Snappers sweep in extra innings

Great Lakes 2 at Beloit 3

W: C. Nolte (4-2, 2.33); L: M. Ramirez (2-8, 4.04)
HR: BEL: G. Yersich (8), M. Dolenc (3).

A triple by Estarlin De Los Santos and a single by Yangervis Solarte combined to give the Beloit Snappers the game winning run in the bottom of the 11th and a sweep of the Great Lakes Loons at Pohlman Field on Thursday night.

Great Lakes would get on the board first, with Preston Mattingly doubling off Shooter Hunt in the third inning. Hunt would then walk Parker Dalton, and a sac-bunt by Jovanny Rosario moved the pair. Erik Kanaby reached on a fielder's choice as Juan Richardson tried to make the play at the plate, but he was charged with an interference error and Mattingly scored. Hunt would walk Andrew Lambo, before getting Edwardo Perez to fly into a double play that took Dalton out at the plate.

Greg Yersich blasted his 8th home run of the season over the right field wall for Beloit, putting them on the board in the top of the fifth. Chris Cates would follow that up with a double, but Andrew Schmiesing and Jeanfred Brito both ground out to bring Great Lakes up to bat again.

Hunt would work five innings allowing only a pair of hits while fanning 9, but he'd walk five, and unleash a wild pitch in the fifth. That nearly cost him another run. He'd walk Rosario to start the inning, and then the Loons right fielder stole 2nd. After Kanaby was taken out on strikes, Rosario moved to 3rd on Hunt's wild pitch. Lambo would reach on a fielder's choice, with Richardson throwing the ball to Yersich to take Rosario out at home.

So Hunt owed the great Snappers' defense a couple of thank yous when Mike Allen took over in the sixth.

Mark Dolenc went yard in the bottom of the 7th, putting his 3rd of the season over the left center field wall.

The Loons tied it up in the top of the 8th though with Lambo and Perez taking back-to-back singles off Mike Allen. Blake Martin took over at that point, and Alfredo Silverio laid down a lovely sac-bunt to advance his runners. Kenley Jansen's ground out served to score Lambo for the equalizing run.

That sent the game into extra innings until De Lo and Soley connected for the Snappers win.

Allen would allow 3 hits and a walk while fanning three over 2 innings. He'd be charged for Lambo's run in the 8th. Martin would be changed with the blown save although he allowed only 1 hit and a pair of walks while fanning 3 over 2.2 innings. Charles Nolte picked up the win, his fourth of the season, pitching the last 1.1 innings of the game, during which time he struck out one.

The feisty little (5'3") Cates would go 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk and a pair of doubles. Solarte and Dolenc were both 2-for-4, Dolenc with a run and a run scored courtesy of his yard ball. Yersich also had a run and a run scored for the same reason, but he was 1-for-4 at he plate as was Schmeising, who would become the game's one hit wonder. De Lo finished up 2-for-5 at the plate with a triple and a run.

With the Loons shot down, the Lansing Lugnut lug themselves into town for the next three games. Friday's contest features post game fireworks sponsored in part by Suds O'Hananhan's Irish Pub. The first pitch goes out at 7:00 PM, central time.

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Thursday:
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Thursday's game between the Elizabethton Twins and the Greeneville Astros was suspended by rain. It will be made up on Friday, August 1, as part of a double header starting at 6:00 PM eastern time.

The contest will be played through to the regulation 9 innings and will be followed by the regularly scheduled game, which will be shortened to 7 innings.

There was no score at the time the game was suspended.

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Snappers like Loons, win 7-5

Great Lakes 5 at Beloit 7

W: S. Hirschfeld (7-3, 3.25); L: T. Melgarejo (2-5, 4.02); SV: B. Martin (2)
HR: GLL: B. Taylor (5).

The Beloit Snappers found the Great Lakes Loons rather to their liking as they took a 7-5 win over the visitors at Pohlman Field Monday night in game that featured a combined 27 hits by both teams.

Steve Hirschfled took the start for the Snappers, allowing 4 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks while fanning 3 in 5.2 innings. Beloit would get to Great Lakes' Thomas Melgarejo first however, snagging pair of runs in the first inning off the Dogers' affiliate.

With a pair of outs on the board, Yangervis Solarte singled and was doubled in by Rene Leveret. A wild pitch by Melgarejo moved Leveret to 3rd and a fielding error by Eduardo Perez allowed Mark Dolenc to reach and Leveret to score before Juan Richardson ground into a force out to end the inning.

Perez would single for the Loons in the top of the second, and Jaime Ortiz doubled. Kenley Johnson's ground out served to score Perez. After a fly out to Preston Mattingly, Brandon Taylor went yard to give Great Lakes a 3-2 lead.

The Snappers tie it up in the bottom of the 2nd when Chris Cates singled, moved to second on a Andrew Schmiesing single and came home on Jeanfred Brito's grounder to center.

They would extend their league in the bottom of the 3rd with Leveret and Dolenc both singling. Richardson hit into a force out which, combined with a throwing error Mattingly allowed Leveret to score. Allan de San Miguel doubled in Richardson and Cates singled to drive in Dirty.

The next couple of innings would be quiet. In the top of the sixth, Mattingly singled with a pair of outs on the board. A wild pitch by Hirschfeld put Mattingly on second and Taylor doubled him in. Parker Dalton would walk, and Snappers field manager Nelson Prada took a walk out to the mound, calling Charles Nolte in from the Snappers bullpen.

The top of the 8th saw Kenley Jansen double off Nolte and be replaced by pinch runner Jovanny Rosario. After Mattingly went down on strikes, Taylor singled to score Rosario, helped in part by Dolenc's fielding error. Dalton would go down on strikes and Prada called for another pitching change, putting Blake Martin on the mound.

The Snappers took the run back in the bottom of the eighth, with Dolenc singling, then moving to 3rd on Richardson's ground out. Dirty singled to score Dolenc. He'd try to get to second but would be tagged out at the base.

Melgarejo worked only 3 innings for Great Lakes before giving way to Miguel Sanfler, who finished the contest. Melgarejo still took the loss however, while Hirshfeld improved to 7-3 on the season.

Solarte, Leveret, Dolenc and Dirty were all 2-for-4, Solarte with a run, Leveret with a double, a pair of runs and a run scored, Dolenc and Dirty each with a run and Dirty with a double and a pair of RBIs as well. Cates was 3-for-4 with a run and a RBI. Brito finished up 1-for-4 with a RBI, and Schmiesing was 1-for-3, as the contest's one hit wonder.

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LSU: Blake Martin

From MiLB.com:

THE SEASON SO FAR: The Snappers are 17-17 in the second half and in fourth place in the Western Division.

WHO'S HOT: OF Ben Revere tied for sixth among league batting leaders last week, hitting .429 (9-for-21) with three RBIs and two runs scored in five games. In 69 games this season he's batting .399 (113-for-283) with 17 doubles, nine triples, 39 RBIs and 42 runs scored.

WHO'S NOT: LHP Michael Tarsi dropped to 4-11 with a 5.67 ERA after being tagged with a pair of losses last week. In 21 games (including 20 starts) he has allowed 84 runs (71 earned) on 151 hits (including 12 home runs) over 112 2/3 innings.

OLYMPIC GLORY: RHP Loek Van Mil left the team last week to represent his country -- the Netherlands -- in next month's Beijing Olympic Games. Van Mil (2-2, 3.22 ERA) is not expected to return to the Snappers until the last week of the season.

DID YOU KNOW: The 7-foot-1 Van Mil has struck out 42 batters while issuing 25 walks in 28 relief appearances. He was signed by the Twins as a non-drafted free agent in 2005. He and 5-foot-3 teammate Chris Cates are the tallest and shortest players in baseball.

ROSTER MOVES: RHP Shooter Hunt, the Twins' supplemental first-round pick and the 31st overall selection in the June Draft, joined the Snappers last week after going 0-0 with a 0.47 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 19 innings for the Rookie-level Elizabethton Twins. He struck out nine batters in his debut against Wisconsin on Saturday.

IF Yangervis Solarte was received from Class A Advanced Fort Myers to fill Van Mil's roster spot. In 42 games with the Miracle, he hit .259 with three home runs and 16 RBIs.

The Elizabethton Twins had Tuesday off. They return to work on Wednesday as they travel to Greeneville to face the Astros.

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Bullpen gives up game, again

St Lucie 4 at Fort Myers 3

W: D. Owen (9-6, 3.73); L: S. Steedley (0-1, 20.77); SV: G. Marte (6)
HR: SLU: V. Mendez (4).

Cole Devries was back to being his usual stellar self, but the suspect bull pen once again lost the game for the Fort Myers Miracle, who fell 4-3 to the St. Lucie Mets.

Dylan Owen limited the Miracle to only six hits in the game, and they could find no offense at all against the Mets' bullpen.

Devries would allow a single to Peeter Ramos to start off the contest, then took Ruben Tejada and Lucas Duda down on strikes. Victor Mendez singled as did Jose Thole, which plated Ramos, but a throwing error by Danny Santiesteban in center also lead to Victor Mendez crossing the plate, giving the Mets a pair of runs before Shawn Bowman would go down on strikes.

Wilson Ramos, Juan Portes and Eli Tintor all singled in the top of the 2nd to load the bags. Garrett Olson then drew a walk, forcing in Wilson. Santiesteban would ground out, which allowed Portes to cross the plate and a sac-fly by Yancarlos Ortiz brought in Tintor to give the Miracle three.

The remainder of the first seven innings was spent in a pitcher's duel. Devries would scatter 7 hits and 1 walk during that time, striking out 8. Owen allowed a pair of walks to go with the six hits, and struck out only 4.

Spencer Steedley replaced Devries for the 8th and Tejada took advantage of the switch to ge a single off Steedley. Duda ground out before Mendez saw something he liked and sent a ball over the left field wall, adding 2 to the Mets' total.

The Miracle could not solve sidearm pitcher Casey Hoorelbeke, or closer German Marte and the totals on the board would remain, 4-3 in favor of the visitors.

Tintor was 2-for-4 with a run, while Wilson was 1-for-2 with walk and a run. Danny Berg, Edward Ovalle and Portes were all 1-for-4 with Portes also adding a run while the first two shared the one hit wonder title.

The final game of the homestand is Wednesday night with Alex Burnett (6-4, 3.78) throwing out the first pitch at 7:05 PM.

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Van Mil to pitch for Team Netherlands

Twins prospect Loek Van Mil will be representing Team Netherlands in the upcoming Summer Olympic Games. So far this season with the Low A Beloit Snappers, Van Mil is 2-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 44.2 innings pitched. Loek has struck out 42 batters while walking 25 in 28 relief appearances.

Signed by the Twins as a non-drafted free agent in July of 2005, Van Mil has received plenty of national media attention this year for his height. The 7'1" right-hander, along with his 5'3" teammate Chris Cates, have been a national focus on ESPN2 (First Take), Sports Illustrated, the Minnesota Twins monthly magazine and much more. The teammates make up the largest height differential in professional sports with each player being the tallest and shortest players, respectfully, in all of professional baseball.

Taking Loek's spot on the Beloit Roster is infielder Yangervis Solarte. Solarte goes to the Snappers after spending the first 42 games of the season with the Fort Myers Miracle. While in Fort Myers, Yangervis hit .259 with three home runs and 16 RBIs in 147 at-bats. (Snappers)

Outfielder Brandon Roberts, on AA rehab, replaced Solarte on the Miracle roster.

Snappers find Wild not to their liking

Wisconsin 8 at Beloit 4

W: J. Wild (4-6, 4.05); L: M. Tarsi (4-10, 5.77); SV: J. Escalona (1)
HR: None.

The Beloit Snappers have been hit hard by the injury bug. This was evident on Sunday as the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers doubled up the Snappers, 8-4.

A throwing error by Chris Cates put Alex Liddi on base for the T-Rattlers. Joseph Dunigan then singled off Beloit starter Mike Tarsi. The pair would be advanced by Juan Diaz's sac-bunt before Blake Ochoa ground out. Liddi would scamper across the plate to open the scoring.

Beloit answered back in the bottom of the stanza, with Mark Dolenc singling and moving to second on a failed pick off attempt. Yangervis Solarte, who was moved down to Beloit to make room for the rehabbing Brandon Roberts and Jose Mijares on the Fort Myers roster, ground out, moving Dolenc to 3rd. Greg Yersich would sacrifice in the Snappers outfielder to tie up the game.

Alex Meneses walked to lead off the top of the 3rd, and was advanced to second on Daniel Carroll's ground out bunt. Edilio Colina singled to plate Meneses, and moved to second on Dolenc's throw to the plate. Denny Almonte would strike out before Liddi doubled in Colina. A Dunigan single put Liddi across the plate, to make it 4-1 Wisconsin.

Carroll would single in the top of the 5th and made his way to 3rd on a fielding error by Dolenc. Colina singled before Almonte went down a strikes. A wild pitch by Tarsi allowed Carroll to score, and moved Colina to 2nd. Liddi singled out to right to plate Colina, and then stole 2nd. Dunigan's single would deflect off Juan Richardson who was playing first, allowing Liddi to score to make it 7-1 for the T-Rattlers. Mike Allen would come in at that point.

Tarsi would be charged for 7 runs, 6 earned on nine hits and a walk, while striking out 3 over 4.1 innings. Allen would work the next 3.2, allowing one hit and walking 2 while fanning 4, keeping Wisconsin from advancing their lead.

The Snappers offense would get in gear in the bottom of the 7th, with Ryan Moorer replacing Wisconsin starter Jake Wild on the mound. Solarte would lead off with a single and Yersich followed him onto base with a grounder to center. Following a fly out to Andrew Schmiesing, Jeanfred Brito would take a walk. Estarlin De Los Santos singled to plate Solarte, while Cates ground out brought in Yersich. Ben Revere would ground into a force out however, to end the inning.

The Timber Rattlers would load the bases in the 8th, but Allen got Carroll to ground into a force out to strand the runners.

With one out on the board, Dolenc and Solarte would draw back to back-to-back walks. Following a line out to Yersich and a pitching change the saw Jose Escalona trot out to the mound, Schmiesing singled to plate Dolenc. Brito would fly out however, and it would be all Beloit would get.

Blake Martin allowed a single to Colina to lead off the top of the 9th, and Amonte followed that with line drive to center, moving Colina to 3rd. Liddi would ground into a double play that scored Wisconsin's second baseman, to finish off the scoring for the Rattlers.

De Los Santos was 2-for-5 in the contest with a RBI, the only Snapper with a multi hit game.

Dolenc, Solarte and Schmiesing were all 1-for-3, Dolenc with a walk and a pair of runs, Solate with a walk and a run and Schmiesing with a walk and a RBI. Yersich was 1-for-2 with a walk, a run and and RBI and Revere would finish up 1-for-5 with a triple.

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Van Mil to pitch for Team Netherlands

Loek Van Mil will be representing Team Netherlands in the upcoming Summer Olympic Games. So far this season, Van Mil is 2-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 44.2 innings pitched. Loek has struck out 42 batters while walking 25 in 28 relief appearances.

Signed by the Twins as a non-drafted free agent in July of 2005, Van Mil has received plenty of national media attention this year for his height. The 7’1 right-hander, along with his 5’3 teammate Chris Cates, have been a national focus on ESPN2 (First Take), Sports Illustrated, the Minnesota Twins monthly magazine and much more. The teammates make up the largest height differential in professional sports with each player being the tallest and shortest players, respectfully, in all of professional baseball.

Taking Loek’s spot for the time being is infielder Yangervis Solarte. Solarte comes to Beloit after spending the first 42 games of the season with the Fort Myers Miracle. While in Fort Myers, Yangervis hit .259 with three home runs and 16 RBIs in 147 at-bats. (Snappers)

Saturday:
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Singleton and Solarte sink Cubs

Fort Myers 10 at Daytona 4

W: D. Guerra (10-4, 4.42); L: R. Hill (0-1, 10.38)
HR: FTM: Y. Solarte (3). DAY: J. Adduci (2).

An eight-run fifth inning lead to the Deolis Guerra's 10th win of 2008 as the Fort Myers Miracle overcame the Daytona Cubs 10-4.

The big Venezuelan got off to a bad start with Tony Thomas leading off the bottom of the 1st with a single, and James Adduci then taking him yard to put a pair of runs on the board. Adduci's 2nd of the season end over the right center field fence. Ty Wright followed that up with a double, then moved to 3rd on Steve Clevenger's single. Guerra would then plunk Marquez Smith with a pitch. Robinson Chirinos singled to plate Wright, but Guerra finally got Ryan Harvey out on strikes and induced Jonathan Mota to hit into a double play to end the inning.

Wilson Ramos took a walk in the top of the 2nd, the moved to 2nd on a passed ball. After Eli Tintor and Steve Singleton went down on strikes, Garrett Olson singled to bring in the Miracle's catcher.

Ramos would single in the top of the 4th and move to 3rd on Eli Tintor's double. Singleton's line drive plated Ramos to cut the Daytona lead to just one run.

In the top of the 5th, Yangervis Solarte and Danny Santiesteban hit back-to-back singles. Juan Portes' sac-fly would plate Solarte before Danny Berg and Edward Ovalle both took free passes off Rich Hill. Micheal Phelps was called out to the mound to replace the rehabbing major leaguer, and got Ramos to pop out. Tintor walked to force in Santiesteban before Singleton's triple cleared off the bags. Garrett Olson got plunked with a pitch to get on base and Solate hit his 3rd home run of the season over the right field wall to drive in 3 more. Santiesteban would single for his 2nd at bat in the fifth, and Portes popped out to retire the Miracle.

Clevenger and Smith hit back-to-back doubles off Guerra to take one run back, but that pretty much finished it for the Daytona offense.

Guerra left the game having allowed 4 runs on 8 hits while striking out one over 5 innings. Jose Lugo worked a pair of innings, walking one and striking out 3. Blair Erickson worked a hitless eighth and Spencer Steeley the ninth to finish off the contest.

Ramos and Santiesteban were 2-for-4, Ramos with a walk and a pair of runs, with just one run. Singleton and Solarte were both 2-for-5, Sing with one run and 4 RBIs and Solarte with a pair of runs and 3 RBIs. Ovalle and Tintor were both 1-for-4 with a run each, Tint with a RBI as well.

The teams play a pair of 7-inning games tomorrow as a double header to make up for the rained out contest on Thursday. Marco Carrillo (6-6, 3.17) will throw the first pitch for the Cubbies at 6:05 PM, the Miracle will counter with Ozzie Sosa (1-0, 3.06), the second game, which will start a half hour after the conclusion of the first will feature the Cub's Billy Muldowney (4-2, 3.24) against the Miracle's Matt Fox (5-4, 3.72).

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Tampa Bay running back Earnest Graham, a Cape Coral-Mariner High School graduate, will take batting practice and sign autographs before the Fort Myers Miracle's game at Hammond Stadium on Sunday.

The Fort Myers native is making an appearance at Hammond Stadium, on behalf of his non-profit organization Earnest Giving.

Earnest Giving, Inc. is a non-profit 501c3 Charitable Organization launched in 2007 with a commitment to assisting young people achieve their goals and grow into productive adults. (NDN)

Miracle falter on the road

Fort Myers 2 at Vero Beach 5

W: C. Tiffany (1-0, 2.25); L: T. Robertson (5-3, 2.72); SV: N. Frontz (19)
HR: None.

The Miracle dropped game one to the Vero Beach Rays as Tyler Robertson gave up four runs in the 2nd inning suffer just his 3rd loss of the season. The big lefty has beens suffering some control issues due to an arm ailment, and that seemed to be the problem Monday night.

Matthew Fields reached in the bottom of the second on a throwing error by shortstop Yancarlos Ortiz. Ryan Royster then singled and Nevin Ashely walked to load the bases. Neil Walton ground into a force out which scored Fields, and a wild pitch by Robertson put him on second base. Robertson got Jair De La Rosa out on strikes before Joey Callendar doubled to drive in two. Garrett Groce then singled to drive in Callender before John Matulia would ground out to end the inning.

Danny Lehman and Yancarlos Ortiz both took walks to lead off the the top of the 3rd. Following a fly out to Yangervis Solarte, Steve Singleton would sacrifice in Lehmann for the first Miracle run.

In the bottom of the 3rd Ceasr Suarez singled and stole 2nd. A throwing error by Lehmann put him on 3rd. He'd come in on Field's ground out. Ashley took another walk, one out later and stole 2nd, but Walton lined out to end the inning.

Solarte hit a grounder to short to get on base in the top of the 5th. Singleton then doubled him in to make it 5-2 Rays.

Jose Lugo worked 3 inning in relief of Robertson, who only lasted four, giving up 5 runs, 1 earned, on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 1. Danny Santiesteban was the surprise closer of the contest, striking out 2 in his first appearance on the mound.

Solarte went 2-for-5 at the plate for the Miracle with a run. Edward Ovalle and Danny Berg each had a walk and single, while Lehmann finished up 1-for-3 with a run and run scored. Singleton was 1-for-2 with a double, a walk and 2 RBIs.

Southpaw Ryan Morse (2-4, 3.32) will make the start for the Rays Tuesday against Miracle righty Matt Fox (4-3, 3.65). First pitch is due out at 7:00 PM. Fort Myers returns home on Friday to face the Jupiter Hammerheads.

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From MiLB.com:

THE WEEK THAT WAS: Fort Myers won the first five games of the week before dropping a pair. The strong week pulled the Miracle within 2 1/2 games of FSL West-leading Dunedin. Fort Myers is in second place, a half game ahead of third-place Lakeland.

WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT: DH Edward Ovalle is hitting at a pretty good clip lately. In the past 10 games the Dominican native has 11 hits in 34 at-bats for a .324 average. ... 2B Yangervis Solarte is having a tough time in recent games. In his past 36 plate appearances he only has four hits.

PLAYER TO WATCH: SP Tyler Robertson threw five hitless innings in a 4-0 home win July 2. The southpaw from California struck out five and walked two as he raised his record to 5-1 with a 2.73 ERA.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: SP Deolis Guerra limited Tampa to three hits July 1 in a 4-0 Miracle win at Fort Myers. The native of Venezuela, acquired by Minnesota in the Johan Santana deal, recorded his first complete-game shutout and struck out four.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "I felt like I was locating the ball well," Robertson told MiLB.com. "[Tampa is] aggressive. They like to swing early and put the ball in play. I got ahead in the count and was able to put guys away. I lost a couple of games early on. I think I was over-thinking, trying to do too much. I looked at some video from last year, noticed some stuff in my mechanics, and cleaned that up pretty good."

Sarasota's Drew Stubbs was named the Player of the Week for the Florida State League. Stubbs used the short right field in Casa de Steinbrenner to hit a pair of home runs. They went along with his triple-a-game streak earlier in the week against the Dunedin Blue Jays and his .429 (9-21) batting average. The 23-year-old has had 26 stolen bases this season, only one during the week of June 30 through July 6.

The Atlanta Braves have sold the contract of Barron Collier High School star Chris Resop to the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese central league. The right-hander had been sent to Triple A Richmond to be converted to a starter. He had a 5.89 ERA in 18 appearances out of the Braves Bullpen. The Naples, Florida, resident was a fourth-round draft pick of the Florida Marlins in the 2001 First-year Player Draft.

Former Miracle Denard Span extended his career-high hitting streak to eight games Sunday afternoon. He has hit .400 (6-for-15) with five runs scored and two RBI since his recall to Minnesota from Triple-A Rochester. Another Miracle alumni, Alexi Casilla, tied his career-long long hit-streak, hitting safely in 13 straight, dating back to June 20.

Twins catcher Joe Mauer led all catchers in voting and will start for the AL squad in next week's All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. He’ll be joined on the team by teammates Justin Morneau, who was named to the team via the players' ballot, and Joe Nathan, who was selected by manager Terry Francona. Mauer and Morneau, the "M & M Boys", both played for the Miracle during their minor league career.

Buzzwords: The most used search phrases to find www.miraclefans.com are "steve singleton the minn miracles", "guillermo moscoso july 4", "minnesota twins whit robbins" "anthony slama miracle", "eddie Santiesteban baseball", "cincinnati reds scott carroll" and of course the ever popular "are you ready for a miracle" or some variation there of.

Fox fine; Miracle offense comatose

Brevard County 3 at Fort Myers 1

W: A. Periard (6-6, 3.75); L: M. Fox (3-3, 3.95); SV: M. McClendon (6)
HR: None.

Sometimes, you have to stand up for what you believe in. Fort Myers Miracle field manager Jeff Smith believed that home plate umpire Jeff Gosney didn't know the difference between a ball and a strike. So he stood up for his team. This earned him an ejection in the sixth inning. It did not, rather unfortunately, seem to help Gosney get any better at his job.

Matt Fox carried a no hitter into the 5th inning, pitching brilliantly against Brevard County's Alexandre Periard. But lots of things happened in the sixth inning.

Fox would get Yohannis Perez and Brent Brewer to fly out out before Darren Ford singled, then stole 2nd. Lorenzo Cain then doubled in Ford.

That's when Smith decided to have some words with Gosney.

Jonathan Lucroy would then hit a grounder out to right which plated Cain. With Smith out of the game, Slice got to march up to the mound and take Matt Fox out of the game and put Matt Williams in. Williams would get Taylor Green to pop out to retire the side.

Perez would single to start out the top of the 8th. One out later, Ford would double out to left with the ball deflecting off 3rd baseman Juan Portes. Perez would have no problem scoring on the play as Ovalle was busy chasing down the ball.

Mike McClendon would replace Periard in the 9th. Danny Lehmann greeted him with a walk. Yancarlos Ortiz would reach on a force attempt on a throwing error by Stephen Chapman. Steve Singleton would line into an unassisted double play, doubling Ortiz off first. Yangervis Solarte would reach on a throwing error by Brewer at short, and Lehamnn would come in, avoiding a shut out.

Cole Devries (5-6, 2.99) will start Friday's rematch against the Manatees, who are sending lefty Chris Cody (0-2, 2.99) to the mound. If you are a member of the Sean Fox Fan Club, you can enjoy free hot dogs, chips and salsa on the concourse from 6 to 7 PM. If you're not a member of the Sean Fox Fan Club...well...don't you want to be a member of the Sean Fox Fan Club?

Also the first 750 members of the Sean Fox Fan Club through the door get a free team picture! How special is that? Sign up now so you too can take advantage of all these special member only benefits of the Sean Fox Fan Club!

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Dorsey's Press Box Blog

I seem to have made Jeremy Jeffress into an instant celebrity last night by going down and asking for an autograph. Then people kept asking me who he was all evening. This is kind of a low key autographing series for me. Once the Yankees come in, I'll be really busy.

Miracle settle for split

Fort Myers 1 at Palm Beach 3

W: B. Furnish (7-3, 4.00); L: D. Guerra (7-4, 4.84); SV: F. Samuel (14)
HR: None.

While it's still too early in the second half of the season to say "Your first to worst, Fort Myers Miracle!" it was beginning to look like it might come to that.

Deolis Guerra picked up his 4th loss of the season, allowing 3 runs on six hits and four walks while striking out 2 over 5.1 innings.

The Miracle hopped on the board first when Juan Portes drew a walk, stole 2nd and then came home on a Wilson Ramos double. Done for the evening, they packed up their bats and forgot about the other six innings.

Brad Furnish held Fort Myers to just 2 hits and a walk. Francisco Samuel afforded them one more.

Palm Beach tied it up in the bottom of the fourth when Donovan Solano singled and Tony Cruz walked. Brandon Buckman ground into a double play that moved Solano to 3rd. A wild pitch by Guerra sent him home.

Solano walked in the bottom of the sixth. Cruz would line out, but Buckman singled to move Solano to 2nd. Daryl Jones smacked a line drive out to right that scored Solano and put Buckman at 3rd. Blair Erickson would answer coach Jeff Smith's summons to the mound as he retired Guerra. He'd get Luck Gorsett to ground out, but Antonio DeJesus, who'd replaced Buckman at 3rd as a pinch runner, scored on the play.

Ramos would hit his second single of the game in the top of the 7th, but Edward Ovalle, Whit Robbins and Danny Berg wasted no time bring the game to a swift close.

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Fort Myers 6 at Palm Beach 3

W: A. Slama (3-0, 0.44); L: T. Norrick (0-1, 27.00)
HR: PBC: T. Cruz (7).

Happily, the general antipathy of game one did not carry over to game two.

The Fort Myers Miracle came out swinging against the Palm Beach Cardinals with Steve Singleton sending a ground ball to second. Danny Berg would move Sing with a sac-bunt, and Wilson Ramos would draw a walk. A wild pitch by Tyler Norrick advanced the runners, and a sac fly by Portes brought in Singleton. Edward Ovalle drew a walk before Yangervis Solarte singled out to center to plate Ramos. Garrett Olson's grounder to center scored Ovalle, giving the Miracle three runs.

Alex Burnett took the start for the Miracle and uncharacteristically allowed three runs in the first inning.

James Rapoport and Donovan Solano both singled off him before Tony Cruz launched his seventh home run ball of the year over the center field fence. After getting Brandon Buckman to fly out, Daryl Jones singled out to right. Brian Cartie flew out before Jones stole 2nd, then advanced to 3rd on a throwing error by catcher Danny Lehmann. Burnett would allow a walk to Nelson before Mike Foli flew out to the end the inning.

Yancarlos Ortiz would walk in the top of the 2nd, and following a fly out to Singleton, move to 2nd on Berg's line drive. Ramos walked to load the bags. Portes would hit a sac fly to bring in Ortiz, but Ovalle lined out, leaving the other two runners stranded.

Burnett would settle down, allowing the 3 runs, earned on six hits and three walks over 4.1 innings. Not one of his stronger performances, but it got the job done.

The top of the 3rd saw Solarte double, and one out later, move to 3rd on Lehmann's ground out. Ortiz singled to bring in his fellow Yan, before Singleton flew out to end the inning.

Berg would walk in the top of the 4th, and move to second on Ramos ground out. Portes would strike out swinging before Ovalle walked and a wild pitch sent Berg to 3rd. A fielding error by Foli allowed Solarte to reach and Berg to score, making it 6-3 Miracle.

Anthony Slama worked the final 2.2 innings, allowing one hit and striking out 5 to pick up his 3rd win of the season.

The Miracle finish up on Wednesday at Roger Dean Stadium with lefty Tyler Robertson (4-2,2.60) pitching for the Miracle and right hander Shaun Garceau (3-1, 3.14) tossing for the Cards. The first pitch goes at 7:05 PM.

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FIREWORKS FRENZY

The Miracle provided plenty of fireworks in the first half of the FSL season by winning a division title. More fireworks will follow in the coming days at Hammond Stadium. The team will host postgame fireworks shows on June 28 and July 3. Both games start at 7:05 p.m.

The Miracle will hold a baseball camp for ages 9-12 from July 21-23. Kids will learn fundamentals from Miracle players and coaches. For information contact Justin Stecz 239-768-4210 or jstecz@miraclebaseball.com

The Miracle and Dunkin' Donuts are partnering to promote summer reading. “Books & Bats” returns for the ninth season and asks students, age 12 and under, to read four books over the summer and then fill out a “Books & Bats” bookmark. Students may pick up a bookmark from any Lee or Collier county public school, Lee or Collier county public library, the Lee County Sports Complex or all participating Dunkin' Donuts locations in the tri-county area.

Students will be asked to record the books they have read on the bookmark, and then return the completed bookmark to any participating Lee, Collier and Charlotte county Dunkin' Donuts. Students will receive two tickets to a Miracle game and their choice of two free Dunkin' Donuts or a small smoothie. Tickets can be redeemed for games on Thursday, June 26, Wednesday July 23 or Wednesday, August 13. For more information call 239-768-4210

New Fort Myers Miracle win against Dunedin

Fort Myers 5 at Dunedin 2

W: M. Fox (3-1, 3.80); L: K. Ginley (5-3, 4.12); SV: A. Slama (13)
HR: DUN: B. Emaus (6).

The newly retooled Fort Myers Miracle downed the Dunedin Blue Jays 5-2 at Knology Field Monday to add to their 1st half win record. The newcomers added little offensively, but the remaining core of the 1st half West Division Champions was up to the task.

Matt Fox would make the start and he too would add to something, allowing a home run to Bradley Emaus in the bottom of the first to start the game. Fox has been primarily a reliever in the first half, but has only one fewer home runs allowed the Delois Guerra, a starter.

The Miracle would answer back in the top of the 3rd. Yangervis Solarte would single in the lead off position, then steal his way to 2nd. After Edward Ovalle was taken out on strikes, Juan Portes singled to bring the speedy Solarte home. Portes would advance to second on the throw. Whit Robbins would then smack a line drive out to left to bring in Portes, making it 2-1 Fort Myers.

Solarte would be hit by a pitch in the top of the fifth, then moved to second on Ovale's single to right. Portes hit a grounder to left that loaded the bags. Robbins would be taken out on strikes, but Wilson Ramos singled to bring on Solarte. Recently promoted Garrett Olson would ground into a double play however to end the inning.

With a triple to lead off the top of the 7th, Solarte would come home one out later on a wild pitch by Dunedin reliever Celson Polenco. Portes would follow that up with a double and make it all the way to 3rd before Ramos would strike out to leave him stranded.

Fox would work six inning, allowing only the one run on 3 hits and one walk while striking out 7. Blair Erickson took over on the mound in the 7th using a pair of fly outs and a strike out to end the inning. He did not fair so well to open up the eighth however, allowing walks to Sean Shoffit and Luis Sanchez. Field manager Jeff Smith would get Jose Lugo out of the bullpen. He would get Chris Emanuele out on strikes before Adam Calderone singled ot bring in Shoffit. Brad Emaus would strike out and Brian Dopirak ground into a force out to end the inning.

The Miracle took one more for good measure in the top of the ninth. Ovalle doubled with one out on the board, and moved to 3rd on Portes ground out. Robbins fly ball single to right served to plate him.

Anthony Slama would work the bottom of the ninth, closing the door on Dunedin to secure the win.

Solarte finish up 2-for-4 with three runs on the night, Portes was 3-for-5 with a run and a run scored, Ovalle, Robbins and Ramos all went 2-for-5, Ovalle with a run, Robbins with a pair of RBIs and Ramos with a run scored. Danny Lehmann in the designated hitter role and Yancarlos Ortiz were the one hit wonders of the night.

The two teams rematch Tuesday with Cole Devries (5-5, 3.11) getting the start against Kenny Rodriguez (4-6, 3.76). First pitch is slated for 7:00 PM.

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Confused by all the moves? Get the simplified version HERE.

DSL Twins 0 at DSL Diamondbacks 4

W: M. Gil (1-1, 2.00); L: O. Villaroel (0-2, 1.20)
HR: None.

Not surprisingly, the DSL Twins were once again blanked on the road, this time by the DSL Diamondbacks. (Hint: try taking bats along when you go!)

Jean Carlos Mercedes and Jairo Rodriguez had the only hits for the DSL Twins, one each.

Orlando Villaroel suffered the loss allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 4 walks while striking out 1. Carlos Carrillo gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and one walk while striking out 1 over 2 innings of relief.

The Twins host the DSL Orioles Tuesday for a 10:30 AM (Dominican Time) contest.

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Rain, Dunedin hault Miracle at home

Dunedin 5 at Fort Myers 0

W: R. Ray (5-2, 4.22); L: C. Devries (4-5, 3.50); SV: C. Polanco (2)
HR: None.

Perhaps they were feeling a bit cocky after their sweep of the Tampa Yankees or perhaps they honestly believe they can't beat Dunedin, but the Fort Myers Miracle were shut out at home by the Dunedin Blue Jays.

Cole Devries was slightly less than his usual brilliant self, allowing one run on 7 hits and one walks while striking out only one in six innings.

The run would come in the top of the 3rd inning, when Jesus Gonzalez doubled. He'd move to 3rd on Adam Calderone's ground out, and came in off a Luis Sanchez single.

Danny Vais would take over in the top of the 7th. With one out on the board, Sanchez singled, then stole 2nd. Chris Emanuele walked as lightning as seen in the sky and the crowd began leaving the stadium bowl. Sean Shoffit hit a ground rule double that brought in Sanchez. Vais issued an intentional walk to J.P. Arencibia. Brian Dopirak would strike out swinging before a double by Cory Patton cleared the bases for 3 more runs.

Mother nature stepped in at that point as the game was halted due to rain.

Frank Mata would take over for Vais, and Eli Tintor would replace Santiesteban in the contest, but except for Juan Portes who made his way onto base on a missed catch, the Miracle could find little offense.

Yangervis Solarte was 1-for-3 at the plate with a beautiful little ground rule double. Brian Dinkelman, Danny Valencia and Whit Robbins all had singles for the mostly hitless Miracle.

The two teams rematch tomorrow. All-star Jeff Manship (6-2, 3.11) will throw out the first pitch at 7:05 PM. The Jays will send Kenny Rodriguez (4-5. 3/58) to the mound.

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New Britain - Off

The New Britain Rock Cats had Monday night off as they head over to Blair County Ballpark in Pennsylvania to take on the Altoona Curve. The Pirates affiliate picked up several Twins players in the Rule V Draft, including former Miracle starter and fan favorite Josh Hill who carries a 4-5 record with a 3.81 ERA in 11 games for the Curve. Hill pitched Sunday against Erie, and will miss the current series against this former team.

Scranton/WB 10 at Rochester 6

W: K. Igawa (5-4, 4.07); L: H. Totten (0-2, 5.79)
HR: SWB: G. Porter (2), C. Stewart (1). ROC: J. Pridie (2), S. Santos (1).

The Rochester Red Wings squandered an early 5 run lead to fall, 10-6 to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Danny Graves pitched well through four innings, but had some trouble in the fifth, finishing up with 4 runs, 2 earned, on 5 hits and 4 walks over 4.2 innings. Casey Daigle and Heath Totten added another six runs between them over 3.1 combined innings.

Tommy Watkins walked to lead off the bottom of the first inning for the host team. Jason Pridie and Darnell McDonld both singled to load up the bases. Former Miracle Garrett Jones would hit a sac-fly that brought in Watkins. Pride and McDonald would then orchestrate a twin steal, moving to third and second respectively. A wild pitch by Yankee starter Kei Igawa allowed Pridie to score. Brian Buscher then took a walk. Igawa would get Randy Ruiz to strike out before Sergio Santos homered to add 3 runs to the total.

Pridie would homer in the bottom of the second inning, his second yard ball of the season. That would finish it for the Wings scoring however.

McDonald would finish up 3-for-5 at the plate with a run, Buscher was 2-for-3 with a run, Ruiz was 2-for-4 but did not factor into the scoring and Pridie was 2-for-5 with 2 runs and 1 RBI.

Eric Duncan was 2-for-4 with 2 runs in the designated hitter role for the Scranton. Cody Ransom was 3-for-5 with a run, and Justin Christian would go 2-for-5 with 2 runs and 3 runs scored.

The friendly confines of Frontier Field were not so friendly with Scranton in town as the Wings won only one game against the Yankees farm team. The road kill Wings (8-21 Away) now head over to Buffalo for a Tuesday game against the Bisons (Cleveland). First pitch is 7:05 PM with Kevin Mulvey (3-6, 4.07) on the mound for Rochester.

Not surprisingly, Howie Clark cleared waivers and has been reassigned to Rochester from Minnesota. Clark batted .250 (2-for-8) with two doubles and one RBI in four games for Minnesota. Prior to his promotion Clark was batting .284 with one home run and 21 RBI in 37 games for Rochester. To make room for Clark, the Red Wings optioned infielder Felix Molina to Double-A New Britain. Molina was 0-for-2 in three games for Rochester.

Watkins had his seven-game hitting streak snapped after going 0-for-4 with a walk. Watkins had four multi-hit games during the hitting streak.

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Miracle sweep Reds way with 13 hits

Fort Myers 5 at Sarasota 1

W: D. Guerra (6-1, 4.23); L: E. Del Rosario (0-1, 11.25)
HR: None.

Finally, heartening performance from Deolis Guerra! He still needs to watch the walks as five is way to many, but he did hold the Sarasota Reds to 1 run on four hits and five walks while striking out 3. The Fort Myers Miracle put five runs on the board on 13 hits for the win.

(Dear Mr. Guerra, three (3) walks per game is okay. Two (2) walks per game would be preferable. Work on that for me, would you please?)

With a pair of outs on the board in the top of the 2nd inning, Juan Portes doubled and Danny Santiesteban drew a walk. Yangervis Solarte doubled to bring in the pair. Yancarlos Ortiz hit line drive to left to score Solarte for an early three run lead.

Following a Drew Stubbs fly out, Dan Perales was the luck recipient of one of Guerra's free passes. Jason Souwsma and Eddy Rodriguez hit back-to-back singles with brought Perales in and pitching coach Eric Rasmussen scurrying from the Miracle dugout to calm down his Venezuelan stud pitcher. A wild pitch moved Louwsma to 3rd. Jose Castro would reach on a fielder's choice, with the play made the plate, which took Louwsma out at home. Michael DeJesus would fly out to end the inning.

All-Star Danny Valencia hit his 18th double of the year in the top of the 3rd. A wild pitch by Sarasota Starter Enerio del Rosario moved Valencia to 3rd. Whit Robbins doubled him in and catcher Wilson Ramos traded places with him by hitting a double of his own. Ramos would try to come home on a Yangervis Solarte single, but was taken out at the plate to end the inning.

Guerra would get through six innings with Jose Lugo working 2 scoreless sets and Rob Delaney putting the Reds to bed. Solarte was 3-for-4 with 1 run and 2 RBIs. Valencia was 3-for-5 with 1 run .

The Miracle now head over to Casa de Steinbrenner in Tampa to take on the Yankees for a 7:00 PM contest. Alex Burnett (3-2, 3.27) gets the start on the mound for the Miracle. Ivan Nova (3-5, 3.64) will toss out the first pitch for the Tampa Yankees at 7:00 PM.

The Miracle lead the 2nd placed Yankees by 4 games, are 17 games over .500 and have won 7 of their last 10 contests.

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All-Stellar: Pitchers Jeff Manship, Rob Delaney, Anthony Slama and infielders Danny Valencia and Brian Dinkelman were all named to the 47th Florida State League All-Star Game which will be played on Saturday, June 14th at Space Coast Stadium in Melbourne, Florida. Outfielder Rene Tosoni was selected, but will miss the game due to a broken foot.

Six is a record number for the Miracle, who are generally overlooked for the annual showcase. The previous record number was 4 players.

Manship, Delaney, Valencia and Dinkelman were named to the Midwest League All-Star Game last season while playing for Beloit and current Miracle manager Jeff Smith.

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Snapper Game postponed by rain

Rain and lightning postponed the game between the Beloit Snappers and Clinton LumberKings Thursday night in Clinton, Iowa. It will now be made up as part of a doubleheader on Friday night beginning at 6:00pm. The teams will play two seven-inning games with approximately a 30 minute break in between.

The Snappers return home to Pohlman Field on Sunday, June 1st for a four-game series against the Quad Cities River Bandits.