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.