Rochester falls short in slugfest

Louisville 10 at Rochester 9

W: M. Belisle (4-0, 5.29); L: D. Graves (3-2, 5.40); SV: J. Adkins (14)
HR: LOU: K. Barker (9), D. Anderson (4), J. Keppinger (1). ROC: C. Basak (6).

Twins correspondent Kelly Thesier in her recent mailbag tackles the question of calling up Danny Graves and where he might fit in the Twins roster.

After Jay Rainville and Oswaldo Sosa earned a demotion by winning their last starts, I'd say that after giving up 9 runs (7 earned) on 8 hits and one walk over two innings, Graves sounds like a prime candidate for starter material to me. Yes, yes, I know. Sour grapes and all that.

But honestly, despite their pitching staff taking a drubbing, the Rochester Red Wings battled back against the Louisville Bats in slug fest, falling just a little short in the end.

Kevin Barker hit a grand slam home run over the center field wall off Graves, to give the Bats a 5-0 lead. Norris Hopper had lead off the inning with a double, moved to 3rd on a fielding error by Trevor Plouffe and came home on a fielding error by Chris Basak. Those same errors also put Jeff Keepinger and Drew Anderson on base and a Ryan Hanigan single loaded the bags just in time for Barker to go Bang.

Rochester answered back with Denard Span leading off with a walk. He's be caught stealing however, so it would Jason Pridie's single that got the offense going. Pride then stole 2nd, which allowed room for a walk to Garrett Jones. Randy Ruiz was hit by pitch, loading the bags. Sergio Santos then doubled to drive in Pridie and Jones, making the score look a little more respectable at 5-2.

Keppinger hit a solo shot home run off Graves in the second.

Basak answered back in the bottom of the second, sending a ball over the left field wall. Span would double then come home on a wild pitch by Justin Mullett. Pridie singled and McDonald walked before Jones single would drive in the Wings' right fielder. Jones would be taken out at 2nd on the play, but Randy Ruiz followed it up with a walk. Santos then doubled to drive in McDonald before Trevor Plouffe would line out to end the inning.

Graves would allow back-to-back singles to Barker and Adam Rosales before a coaching visit to the mound paused things for a moment. Once they resumed, Luis Bolivar singled to load the bases and Stan Cliburn pulled Graves in favor of Carmen Cali. Cali would hit Andy Green with a pitch to force in a run, then give up a single to Michael Griffin that brought in two more runners. He would get Hopper to strike out swinging and Keppinger to ground into a double play however to retire the side.

Drew Anderson would go yard off Cali in the top of the fourth. That also, mercifully ended the Bats scoring and it was now up to the Wings to catch up.

With one out in the bottom of the 5th, Plouffe would single, then move to 3rd on Basak's double. Ryan Jorgenson walked to load the bags, and a single by Span brought in Plouffe. However Bats reliever Todd Coffey would get Pridie and McDonald out on strikes to end the inning, stranding the remaining runners.

Ruiz would double in the bottom of the sixth, moving to 3rd on a Santos ground out and scoring on a line drive by Plouffe.

With two outs on the board on the bottom of the eighth, Basak and Jorgensen would hit back-to-back singles. Span would then hit a line drive to plate Basak before Pridie ground out to end the inning.

They need just one run to tie in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't find it, despite a single to Ruiz.

Basak would finish up the game 4-for-5 with 2 runs and a run scored, Span was 3-for-5 with a walk, a run and 2 RBIs. Ruiz and Jorgensen were 2-for4, Ruiz with a run, Jorgensen with a walk. Santos and Pridies were both 2-for-6, Pridie with a pair of runs and Santos with 3 RBIs.

The league has Wednesday off. The Wings then hit the road, starting a four-game series against the Indianapolis Indians on Thursday, before visiting Louisville for another 4-game set.

Garrett Jones hit his seventh home run of the season Monday night, and his 65th as a Red Wing. Jones is just one home run shy of tying Luke Easter and John Valle for 9th all-time (66 home runs) on the Red Wings home run list and 12 away from tying Steve Bilko for 8th all-time (77 home runs). Jones has now hit safely in 14 of his last 15 games.

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New Britain at Portland - Postponed

Tuesday's game between the Portland Sea Dogs and the New Britain Rock Cats was postponed, due to the fact it was raining cats and dogs. The game as been rescheduled for Tuesday, August 26th at Hadlock field with a start time of 6:00 PM. The two teams will play Wednesday, June 18 - weather permitting - with a 7:00 PM start time.

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Wings win third straight

Charlotte 3 at Rochester 6

W: D. Graves (2-0, 3.05); L: W. Whisler (5-3, 2.91); SV: T. Lahey (7)
HR: CHA: B. Eldred (19), D. Richar (1).

Jim Mandelaro wrote in his blog Extra Bases that "Danny Graves is a reliever forced to be a starter."

Perhaps that is the case, but Graves worked well as a starter on Wednesday night allowing 3 runs on 8 hits and 1 walks while striking out 3 over 5.2 innings.

Ricky Barrett and Tim Lahey picked up the relief work as the Rochester Red Wings went to defeat the Charlotte Knights, 6-3 at Frontier Stadium.

Jerry Owens would double for the Knights with 2 outs in the top of the 3rd. Juan Uribe then singled to bring him in for an early Charlotte lead.

The Wings took it back in the bottom of the inning however, when Tommy Watkins doubled out to left, then came home on a Jason Pridie single.

Sergio Santos and Ryan Jorgenson hit back-to-back singles to start out the bottom of the 5th. Chris Basak then doubled the pair in. Watkins would move Basak to 3rd on a sac bunt, and he would score on a Pridie's grounder to center.

With one out in the board in the top of the 6th, Graves would allow back-to-back single shot home runs to Danny Richar and Brad Eldred. He would strike out Josh Fields before Barrett was brought in to relieve him, falling just shy of a quality start.

Darnell McDonald walked in the bottom of the 2nd, then stole 2nd base. He would move to 3rd on Brian Buscher's ground out. Garrett Jones' line drive single plated him to make it 5-3 Wings.

The final run came in the bottom of the 8th, when Watkins walked with 2 outs on the board. He'd move to second on a passed ball, and 3rd on a wild pitch. Pridie then tripled to bring him in.

All in all it was good night for the former Miracle who when 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk and 2 runs. Pridie was 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Jones was 2-for-4 with 1 RBI, and Randy Ruiz was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Brian Buscher had his 15-game hitting streak at Frontier Field snapped after an 0-for-4 night.

Stan Cliburn now has an 183-167 record as manager of the Rochester Red Wings. Stan needs just 17 more wins to be only the sixth manager since 1963 to compile 200 wins in his first three seasons (Joe Altobelli 1971-73, 241 wins; Greg Biagini 1989-91, 237 wins; Darrell Johnson 1963-65, 230 wins; Marv Foley 1995-1997, 228 wins and Phil Roof 2003-05 216 wins).

The two teams finish up the 4-game series with a morning contest. Kevin Mulvey (2-6, 4.10) will throw out the first pitch at 11:05 AM.

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Beloit, Rochester win; Rock Cats fall to Sea Dogs

Burlington 4 at Beloit 7

W: D. Bromberg (3-2, 4.70); L: S. Runion (0-2, 3.86); SV: S. Steedley (4)
HR: BUR: D. Lough (3). BEL: O. Lewis (3), B. Revere (1).

The Beloit Snappers topped the Burlington Bees 7-4 at home with light hitting Ozzie Lewis cranking his third ball of the year over the fence. Ben Revere also went yard for the Snappers.

David Lough would take David Bromberg deep in the first inning, putting ball over the left field wall to put the Bees on the board.

It was short lived lead however. Ben Revere would ground out to start, but Danny Lehmann reached on a fielding error. Garrett Olson singed out to right and Chris Parmelee took a walk to load the bags. Jair Fernandez's ground ball single would rive in two. Steve Singleton's line drive saw Parmelee across the plate. Ozzie Lewis would sent a ball out to left to score Fernandez. Singleton was taken out at 3rd on the play, and Greg Yersich would fly out to end the inning.

Beloit added to their lead in the bottom of the second, when Revere singled, then moved to 2nd on a throwing error by Bees 2nd baseman Alwin Perez. Olson would then double Revere in.

David Lough would be hit by a pitch to start the top of the 3rd. Mike Moustakas then double to put two men on. Jason Taylor's ground out plated Lough, while Moustakas would score on Jamar Waltons' sac-fly.

Lewis would go yard in the sixth and Revere's first home run in Snappers uniform made it 7-3.

Reliever Matt Williams would allow another Bees run in the top of the 8th, when Moustakas tripled then came home on Wilson Tucker's sacrifice.

Revere, Olson and Lewis were all 2-for-4 on the evening, Revere with 2 runs and 2 RBIs, Olson with 1 run and 1 RBI, and Lewis with a run and 2 RBIs.

The two teams rematch Saturday for double-header starting at 5:00 PM. Michael Tarsi (1-6, 6.84) should be on the mound for the Snappers in the first game. It's also cowgirl night and Fireworks Night #3.

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New Britain 6 at Portland 7

W: M. James (1-1, 2.33); L: R. Mullins (4-3, 3.81); SV: B. Vaughan (5)
HR: NBR: M. Moses (3). POR: B. Bell (6), J. Corsaletti 2 (5), M. Wagner (4), A. Pinckney (3).

Ryan Mullins gave up six runs, all earned, on 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3 over 4 innings. He gave up 4 home runs to the Portland Sea Dogs, who were quite sorry to see Armando Gabino replace him on the mound.

Steve Tolleson was 2-for-4 on the evening with a walk, a run and 2 RBIs. Walks also aided Matt Moses, who went 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk, 2 runs and 1 RBI. Dustin Martin would be hit by a pitch, going 1-for-3 at the plate, but gaining 2 runs.

Martin would get plunked at the top of the 5th inning, Drew Butera singled to follow him on base and Tolleson pushed Martin over the plate with a line drive single to ceter. Trevor Plouffe would reach on a failed force attempt that drove in Butera. Erik Lis would take a walk, but David Winfree ground into a double play that brought in Tolleson, for a 3-run inning.

The two teams rematch Saturday for a 1 PM game. Anthony Swarzak (2-1, 4.06) should be the starting pitcher for the Cats.

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Rochester 6 at Pawtucket 4

W: D. Graves (1-0, 2.40); L: D. Hansack (2-5, 5.55); SV: T. Lahey (6)
HR: ROC: B. Buscher (7).

Danny Graves got a quality start for Rochester, allowing 3 runs, all earned, on 4 hits and 2 walks over 6 innings.

Rochester would by 1 run until the 6th inning. Brian Buscher would take a walk, and Ryan Ruiz would follow that up with a single. A missed catch on a pick off attempt moved the pair. Garrett Jones would ground out, but brought in Buscher. A Jose Morales single then scored Ruiz. Sergio Santos singled his way onto base, and Ryan Joregenson would get plunked by a pitch to load the bags. Tommy Watkins single to center brought in 2 to give the Wings the lead.

Buscher hit his 7th home run of the season in the 4th inning. It was the only hit he'd have for the evening, but he also had 2 walks which lead to a pair of runs. Santos was 3-for-4 with 2 runs, Ruiz was 2-for-4 with 1 run, and Watkins was 2-for-5 in the leadoff spot with 3 RBIs.

The PawSox send David Pauley (5-2, 3.32 ERA) to the hill Saturday against the Red Wings’ Kevin Mulvey (2-6, 4.36). The game starts at 6:05 Eastern Time.

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Dunedin's four run 8th, crushes Miracle

Dunedin 9 at Fort Myers 3

Record: 5 - 6

The Dunedin Blue Jays pounded out 13 hits resulting in 9 runs to take a commanding win the final game of the series Sunday during Mascot Mania Day at Hammond Stadium.

Sean Shoffit greeted Miracle starter Cole Devries with a line drive single to left. Chris Emanuele and Travis Snider followed that up with singles of their own. J.P. Arencibia ground into a double play, but Shoffit got the run in to give Dunedin an early lead.

The home town team took it back though in bottom of the inning, despite a strong looking lead off by lefty Brett Cecil, who was making a rehab start. Rene Tosoni doubled with 1 out and Danny Valencia put one over the right center field wall to give the Miracle a lead. That would be about all they would get out of Cecil however who only gave up one hit over the next two innings.

Devries kept the Jays off the board for the next two innings despite giving up back-to-back walks in the top of the 2nd. The top of the fourth would be a different story, with Paul Franko getting hit a pitch to start off the stanza and Jonathan Diaz going yard over the right field wall to give the lead back to Dunedin.

Snider would single in the top of the 5th, and following a fly out to J.P. Arencibia, Cory Patton would single to put Snider on 3rd. Franko's line drive to right would score Snider, making it 4-2 Jays.

Even so the game was still within reach, with Juan Portes and Danny Santiesteban smacking back-to-back singles and Yancarlos Ortiz bunting to fill up the bases. A sac-fly by Rene Tosoni brought in Portes, but Valencia's ground out ended the scoring threat one shy of the tying run.

The Jays would take the run back with Shoffit taking a walk in the top of the 6th. Danny Graves, a minor league free agent signee, would come into relieve Devries, surrendering a single to Emanuele which allowed Shoffit past the plate.

Fort Myers looked for, but could find, no offense in the bottom of the sixth and seventh.

The top of the eighth turned nasty however. Following a ground out to Jonathan Diaz, Luis Sanchez singled then sold 2nd. Shoffit's ground out pushed him to 3rd, and an Emanuele ground ball single would push him over the plate. Snider would single to put runners at the corners, which prompted Miracle field manager Jeff Smith to bring in Matt Fox. Arencibia took one of Foxy's pitches over the right field wall though, the wind which had been a help in the past couple of games suddenly becoming an enemy.

With nine on the board for the visitors, it looked bad for the home town boys, who went three up, three down in the bottom of the 8th. The Jays would then turn to Chad Blackwell to finish off the game, which he did quickly, sending the Fort Myers fans home unhappy.

Devries would finish up allowing 5 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6. Graves would be charged for the inherited runs, giving up 3 on 4 hits and 1 walk in 2 innings.

Ortiz was the only Miracle batter with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 at the bottom of the order.

The Miracle rest on Monday and start a 3-game series against the Clearwater Threshers on Tuesday. Jeff Manship will take to the mound against the defending FSL champions. The Threshers are 4-7 on the young season, last in the West Division, while the Miracle are in a three-way tie for 3rd place.

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NP Notebook: Graves
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Notes: Graves was added to the roster Saturday. The 34-year old notched a career-high 41 saves with Cincinnati in 2004, when he was picked for his second All-Star appearance. Graves holds the Cincinnati club record with 172 career saves.

The Minnesota Twins signed the former University of Miami product to a Minor League deal on March 30. Graves pitched last season for the Long Island Ducks, leading the independent Atlantic League with 33 saves.

The former fourth-round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in 1994, was born in Saigon, Vietnam. He is the first and only Vietnam-born player in the history of the Major Leagues.

Miracle reliever Rob Delaney has been named Twins Minor League Player of the week.

Delaney, 23, pitched six scoreless innings last week and went 3-for-3 in his save opportunities. The St. John’s University graduate is 0-1 with a 0.00 ERA. He has not allowed an earned run or walked a batter in eight innings this season. Opponents are hitting .179 against him. Delaney compiled 35 saves in 53 games last year, playing for Fort Myers and low Class A Beloit, Wis.

Graphs: Since I was looking for Adrian Martin, who is evidenlty on Dunedin's disabled list, I somehow managed to overlook the fact that Blackwell was on the roster and missed getting is autograph yet again. It's becoming a habit.

I also missed Matt Fox who was up at the autograph table on the concourse on Friday. I actually had pulled the 8 x 10 I needed to have him sign on Thursday night, and managed to forget to take it to the park with me on Friday. Back to remedial autographing 101 for me...

Dunedin does not return until June 2nd. T.J. reports that Travis Snider is very nice and gives a good graph, so if you missed him this time around be sure to get him then, as he's unlikely to stay in the FSL after the All-Star game.