Hughes went 0-for-2, with a lineout to center field and a strikeout in the contest. Denard Span who was supposed to play for Team USA as well as for Team USA in the Olympics remained on call up to the Minnesota Twins, making it unlikely that he will make his Olympic date as well. {Strib: Luke Hughes}

From MiLB.com:

THE WEEK THAT WAS: The Miracle had a winning week with four wins in seven games. Fort Myers is currently tied with Lakeland for second place in the FSL West, three games behind division-leading Dunedin.

WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT: 1B Daniel Berg has been hitting a decent clip of late. The native of Glen Iris, Australia, has eight hits in his last 26 plate appearances through nine games for a .308 average. ... LF Juan Portes has only reached base safely five times in his last 10 games through 35 at-bats for a .143 average.

PLAYER TO WATCH: LHP Jose Lugo has been money in the bank in recent days coming out of the Miracle bullpen. The native of the Dominican Republic has not allowed an earned run in his last 9 1/3 innings pitched through four appearances. In that span he has struck out eight and walked one.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: C Wilson Ramos drove in four of the Miracle's six runs on two hits in a 6-1 win at Vero Beach on July 9. The native of Venezuela homered to left in his second at-bat to put Fort Myers up, 2-0. In the sixth, Ramos belted a three-run homer to center for 5-1 lead.

Cats run down by Phillies again

New Britain 2 at Reading 9

W: P. Overholt (3-3, 3.98); L: Z. Ward (2-4, 3.43)
HR: REA: J. Donald (10), B. Harman (8).

Checking the New Britain scores is as much a chore as checking Elizabethton is a joy. The Rock Cats are not playing up to their potential at all. This year's version of the Reading Phillies contains much of the best of last year's FSL champion, the Clearwater Threshers.

The New Britain Rock Cats looked more like last year's version of the Fort Myers Miracle than as a collection of the best prospects in the Twins minor league system.

Zack Ward gave up 8 runs on 9 hits and 4 walks while fanning 4 over 5.1 innings. He'd lead off the game with walks to Javon Moran, Jason Donald and Brad Harman to load the bags. Lou Marson's ground out brought in Moran before Ward could get Joey Hammond to strike out and Neil Sellers to ground out to end the inning.

David Winfree singled in the second and got over to 3rd one out later on a Danny Valencia line drive, but Brian Dinkelman would fly out to strand him.

In the bottom of the second, Mike Eylward doubled, moved to 3rd on Luke Appert's ground out and was sacrificed in by Mike Spidale.

Drew Butera walked in the top of the 3rd, moved to 2nd on a Luke Hughes' line drive and to 3rd on a Dustin Martin ground out. But Brock Peterson would pop out and Erik Lis fly out and Butera was left on base.

Reading would not score in the 3rd, but made up for it in the 4th. With one out on the board, Appert and Spidale hit back-to-back singles. Moran's ground out moved the runners, and a line drive by Jason Donald drove in the pair.

Pat Overholt would stymie the Cats in the fourth, fifth and six innings, allowing only a walk to Winfree.

Eylward singled in the bottom of the six, and following a strike out to Appert, Spidale and Moran hit a pair of ground ball singles that drove in Elyard. Donald then went yard, his 10th of the season, over the left field wall. That finished it for Ward, and Rob Delaney came into the game. He'd immediately surrender a solo-shot home run to Harmon and a single to Marson before finding the last two outs.

With two outs in the top of the 7th, Butera would get plunked with a pitch. Hughes then singled to put runners at the corners. Martin doubled to drive in the pair, ending the scoring for both teams.

Delaney gave up 1 run on 2 hits and struck out 6 over 2.2 innings.

Hughes was 2-for-4 in the game with a run. Martin was 1-for-4 with a double and 2 RBIs. Winfree was 1-for-3 with a walk, while Valencia became the one hit wonder, going 1-for-4 at the plate. Both former Miracle players are posting a .196 average with the Cats.

The Cats have one more game in Reading, Thursday, July 3rd with a 7:05 PM start time.

Box
Log
Rock Cats
R-Phils
Courant
Reading Eagle

Rochester 5 at Buffalo 4

W: C. Cali (5-0, 3.38); L: R. Newsom (0-1, 4.50)
HR: ROC: R. Jorgensen (5), M. Macri (3). BUF: B. Snyder 2 (7).

It took 12 innings, but the Rochester Red Wings managed to skid past the Buffalo Bisons.

Danny Graves worked the first 5 for the wings, allowing 3 earned runs on six hits and a pair of walks while fanning 2.

Ryan Jorgenson doubled in the top of the 3rd, move to third on a Tommy Watkins single, and come in on a Trevor Plouffe single to open the scoring and putting the Wings up early. That wouldn't last though as the Bisons used a pair of doubles in the bottom half the stanza to put 2 runs on the board.

Brad Snyder then went yard in the bottom of the 4th for the herd, with a fly ball out to left.

Jorgensen hit his own home run in the top of the fifth, his fifth of the season over the left field wall.

Matt Macri would do the same in the top sixth for his 3rd home run of the year.

The score would stay tied at 3 until the top of the ninth. With Jensen Lewis on the mound for the herd, Sergio Santos singled then move to second on a Jorgensen sac-bunt. Watkins also hit a sac bunt and Pouffe's sac-fly would score Santos.

Bobby Korecky would handle the pitching chores for the Wings in the bottom of the stanza, but Buffalo responded with Snider hitting his 7th homer of the season over the right field wall.

On to extra innings. All-star Darnell McDonald and Garrett Jones hit back-to-back singles, and passed ball put McDonald on 3rd. Randy Ruiz struck out and Jones would advance to 2nd on defensive indifference before Howie Clark was intentionally walked to load the bases. Macri then singled to drive in McDonald for the game winning run.

Jorgensen was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and a run scored. Jones and Macri were 2-for-6, Macri with a run and 2 RBIs. Plouffe was 1-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

The two teams rematch Thursday in Buffalo at Dunn Tire park with a 6:05 PM game.

Box
Log
Red Wings
Bisons
RD&C
RD&C 2
B-News
B-News 2

Double and Triple A All-stars announced

The Double-A Eastern League All-Star Game will also take place July 16, and three former Miracle will be in it. Left-handed pitcher Ryan Mullins, and infielders Luke Hughes and Steve Tolleson have all been named to the All-star game from the Rock Cats squad. They will be joined by pitcher Ben Julianel who was signed by the Twins as a minor league free agent.

The game is due to be played at Merchantsauto.com Stadium, home of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Hughes, the Rock Cats' 23-year-old handyman extraordinaire who, despite a lengthy stay on New Britain's disabled list earlier this year, continues to either lead or be among the League leaders in several different offensive categories. At the time of today's announcement, the versatile (and now healthy) native of Perth, Australia is batting a lusty .340 with 14 Home Runs and a Slugging Percentage of .621. Earlier this week, Luke was notified of his selection to play for the World Team in the 2008 Futures Game scheduled for Yankee Stadium on Sunday, July 13th.

Tolleson, a 24-year-old University of South Carolina product, is one of 8 Infielders selected for the League's Mid-Summer Classic. Son of former big leaguer Wayne Tolleson - Steve has appeared in 58 games for the 2008 Rock Cats and, while both versatile and steady with the glove, he has shown significant offensive punch in his first trip to the Double-A, Eastern League. At the time of his selection, Steve was 4th in the League in Batting (.335), posting 21 Doubles, 5 HRs and 34 RBI in 58 total games.

Mullins, a 6'6”/202-pound product of Vanderbilt University, is one of just three left-handers on the Northern Division's glittering staff. The lanky 24-year-old native of Nashville, TN has been the Rock Cats most reliable starter in 2008. At the time of his selection, Ryan was 6-6 over 16 starts with an ERA of 3.84.

Julianel, a 28-year-old southpaw from Rancho Madera, CA, will work out of the Northern Division's bullpen – a location from which he has been outstanding for the 2008 Rock Cats. The 6'2”/184-pound lefty is among the Eastern League leaders in both appearances (35) and Saves (15), while his 2.66 ERA has consistently been among the best on entire New Britain staff.

In other news, outfielder Darnell McDonald has been elected to represent the Rochester Red Wings at the Triple-A All-Star Game which is also to be played on Wednesday, July 16, in Louisville. McDonald is in his second season in the Minnesota Twins organization, and is batting .307 (6th in IL) with 48 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 68 games for Rochester thus far this season.

Still Fishin', Rock Cats losing streak hits five

New Britain 2 at New Hampshire 3

W: R. Romero (4-4, 5.99); L: Z. Ward (2-3, 2.41); SV: Z. Dials (12)
HR: NHM: A. Hatch (6).

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats continued their win streak over the New Britain Rock Cats, taking a 3-2 win at MerchantsAuto.com Stadium.

Ricky Romero limited the Rock Cats to 1 run on 7 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 4 over six innings. Zach Ward, now out of the bullpen and back in the rotation, allowed 2 runs, 1 earned, on 4 hits and a walk while fanning 5 in six innings.

Luke Hughes was activated early and in back in the line up. Hughes doubled and moved to 3rd on a sac bunt. Danny Valencia sacrificed him in to put New Britain on the board.

The Fishers responded in the bottom of the 3rd when Anthony Hatch reached on a fielding error by New Britain's Erik Lis. Hatch would go to second on play. Chris Gutierrez would be hit by a pitch and Scott Campbell would single to drive in Hatch. Aaron Mathew's fly ball to left scored Gutierrez.

The score would stay that way until the bottom of the 7th, when Rob Delaney allowed a solo shot home run to Hatch. His sixth of the season, Hatch would put it over the right field wall.

Hughes would get plunked by a pitch in the top of the 8th, compliments of Jared Gothreaux. Tolleson then singled, but Valencia would ground into a force out that took Tolly down at 2nd. Brock Peterson's single to left would score Hughes. It also saw Daryl Harang to the mound for the Fishers, and he would strike out Erik Lis before giving way to Zach Dials, who got David Winfree to fly out to end the inning.

Dials would allow only a walk to the Cats in the 9th, effectively shutting them down to preserve the lead and the win for his 12th save of the season.

Saturday night's 7:05 contest will pit Julio Pinto (4-2, 7.52), just back from Advanced-A Dunedin, against New Britain left-hander Kyle Aselton (3-2, 5.03), another bull pen escapee.

Box
Log
Rock Cats
Fisher Cats/OSC
Union Leader
Courant
The Bookkitten Blog

In order to make room for Hughes on the Rock Cat's roster, lefty Jay Sawatski was reasigned to the Fort Myers Miracle of the Florida State League. The Minnesota Twins' 8th Round selection out of University of Arkansas in the 2004 Draft, Sawatski was 1-4 with the Rock Cat in 2008 posting a 7.75 ERA in 22 games, 38.1 innings pitched. (Rock Cats/OSC)

Despite their lack of success on the field (33-45 record), the Rock cats remain a hit with the home town crowd. The Cats welcomed their 200,000th customer of 2008 to New Britain Stadium on Thursday afternoon - reaching that fan support milestone on the earliest date in the franchise's 26-year history. The Eastern League Club achieved the attendance mark in the month of June for the first time in franchise history and just on their 41st home date of the 2008 Season; the previous earliest date to 200,000 in New Britain was July of 2007. (Rock Cats/OSC)

Of the four players promoted to New Britain, only reliever Rob Delaney has excelled, allowing one run and only two hits. Both Danny Valencia and Brian Dinkelman are hitting under .200, having some problems adjusting to the speed of the game at the AA level.

Pawtucket 4 at Rochester 2

W: E. Martinez (3-1, 3.86); L: D. Graves (3-3, 5.10); SV: H. Jones (3)
HR: PAW: G. Kottaras (15). ROC: R. Ruiz (11).

The Pawtucket Red Sox doubled up the Rochester Red Wings at Frontier Field despite Randy Ruiz's 11th home run of the season.

Edgar Martinez would limit the Wings to just 2 hits and 4 walks over the first five innings of the game. He struck out five during that time frame.

Joe Thurston doubled off Danny Graves in the top of the 3rd and moved to 3rd on Jed Lowrie's ground out. Chris Carter would plate him with a line drive to right.

George Kottaras knocked hit his 15th home run of the season over the right field fence in the top of the sixth, to give the Pawsox at 2-0 lead.

Rochester's Ricky Barrett replaced Graves in the top of the 7th and would strike out Chad Spann before allowing a single to Jon Van Every. Jeff Bailey then drew a walk. A single by Joe Thurston would drive in Van Every to make it 3-0 for the visitors.

This time the Wings answered back as Trevor Plouffe singled and moved to 2nd on Ryan Jorgensen's ground out. Denard Span also ground out, moving Plouffe to 3rd, and a wild pitch by Michael Tejera saw him home.

Ruiz would make it 3-2 Pawtucket in the bottom of the 8th when sent a ball over the right center field fence off Miguel Asencio. But Sean Danielson would reach on a catching error by Garrett Jones in the top of the 9th, then steal 2nd. Carmen Cali would get Spann and Van Every out on strikes before Julio DePaula was brought into the game to get the final out. Instead, Jeff Bailey would reach on a fielding error by Serio Santos at short, allowing Danielson to score.

The Wings managed only 4 hits in the whole game.

Game two of the series is Saturday night at 7:35 p.m. Kevin Mulvey (3-7, 4.06) will pitch for the Wings against Pawtucket's Charlie Zink (8-2, 2.33).

Box
Log
Red Wings
Pawsox
RD&C
R-News
ProJo.com
Extra Bases Blog

The Red Wings finished their road trip with a 5-3 record, a .306 (91-287) batting average and 48 runs scored (6.0 per game).

Outfielder Darnell McDonald now has an eight-game hitting streak, with four multi-hit games. McDonald currently leads the IL with a .320 batting average. The last Red Wing to lead the IL in batting was outfielder Jason Kubel (.343) in 2004.

Boston Red Sox RHP Mike Timlin, currently with Pawtucket on a rehab assignment, is scheduled to pitch an inning on Saturday.

Some Rochester Trivia: Who is the only person to play for both the baseball Rochester Red Wings and Rochester Amerks hockey team?

Why that would be none other than Fred Costello, the organist, of course!

Fisher Cats sweep series at New Britain

New Hampshire 13 at New Britain 6

W: B. Magee (1-10, 6.04); L: A. Swarzak (3-5, 5.63)
HR: NHM: T. Snider (11), J. Butler (10), A. Mathews (6). NBR: D. Martin (5), D. Butera (3).

The New Britain Rock Cats has a huge collection of top prospects and high round draft picks in their line up. Unfortunately, they don't play like they do. The New Hamphshire Fisher Cats jumped all over Anthony Swarzak in route a 13-6 romp at New Britain Stadium.

Jacob Butler and Brian Jeroloman took back-to-back walks off Swarzak in the top of the 2nd inning. Eric Nelson then singled to load the bags. Kyle Phillips line drive to right scored Butler. Anthony Hatch would strike out swinging and Ryan Klosterman ground into a double play that took Jeroloman out at the plate.

Scott Campbell would single and Aaron Mathews followed up with his sixth home run of the season, over the center field wall. Travis Snider and Butler then hit back-to-back singles. Jeroloman followed that up with a line drive double to center to score Snider. Nelson would sacrifice in Bulter before Phillips would fly out and Hatch would strike out to retire the side.

Klosterman and Campbell opened up the top of the 4th with back to back singles, and would advance a base each on Dustin Martin's throw. Mathews then sacrificed in Klosterman. Snider's single would drive in Campbell. Yohan Pino would be called into the game at that point, replace Swarzak, who had surrendered 8 runs on 10 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 2 in 3.1 innings worth of work. Pino would get Butler out on strikes, but Jeroloman would double off him to drive in Snider. Nelson would ground out to send the Fisher Cats on the defense.

Erik Lis would double for New Britain and following a fly out to Brock Peterson, David Winfree would single. Felix Molina then tripled to drive in the pair, and Drew Butera followed that up with his 3rd home run of the season, to give the Rock Cats 4. Following a ground out to Brian Dinkelman, Dustin Martin would make it an 8-5 game with his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot over the right field fence. Toby Gardenhire would go down on strikes to end the inning.

Both teams would catnap for a couple of innings. Nielsen then drew a walk in the top of the 7th. Phillips would double him in, but the former Miracle who is known as being one of the slowest players in professional baseball, was taken out at 3rd on the throw.

David Harang would replace Brandon Magee in the bottom of the 7th. Dinkelman, Martin and Gardenhire would all hit back to back singles which plated Dinkelman. Danny Valencia and Lis would both strike out, and Seth Overbey would come in to get Peterson to ground into a force out. The score was now 9-6 in favor of the Fishers.

Frank Mata would replace Pino for the top of the 8th, and allowed a walk to Campbell. Mathews then double him in. Travis Snider would go yard over the center field wall, his 11th of the season and Butler followed suite, for his 10th home run of the season. Jeroloman would draw a walk as did Nelson, but Phillips would fly out and Hatch ground into a double play to end New Hampshire's threat.

Martin and Gardenhire went 3-for-5 at the top of the order, Martin with a run and a run batted in, and Gardenhire with a RBI. Lis and Butera were 2-for-4 with a run each,Butera with a pair of RBIs as well. Winfree, Molina and Dinkelman all finished up 1-for-4 with a run each, Molina with a pair of RBIs as well.

The Fisher Cats sweep the series, but never fear! There's still a chance for revenge as the two teams meet tomorrow. They now switch over to MerchantsAuto.com Stadium for a 3-game set. Left-hander Ricky Romero (3-4, 6.34) will pitch for New Hampshire against New Britain right-hander Zach Ward (2-2, 2.53).

Box
Log
Rock cats
Fisher Cats
Union Times
Concord Monitor
NB Herald
Courant

New Britain infielder and former Miracle Luke Hughes as been selected to the 2008 All-star Futures Game. Hughes, a native of Perth, Australia, will represent the Minnesota Twins as a member of the World Team. The 10th annual Futures Game will be played on Sunday, July 13 at Yankee Stadium. The 6'0," 190-lb. Hughes has been one of the top offensive players in the Eastern League this season. He is batting .335 with 13 home runs and 34 RBI. In 47 games with the Rock Cats, Hughes has scored 41 runs and posted a .618 slugging percentage.

Scott Campbell was selected to the game for the Fisher Cats. A New Zealand native, he will represent the Blue Jays on the World Team. He is currently hitting an Eastern League-leading .353 with four home runs and 25 RBI. Campbell leads the Fisher Cats in on-base percentage (.453) and walks (42).

The game will be televised on ESPN2, and will be broadcast on XM Satellite Radio.



Rochester 4 at Louisville 1

W: P. Humber (4-6, 5.19); L: J. Fogg (0-1, 3.00); SV: C. Daigle (1)
HR: None.

Fogg wasn't the only weather putting in an appearance at Louisville Slugger Stadium Thursday as rain held the start of the contest between the Rochester Red Wings and the Louisville Bats up by 2-and-a-half hours.

Phil Humber picked up only his fourth win this season, limiting the Louisville Bats to only 5 hits and a pair of walks over 5 innings, while striking out 6. Meanwhile, this counterpart, Josh Fogg, worked all nine innings, allowing 4 runs, 3 earned on 10 hits while striking out 6.

The Red Wings jumped on Fogg early, with Tommy Watkins tripling in the first inning, then coming home on Matt Macri's ground out. The top of the 2nd would see Sergio Santos reach on a throwing error then advance to 2nd. Jason Pridie would triple him in.

In the 3rd, Garrett Jones doubled, moved to 3rd on Randy Ruiz ground out, and came in on a Santos single.

Casey Daigle would allow Andy Green a double out to center field in the bottom of the 8th. Chris Dickerson would move him to 2rd. Dickerson would then go for his 14th stolen base of the season. A throwing error by Ryan Jorgensen sent the ball into the outfield and allowed Green to come home for the only Bats run.

Randy Ruiz tripled in the top of the ninth. Alejandro Machado would come in as a pinch runner and a sac-fly by Santos would bring him home the Red Wings' fourth run.

Pridie went 4-for-4 at the plate with 1 RBI, while Denard Span was 2-for-4.

The Wings now return home to face the Pawtucket Red Sox Friday at Frontier Field. Danny Graves (3-2, 5.40) will throw out the first pitch at 7:05 PM. The Pawsox will counter with Edgar Martinez (2-1, 4.22).

Box
Log
Red Wings
Bats
Courier Journal
RD&C
R-News
Extra Bases Blog

Red Wings outfielder and former Miracle Denard Span was named to the U.S. Olympic Trial team, and will play in the All-Star Futures Game. Former Red Wing Davey Johnson will manage the U.S. club; Johnson will also serve as the manager of the U.S. Team at the Olympics in Beijing, China in August.

Former Red Wing/Miracle Matt Garza thew a one-hitter Thursday afternoon - a home run in the 7th inning by former Sara-Sox Hanley Ramirez - as the Tampa Bay Red Wings finished a 3-game sweep of the Florida Marlins. Garza (6-4) struck out 10 and walked one in his first complete game in 38 major league starts. He faced the minimum 18 batters through six innings on a humid afternoon in Miami.

LHP Simonitsch Released by Minnesota Twins

New Britain Rock Cats Press Release

New Britain, CT – The New Britain Rock Cats announced this afternoon that LHP Errol Simonitsch, a 25-year-old Glendale, CA native who spent portions of three different seasons playing in New Britain, has been released by the Rock Cats' parent organization, the Minnesota Twins.

The New Britain fan and clubhouse favorite had his career set back by a shoulder injury that was discovered near the conclusion of the Twins' 2007 Spring Training. The 6'4"/230-pound southpaw was Minnesota's 6th Round selection in the 2003 Draft out of Gonzaga University.

Simonitsch made his first appearance in New Britain in 2005 when, following his June 22nd promotion from Ft. Myers in the Florida State League, he went 6-5 in his Eastern League debut season. Combined with his 8 victories at Fort Myers, his 14 total wins that year was the most of any pitcher in the entire Minnesota minor league system. He returned to the Hardware City in 2006 and led the club with 26 starts and 148.2 total innings worked. As the staff workhorse, he compiled an 8-14 record and his 22 decisions were the team high.

After starting the 2007 Season on New Britain's Disabled List, Simonitsch was returned to Extended Spring Training in Florida to continue his rehabilitation. He eventually was assigned to the Gulf Coast League Twins and then Ft. Myers where he finished strong, posting a combined 5-0 record and 3.72 ERA in 10 games.

After rejoining the Rock Cats on May 12th of this year, Simonitsch made six starts and compiled a 1-4 record with a 9.96 ERA. He allowed 49 hits and 12 walks while striking out 17 in 28 innings. His sole New Britain victory this year came last week in Altoona, PA; his final defeat came just last night at home when, against the same Altoona team, he surrendered 12 hits and seven Runs over five-plus innings of work.

---

In related news, Luke Hughes was placed on the disabled list and RHP Yohan Pino was reactivated.

The 23-year-old Hughes was placed on the Disabled List (6/9) with a strained left groin; the 24-year-old Pino is returning to active status (6/10) after having been disabled on May 16 with a strained right shoulder.

Hughes has been New Britain's top offensive player since Opening Day/2008. He goes to the DL as one of the Eastern League's top hitters; he holds a .335 BA while also being either in sole possession or tied for the League lead in a range of offensive categories from Home Runs (13) to Slugging Percentage (.618) to Runs Scored (41). Hughes appeared in 47 total games for the 2008 Rock Cats and collected 64 Hits.

---

· Matt Tolbert had the cast on his left hand removed and he's now donning a splint on his surgically repaired left thumb. Twins field manager Ron Gardenhire said Wednesday that a best-case scenario would have Tolbert back playing Aug. 1.

· Shortstop Adam Everett's stress reaction in his right shoulder has not calmed down as quickly as the club hoped. Everett likely will not begin a throwing program until after the team returns from its current road trip.

· Gardenhire said Wednesday that he still expects his team to reduce its pitching staff from 13 to 12 following Thursday's game in Cleveland.

New Britain struck by Thunder, 10-3

Trenton 13 at New Britain 3

W: M. Melancon (2-0, 1.84); L: E. Simonitsch (0-3, 12.18)
HR: NBR: L. Hughes (12), B. Peterson (5).

Not surprisingly, the Trenton Thunder demolished the New Britain Rock Cats 13-3. Errol Simonitsch is clearly not himself and well my initial suggestion would be to put in Kyle Aselton instead, it seems that Mr. Aselton gave up his fair share of runs as well.

Simo would give up 6 earned runs on 8 hits over 2.2 innings, while striking out 2.

Luke Hughes hit is 12th home run of the season for the Cats to start out the bottom of the first. Simonitsch had managed to get through the first inning unscathed, but the second, well...

Kevin Russo doubled with one out on the board, followed by back-to-back singles by Jose Tabata and P.J. Pilittere, which plated Trenton's right fielder. Chris Malec then double to drive in the pair. Reegie Corona's single would move Malac to 3rd and Ramiro Pena would sacrifice him in for 4 runs.

That Simo went back out to the mound in the 3rd in is surprising.

Colin Curtis singled. Edwar Gonzalez ground out which moved Curtis to 2nd. A wild pitch moved Curtis to 3rd and he was doubled in by Russo. Tabata struck out swinging. Pilittere singled to bring in Russo and Jason Miller - for the Rock Cats, of course. Sarasota's native son gave up a single to Malec, who tried to stretch it for a double and was taken out at 2nd.

Brock Peterson in the bottom of the 4th would homer to give the Cats another run, in what seemed a lesson in futility.

Russo would reach on a throwing error by third baseman Toby Gardenhire. Tabata and P.J. Pilittere both singled before Malec ground into a force out that plated Russo and took Pilittere out at 2nd. Corona would reach on a fielding error by Miller before the lefty got Pena and Jackson out on strikes.

Gardenhire would single in the bottom of the fifth, move to 2nd on a Jeff Christy ground out and to came home on Hughes line drive to right. Unfortunately, this failed to spark the Rock Cats at all.

Aselton would replace Miller in the top of the 7th, and got through the inning despite a single to Malec and second fielding error by Gardenhire that saw Corona reach. Jackson and Curtis would both single in the 8th. Gonazalez hit into a force out, but Jackson scored on the play. A throwing error by Hughes allowed Gonzalez to progress to 2nd, but Russo and Tabata where taken out on strikes.

Trevor Plouffe would walk in the bottom of the 8th and Eric Lis would double but both would be left stranded.

Pilittere and Malec both hit singles to start out the top of the 9th. Corona ground into a force out, and Pena was walked to load the bags. Jackson reached on a force attempt that allowed Pilittere to score. Curtis singled to bring in Corona and Pena, and Gonazalez singled to bring in Jackson. Armando Gabino was brought in as well, to the mound, to replace Aselton. He'd get Russo to fly out and Tabata to ground out to end the Thunder's attack.

Down by 10 runs, Dustin Martin would single off Eric Wordekemper to start off the inning. 2 outs later, Luke Hughes would walk, but Plouffe flew out to center to end the game.

Steve Tolleson was 2-for-3 with a walk, while Hughes was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run and 2 RBIs. The Cats managed only 8 hits to Trenton's 21 and five errors hurt them as well.

Much as they dislike the idea, the two teams face off today for a 1:35 PM game. Jason Jones (7-1, 2.36) will start for Trenton, while Oswaldo Sosa (2-4, 6.46) will handle the pitching for New Britain.

Box
Log
Rock Cats
Trenton
Courant
Pending Pinstripes Blog
Thunder Thoughts Blog

Who writes these things? According to the Rock Cats.com farm report "David Bromberg also starred in May (2-0, 3.03, 38 K, 29.2 IP) for the Miracle." I wonder if he knows this?

Swarzak, Cats K.O. Defenders

Connecticut 6 at New Britain 10

W: A. Swarzak (3-2, 4.18); L: G. Broshuis (4-5, 4.42); SV: A. Gabino (3)
HR: CT: A. Witter (8). NBR: L. Hughes (11).

Anthony Swarzak allowed only 3 runs - 2 earned - on 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 10 in 5.2 innings worth of work. Meanwhile Luke Hughes hit his 11th home run of the year, a blast worth 3 runs in the fourth inning to propel the New Britain Rock Cats over the Connecticut Defenders, 10-6.

New Britain clawed their way onto the scoreboard first when Brock Peterson doubled and Matt Moses and David Winfree followed up with back-to-back singles to plate him. The Defenders answered back in the top of the 3rd with Olmo Rosario singling, then crossing the plate on Travis Ishikawa's line drive to right. Ishikawa would move to second on the throw by Winfree. Eddy Martinez then reached on a Luke Hughes fielding error which also allowed Ishikawa across the plate for a 2nd Defender's run.

Peterson lead the way onto the basepaths with a single in the bottom of the 4th, but Moses hit into a force out. Winfree would follow that with a ground out for two outs before Dustin Martin doubled to bring in Moses. Toby Gardenhire singled to bring in Martin, and Drew Butera drew a walk, setting the stage for Hughes to go yard over the left field fence.

Winfree would double with 2 outs on the board in the bottom of the 5th, coming home on a Dustin Martin single to add one more to the Rock Cats total.

Adam Witter homered off Swarzak in the top of the sixth. Swarzak would allow a walk to Simon Klink, but David Marount struck out and Jake Wald flew out before Jay Sawatski came in to get Ben Copeland to ground out to end the inning. The slightly premature removal from the mound suggests that Swarzak had reach his pitch count and threw a few too many balls - vs strikes - than would be suitable, but it was still a good start for the somewhat beleaguered top prospect.

Butera doubled and Hughes walked of Josh Sharpless in the bottom of the 8th. Butera would be plated by an Erik Lis double. Peterson would walk to load the bases. Ronnie Ray came into to replace Sharpless on the mound. Moses would hit a sacrifice fly off of him to bring in Hughes, and Winfree would follow that up with a ground ball single to bring in Lis, giving the Rock Cats 10.

The Defenders took 3 back in the top of the 9th with Wald and Copeland walking. Rosario hit a single to left to bring in Wald. Carlos Silva would reach on a failed force attempt and Iskiwawa would walk to force in Copeland before Armando Gabino stepped in to relieve Sawatski. Eddy Martinez-Esteve ground into a force out that plated Roasario, but Gabino would get Witter and Klink out on strikes to end the contest.

Peterson and Gardenhire were both 2-for-4 in game, Peterson with a walk and a run and Gardenhire with a run and a run scored. Winfree and Martin were both 3-for-5 with a run and 2 RBIs each. Trevore Plouffe was 2-for-5. Hughes would finish up 1-for-3 with a pair of walks, two runs and 3 RBIs on the home run.

The Rock Cats remain at New Britain stadium as Division leading Trenton comes into town for a weekend series. Jay Rainville (4-5, 6.61) will handle the pitching chores in game one, throwing out the first pitch at 6:35 PM.

Boxscore
Log
Rock Cats
Defenders
Bulletin
Herald

The New Britain Rock Cats announced today that their Friday, May 16th Rain Out with Portland will now be made up as part of a single-admission, Twilight doubleheader to be played at New Britain Stadium on Saturday evening, July 12th. First pitch of Game 1 will be tossed at 5:35 PM; both contests will be 7-innings in duration.

Portland "Rained" out, 6-3

New Britain 6 at Portland 3

W: J. Rainville (4-5, 6.61); L: K. Johnson (3-2, 3.40); SV: B. Julianel (8)
HR: POR: A. Bates (4).

Jay Rainville is back, ladies and gentleman! For the second straight outing Rainville dominated, this time limiting the Portland Sea Dogs to 2 hits and 3 walks over six innings while fanning 3.

Meanwhile, Luke Hughes led the New Britain Rock Cats offense going 3-for-4 at the plate with a walk, 2 runs and 2 RBIs.

The Cats would get on the board first, in the bottom of the 3rd. With 2 outs on the board, Steve Tolleson, Matt Moses and Hughes all hit singles which plated Tolleson.

Hughes would walk in the top of the sixth, and move to second on a wild pitch by Kris Johnson. An Erik Lis ground ball single saw Hughes to 3rd, and he'd come hom on a David Winfree double.

The top of the 7th would be a big inning for New Britain, as Jeff Christy doubled and Tolleson singled. Moses walked to load the bags. A fly ball single by Hughes plated Christy and Tolleson, and Lis sacrificed in Moses. Winfree would ground out, moving Hughes to 3rd. and Trevor Plouffe would be intentionally walked. Dustin Martin's fly ball single to right brought in Hughes to give the Cats a 6-0 lead.

Southpaw Kyle Aselton replaced Rainville on the mound for the bottom of the 7th. Ryan Khoury doubled off him, a line drive to left. Mickey Hall took a walk. Iggy Suarez's line drive plated Khoury, while Jeff Corsaletti's single brought in Hall.

Zach Ward replaced Asleton for the bottom of the 8th, allowing a home run to Aaron Bates, his 4th of the season. That would be it for the Dogs though, as the Cats got themselves a big win, right when they needed it.

Tolleson and Lis were both 2-for-4 in the contest, Tolleson with a walk and 2 runs and Lis with a run scored.

Ben Julianel worked the 9th inning to pick up the save, his 8th of the season.

More Cats and Dogs on Monday at Hadlock Field, with the first pitch going out at 1:00 PM.

Boxscore
Log
Rock Cats
Sea Dogs

---

I told Jeff Manship I wasn't taking any more pictures of him and he said "Never? Not ever?"

"Well, I was looking through the photos from last year," I explained, "and it's all Jeff Manship-Jay Rainville, Jeff-Manship-Jay Rainville, Jeff Manship-Jay Rainville. I mean, did we have anyone else in the pitching rotation?"

"Zach Ward," he laughed, "but he only pitched three innings a game."

"Errol Simonitsch," I offer.

"SIMONitsch," he corrects. Evidently one of those words with various pronunciations.

"Simo," I settle on.

"Yeah, Simo," he agrees. "And Waldrop."

"Oh yeah, Whining Wally," I said. "I forgot about him."

"Whining Wally?"

"Yeah, when he came back down all he did was complain about everything. He was on the whinny side to start, but they taught him AA level complaining in New Britain."

He was, he was being a real sissy pants.

Shield stats and injury report

Luke Hughes remained out the New Britain line up after reportedly "tweeking his hamstring" in a game last week. He has not been placed on the DL and is day-to-day.

The former Miracle infield gained recognition earlier in April after a career month in which he batted .352 (35-for-99) with six double, a triple and 8 home runs, 20 runs and 18 RBIs.

The hot start was attributed in part to Hughes playing winter ball, appearing with Team Australia in the World Cub series, and then going to to participate in Australia's Claxton Shield.

I admit to overlooking the Claxton Shield in my reporting this year, so I thought I'd give you a big of statistical uselessness from the tournament:

                   AVG  GP-GS  AB  R  H 2B 3B HR RBI TB SLG%  Current
Berg, D.           .400  9- 9  40  8 16  1  2  3   7 30 .750  Twins High-A
Atherton T.        .357 10- 8  28  7 10  4  1  0   5 16 .571  Twins Extended/GCL
Rutgers, P.    .319 12-12  47 15 15  5  0  1   7 23 .489  Released-Low A
Hughes, L.         .304 12-12  46 11 14  6  0  0   2 20 .435  Twins AA
de San Miguel, A.  .289 11-11  38  5 11  3  0  1   5 17 .447  Twins High-A
Lysaught, M.       .256 12-12  39  7 10  4  0  0   0 14 .359  Released-Rookie
Oeltjen, T.    .200  6- 6  25  4  5  1  1  0   3  8 .320  Arizona AAA

Oeltjen, down at the bottom of the list, is hitting .301 with 21 runs, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run and 8 RBIs in AA Tucson. Berg is hitting .321 in 9 games for the High A Miracle, with 8 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, and 6 RBIs. He spent time on the DL this season, which accounts for his low playing time. de San Miguel, who is the Miracle's back up catcher, is hitting .108, 4 hits-37 at bats, 3 runs, 1 double, 3 RBIs.

Australian pitching is somewhat different than what these players face in the minor leagues here in the states, but it usually equates to the player's average going down, (Berg, de San Miguel), not up (Hughes, Oeltjen).

In other news, former Miracle Pat Neshak will likely miss the rest of the season with UCL tear in his elbow. Neshak, who is currently with the Major League Twins, had an MRI exam on Friday revealed an acute partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

As a result of the injury, Neshek will not be allowed to do any throwing for a minimum of three months, meaning that it would be very close to the end of the season by the time he's even close to pitching again.

But while it seemed to be the worst kind of news, Neshek didn't look at it that way. The ulnar collateral ligament is the same one that is replaced in Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. However, Neshek said the doctors believed that his injury could be treated with rest and rehabilitation and not surgery.

"Obviously it's really bad," Neshek said in a Twins press release. "But it's good I can come back and rehab this instead of having to go through surgery and sit out for a good year."

Neshek suffered the injury in the eighth inning of Thursday's game against the White Sox in Chicago. The pitcher said he felt something in the elbow "tweak and roll over" when he threw a slider to Joe Crede, the third batter he faced in the inning. Neshek exited the game immediately following that pitch and was originally diagnosed with a right elbow strain.

Neshek has been given the majority of the eighth-inning spots so far this season for the Twins. He earned the role as the team's primary setup man last season and went 7-2 with a 2.94 ERA, a .183 batting average against and 74 strikeouts over 70 1/3 innings. So far this season, Neshek had posted a 4.73 ERA over his 13 1/3 innings.

In a similar story, Nick Punto remained sidelined with some lingering soreness in his left hamstring. Punto is currently on the 15-Day DL, is expected that he will miss several more games before rejoining the Twins line up.



Twins prospect Andrew Thompson left extended spring training. His back continues to plague him and it is reported he will take another year off to try to heal. Thompson already missed the entire 2007 season, last appearing in a professional game in Beloit in 2006 here he hit .261 through 74 games. He has played on and off on rehab assignments in extended spring training, but has not been able to manage with his injury. Former Miracle pitcher Kyle Waldrop is also expected to miss the season after having surgery on his shoulder. Supposedly there was no damage tot he rotator cuff or labrum, but it's a big setback for Waldrop none the less.

1st base prospect Henry Sanchez also had surgery, on the knee he injured last year. He is likely done for the 2008 season as well.

Mike Allen, Estarlin De Los Santos, Jose Leger and Lee Martin have all participated in extending spring training games on rehab recently, and are on track to play at some point this season.

Hughes rocks Eastern League

Who is Luke Hughes? A few months ago, only the most die hard of the prospect watchers could probably have answered that question. Now - suddenly - the 23 year old infielder is the hottest minor league player in the Twins organization.

Hughes, who played on the Fort Myers Miracle in 2005 and 2006, got off to an outstanding start for the AA New Britain Rock Cats, batting .354 (35-for-99) with six doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 20 runs scored, 18 RBI, 14 walks and three stolen bases in 24 games during the month of April.

Hughes had a hit in all but four of the games that he played in during the month, including 11 multiple hit games and one multiple home run game on April 23rd.

Now, Hughes has gone from being the talk of New Britain to being the talk of the Eastern league, edging out Bowie pitcher Chris Waters to be named the Eastern League Player of the Month for April, 208.

A native of Perth, Australia, Hughes joined the Twins as a non-drafted free agent in 2003. He played that season for the Gulf Coast League and batted .308, being named to the post-season All-star team. After that though, Hughes fell under the radar, hitting .284 in Rookie Elizabethton in 2004. In 2005, his performance in Beloit - in which he batted .257 with 7 home runs, 42 runs and 42 RBIs earned him a mid-season performance to the High-A Fort Myers Miracle.

But he only hit .203 for the Fort Myers club while splitting time between first and second base. As a result, he stayed in Fort Myers for the following season, hitting .231 with 32 runs and 37 RBIs including 4 home runs. He was promoted to Double A in 2007, but did little to light the town on fire.

For those that paid attention to Baseball's World Cup in November, Hughes current ball pound performance should be no surprise, as the 6'0", 190 lb slugger turned in an impressive perforance for Team Australia, boosting the squad into the Quarterfinals.

He hit .289 in the Claxton Shield during the Australian summer and turned up for spring training, ready to tear the cover off the ball - and that's exactly what he's been doing.

Hughes currently leads the Easter League in virtually every offensive category, including batting average (.385), home runs (9), hits (47), on-base percentage (.449), extra-base hits (18) and runs scored (29) and he is also ranked second among all of the players in Minor League Baseball in total bases this season, with 85.

This is not the first award the Aussie has taken home this season, as he was also named the Bank of America Eastern League Player of the Week for the week ending April 27th.

As impressive as his performance was in April, Hughes has been even better so far during the month of May, hitting .522 with one double, one triple, one home run and nine runs scored in five games. He currently has a 14-game hitting streak, which is tied for the longest streak in the Eastern League this season. Eight of the 14 games have been multiple hit games and Hughes is hitting .431 with seven homers, 20 runs scored and 15 RBI during the streak.

Hughes batted .263 with 18 doubles, nine home runs, 56 runs scored and 43 RBI in his Double-A debut for the Rock Cats last season.

How long Hughes remains in New Britain remains to be seen, especially with the AAA Rochester Red Wings off to a struggling start this season. Unless Hughes cools down substantially, the should be a shoe in for the Eastern League All-star showcase, assuming he lasts in the Eastern League that long. Hughes is the first New Britain player to be honored as POTM since another former Miracle was honored the same way: Jason Kubel in 2004. Kubel, currently with the major league Twins is one of several former Miracle players on MLB's All-Star Ballot.

In other news, TwinsBaseball.com reported Tuesday night that the Twins will place RHP Scott Baker on the disabled list Wednesday, and call up former Miracle lefty Glen Perkins to pitch on Saturday. Baker's DL move will allow Kevin Slowey to be activated for his start on Thursday; Minnesota will need to make a move to open up a spot for Perkins by Saturday.

Former Miracle honored by Eastern League

Former Miracle infielder Luke Hughes was honored by the Eastern League Monday when he was named the Bank of America Eastern League Player of the Week for the week ending April 27, 2008.

Hughes, a native of Perth, Australia, had an outstanding week for the New Britain Rock Cats, hitting .394 (13-for-33) with two doubles, six home runs, 10 RBI, five runs scored, two walks and a 1.000 slugging percentage in seven games. The 23-year old had at least one hit in each of the games he played in last week and hit a home run in all but two of the games that he played in, including a 4-for-5, two homer and five RBI performance in a 15-6 win against Reading last Wednesday.

With his home run outburst last week, the 6'0", 190 lb. slugger now leads the league with eight home runs and is also ranked among the league leaders in extra-base hits (14-tied 1st), slugging percentage (.689-2nd), hits (32-3rd) and batting average (.356-7th).

Hughes, who was signed by the Minnesota Twins as a non-drafted free agent on July 19, 2002, received an E.L. Player of the Week selection last season as well. In 2007, he batted .283 in 92 games and earned E.L. All-Star Game honors in his first season with New Britain.

Martin Making an impression in Double A

Dustin Martin started off the season on the bench as a reserve fourth outfielder. The Rock Cats returned speedster Brandon Roberts to center field and power hitters David Winfree and Matt Moses – both third basemen making the switch to the outfield – were penciled in at the corners. That left little room for Martin; that is, until he stepped up to the plate for the first time.

Martin made his Double-A debut on April 5, when he went 1-for-3 with a double. He went on to hammer out 13 hits in his first six games. That included a four-hit performance on the road in Portland on April 12 that put his then league leading average at .619 (13-21). Throw in plays like a perfectly placed leadoff bunt or a highlight-reel worthy catch in left field and it would be hard to argue how Martin could be kept out of the everyday line-up.

Martin, 24, has been an offensive force for the Rock Cats. The 6'2", 211-lb. left-hander may have cooled off a bit in the past few games but still ranks third in the league with a .368 average. He leads the Rock Cats in stolen bases, is second on the team in slugging percentage and is among the team leaders in runs (14), hits (25), and doubles (6). He ranks second on the club with a .410 on-base percentage.

If Martin continues at his current rate, he may make it three-for-three on All-Star Game appearances with a showing in the Eastern League Game. That is if he hasn’t played himself out of New Britain by July. Visit the New Britain Rock Cats website for an in depth look at the former Miracle outfielder.

Martin, who came to the Twins Organization as part of a trade with the New York Mets, was not in the line up last night, as the Rock Cats took on some of his fellow former teammates with New Britain playing in Binghamtom. Facing the soft pitching Jake Ruckle on the mound, the Cats jumped out to an early 5-1 lead and went on to win 7-1.

Matt Moses was 3-for-5 in the contest with 2 hits and 1 RBI, while former Miracle 1st baseman Brock Peterson was 2-for-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs. Erik Lis, one of Martin's teammates on last years Miracle squad, was 2-for-4 with 1 RBI. Hughes was 1-for-4 at the plate with a walk and run. Oswaldo Sosa picked up the win, allowing 1 run (earned) on 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5 in five innings worth of work. (Boxscore)

The Cats play 2 more in Binghamton before returning home on Friday to face New Hampshire.

Around the system...

The Beloit Snappers came out on top against the South Bend Silver Hawks. Newly promoted Brad Tippett picked up the win n the relief roll, as a fielding error by Silverhawk 3rd baseman Ramon Ramirez allowed Mark Dolenc, who'd drawn a talk to start the tenth inning, across the plate.

Dan Lehman was 3-for-4 at the plate in the contest with a triple, 1 run and 1 RBI. Ben Revere, who struggled a bit in his first outing on Monday, when 2-for-4 in this game, batting second in the line up behind fellow outfielder Joe Benson. Revere filled the center field position, while Benson shifted to right. (Boxscore)

Matt Williams earned a blown save when South Bend scored an unearned run on the Australian hurler in the 8th inning. Williams worked 3 innings, striking out three over that period and allowing only 1 hit. A wild pitch by Williams and a throwing error by Lehmann, the team's catcher, lead to run after Even Frey doubled his way onto base.

Triple-A Rochester topped Pawtucket 9-3 at home. Chris Basak was 2-for-3 with a walk and run (including a double), and Jason Pridie was 2-for-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs. Former Miracle Alexi Casilla was also 2-for-4 at the plate, with one run. Darnell McDonald was 3-for-5 with 2 runs and 3 RBIs. (Boxscore)

Brian Duensing allowed the Pawsox to pull to an early 3-0 lead, giving up three runs, all earned) on 7 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 4 over six innings. The Wings would begin their rally in the sixth, and scored the game winning run in the seventh to give reliever Phil Humber his first win of the season.

Former Ivy-Leaguer Tim Lahey picked up his 2nd save of the 2008 season on 1.2 innings worth of work, striking out 4 of the 5 batters he faced.

In Chicago, the parent Minnesota Twins topped the White Sox, 3-1. Boof Bonsor allowed 1 run (earned) on six hits and 1 walk in seven innings worth of work while striking out 8. Delmon Young was 2-for-2 at the plate with a walk and a run, while Mike Cuddyer was 2-for-4 with 1 run. Former Miracle outfield Jason Kubel put one over the right field wall to bring in Cuddyer for the game winning run. Young added an insurance point when Joe Mauer batted him in. (Boxscore)

After taking the night off, the Miracle return to action Wednesday at Hammond Stadium against the Clearwater Threshers. Clearwater continues to hold down the basement position in the West Division, but saw their record improve to 9 - 16 after winning their last 2. They are five games behind Fort Myers, who is tied for the top spot in the division with Dunedin. Game time is 7:05 for a Kid's Club and "Bing on the Berm" Wednesday night.