Twins enjoy a wild time in Pirate City

GCL Twins 11 at GCL Pirates 1

W: E. Ibarra (1-0, 3.24); L: N. Pereira (1-2, 1.50)
HR: TWI: A. Hicks (2).

The GCL Twins knocked out 11 runs on 14 hits to thump the GCL Pirates, 11-1 at McKechnie Field in Bradenton Thursday.

Edgar Ibarra limited the Pirates to only 1 run on three hits and a pair of walks while fanning 3 over 5 innings.

Adenson Chourio would walk in the the bottom of the 1st, then steal 2nd and 3rd base. A throwing error by Josmil Pinto allowed Chourio to cross the plate for the Pirates lone run. Brian Friday would walk. Two outs later, Miguel Mendez doubled him over to 3rd but he'd be left stranded when Alex Vargas ground out to end the inning.

The Twins offensive onslaught began in the top of the 3rd with Aaron Hicks hitting his second home run of the season, a solo shot over the left field wall. Following a ground out to Juan Sanchez, Danny Ortiz doubled. Johnny Woodard, playing on a rehab assignment from the High-A Fort Myers Miracle, reached on on a fielding error by Pirates shortstop Ben Gonzalez. Andres Diaz would come into to replace Henry Sanchez. Sanchez was also playing on a rehab assignment and as the grounds were damp, they felt it prudent to remove him from the game rather than risk re-injuring his knee. Diaz would go down on strikes, but Tyler Ladendorf doubled to bring in Ortiz and Woodard.

The Pirates would put lefty Tyler Cox into the game at the top of the 5th inning. Ladendorf doubled off him in the top of the sixth. Javier Brown ground out, but Pinto doubled to plate Ladendorf. Following a ground out to Herbert Lara, Aaron Hicks would single his way onto base to drive in Pinto. The Twins 1st round pick the 2008 draft would then steal 2nd base. Sanchez would be hit by a pitch before Ortiz's fly ball single brought Hicks home.

With one out on the board in the top of the 7th, Ladendorf took a walk then moved to second on a wild pitch. Brown would pop out, but another fielding error by Gonzalez allowed Pinto to reach and Ladendorf to score.

Carolos Teller would replace Cox on the hill for the Pirates in the top of the 8th, and Hicks would draw a walk from him. Teller then unleashed a wild pitch that moved Hicks to 2nd. The Nicaragian lefty would get Sanchez to fly out, but then hit Ortiz with a pitch as he struggled with his control. Woodard would take a single off him to score Hicks and Diaz followed up with a single of his own to plate Ortiz. With the Twins sporting a big lead, Jakub Hajtmar would be brought in to replace Ladendorf. But Teller uncorked yet another wild pitch to move the runners. Hajtmar would go down on strikes and Teller would go down to the dugout in favor of Jorge Charry, who managed to get Brown out on strikes to strand the runners.

Field manager Jake Mauer would make several more changes in the bottom of the 8th, putting Jon Goncalves in for Hicks and Hyun-wook Choi in for Ortiz. The Pirates also made a change, replacing Charry with Carlos Silva.

Normally a 3rd baseman, Silva would give up back-to-back doubles to Pinto and Lara to add one more to the Twins total. After Goncalves ground out and Sanchez flew out, Wook singled out to center to bring in Lara, finishing off the Twins scoring.

Bruce Pugh would work three innings of relief for the Twins, allowing a double to Vargas in the seventh, and a walk to Chourio in the 8th. He'd fan four before giving way to Ian Mopas for the final inning, who used a ground out, a pop out and a line out to finish the game.

Ortiz and Ladendorf finished off the game 2-for-3, Ortiz with a walk, a double, a pair of runs and a run scored, while Ladendorf had a walk, two doubles and two runs to go with his pair of RBIs. Hicks was 2-for-4 with a walk, 3 runs and 2 RBIs. Pinto was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two runs, as well as a run scored.

Lara and Sanchez were both 1-for-5 at the plate with a double, Lara with a run and a run scored as well. Woodard was also 1-for-5, with a run and a run scored, but added a walk instead of a double. Diaz was 1-for-4 with a RBI and Choi was 1-for-1 with a RBI.

The Twins play a pair against the Orioles a the Lee County Sportsplex on Friday, July 24, starting at 11:00 AM, and remain at home Saturday against the Reds.

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DSL Twins 9 at DSL Diamondback/Reds 8

W: R. Reverol (3-1, 4.12); L: R. Quezada (0-1, 7.36)
HR: DSL TWI: O. Arcia (2).

It would take extra innings for the Twins to find the game winning run to give them a victory over the DSL Diamonback/Reds on the road, but find it they did.

With two outs on the board in the top of the 12, Oswaldo Arcia singled and Jean Carlos Mercedes reached on a force attempt that moved Arcia to 2nd. Teo Gutierrez would replace Radhames Quezada on the mound, and Eliel Sierra greeting him with a single out to center that brought in Arcia.

The Twins opened the scoring in the top of the first, with Danny Santana tripling. Yorby Martinez hit into a ground out before Manuel Soliman singled to plate Santana. Arcia then went yard, his second home run of the season going over the right field fence to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.

The Diamondback/Reds would tie the game up in the fourth. Arcia would be hit by a pitch in the top of the sixth and moved to 3rd on a throwing error by Michael Noboa, which also allowed Mercedes to reach on a force attempt. Sierra would hit into a ground out that served to plate Arcia, putting the Twins on top again.

Pesky, the Dia-Reds answered back in the seventh. The top of the 8th saw Arcia single with one out on the board, then steal 2nd. A throwing error by catcher Alberto Restrepo advanced him to 3rd, and he would score on Mercedes ground ball single. Mercedes then stole 2nd. Sierra would go down on strikes before the Dia-Reds made a pitching change, bringing in Eddy Santana. Yancarlo Franco would single off the new arrival, and Jairo Rodriguez double. Juan Blanco then doubled to plate the pair giving the Twins a four run lead.

Still that wasn't enough to keep the Dia-Reds down as they came back in the bottom of the 9th to add four runs of their own, taking three doubles off ace closer Edison Alvarez.

That would set the stage for the Twins' 12th inning victory.

Arcia was 4-for-5 with four runs and 2 RBIs. Sierra and Rodriguez were both 2-for-4, Sierra with a pair of walks and a pair of runs scored, Rodriguez with a double and a run. Blanco (1-for-4) also had a double and pair of RBIs, while Santana (1-for-5) had a walk a triple and a run.

Soliman (1-for-3), Mercedes (1-for-6), Felix Caro (1-for-3), Franco (1-for-3) and Blanco (1-for-4) all had singles in the contest.

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