Solar Sox take AzFL opener

It took 10 innings, but the Mesa Solar Sox overcame the Phoenix Desert Dogs, 3-2 on the opening day of the 2008 Arizona Fall League Season.

Mesa got on the board first, taking two runs from Phoenix starter Max Scherzer (Arizona), who went on to work 7 innings. A fielding error by Desert Dog Rusty Ryal (Arizona) allowed John Raynor (Florida) to reach. He was awarded second when the ball went into the first base dugout. William Rhymes' (Detroit) ground out moved Raynor to 3rd. Casper Wells (Detroit) then went yard over the left field wall to put the Sox up two runs.

The Solar Sox hung onto the lead until the bottom of the sixth. With two outs on the board, Evan Frey (Arizona) singled out to left, and advanced to second on a passed ball by Mesa catcher Steve Clevenger (Chi Cubs). Eric Young (Colorado) would get plunked by a Kris Median (Atlanta) pitch, before Ryal redeemed himself for his earlier error by tripling out to right field, bringing in two.

Aussie Shane Lindsay (Colorado) worked the 8th for the Dogs before giving way to Daryl Harang (Toronto).

Arizona's Hector Ambriz would give up the game winning run in the 10th, walking Clevenger, who advanced to 2nd on a Darwin Barney (Chi Cubs) sac bunt. A wild pitch by Ambriz put Clevenger on 3rd, and Raynor singled him in.

Despite singles by Twins prospects Danny Valencia and Dustin Martin in the bottom of the 10th, the Dogs could not pull out the game, with Josh Donaldson (Oakland) popping out and pinch hitters Ryan Patterson (Toronto) and Michael McKenry (Colorado) going down on strikes.

Valencia would go 2-for-4 in the contest, Martin was 1-for-4. Former Miracle Steve Tolleson, who spelled Ryal at short, finished up 0-for-1 on the night.

The two teams rematch tonight at Mesa HoHoKam Park for a 7:05 PM (Mountain Time) game.

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In other AzFL action, the Peoria Javelinas downed the Sunrise Surprise 10-3, while the Peoria Saguaros topped the Scottsdale Scorpions, 9-3.

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.

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Defenders, weather, claim games from Rock Cats

Saturday: New Britain 7 at Connecticut 8

W: R. Ray (4-1, 3.31); L: A. Gabino (5-5, 3.26); SV: J. Hedrick (5)
HR: CT: P. Sandoval (6).

The New Britain Rock Cats came back from a 6-1 deficit to tie Saturday's game against the Connecticut Defenders, but a pair of runs in the 7th inning doomed to them in the end.

Danny Valencia singled and David Winfree doubled to bring him home, giving the Rock cats a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

The bottom of the 3rd saw Simon Klink take a single off Rock Cat's starter Jeff Manship. After David Marout flew out to center, Kyle Haines singled and Antoan Richardson took a walk to load the bags. Ben Copeland would go down on strikes and it looked like Manship might get himself out of the jam when Pablo Sandoval saw something he liked and connected for a grand slam, his sixth home run of the season going over the right field wall.

Ryan Rohlinger would start out the bottom of the fourth with a single. After Klink went down on strikes David Marout reached on a force attempt. A double error on short stop Felix Molina, one for the fielding, one for throwing, put Rohlinger on 3rd and Marout on 2nd. Kyle Haines singled out to left to score the pair. Haines would try for 2nd base, but was taken down by Luke Hughes. A Richardson fly out ended the inning.

Toby Gardenhire singled to lead off the top of the 5th, then scampered over to 3rd on a Drew Butera line drive. Matt Moses and Steve Tollenson would both go down on strikes before Dustin Martin single to plate Gardenhire. Valencia followed that up with a line drive single to put Butera over the plate, and a fielding error by Richardson allowed Martin to score as well. Valencia ended up at 3rd. Winfree would take a walk before Ben Snyder's time on the Connecticut mound was ended. Ronnie Ray joined the game for the Giant's affiliate. He'd give up a double to Hughes that put Valencia and Winfree over the plate for two more runs, before getting Felix Molina to ground out, ending the inning.

Snyder left the game after giving up six runs, all earned on six hits and a pair of walks while striking out 2 over 4.2 innings worth of work. Manship would work six allowing six runs, 4 earned, on 7 hits and 2 walks while fanning four.

Dustin Martin lead off the top of the 7th inning with a double and would come home, one out later, on a David Winfree single to put the Cats up by one.

It was short lived.

With Armando Gabino on the hill for New Britain, Marout drew a walk. Haines would go down on strikes and Richardson ground into a force out. Copeland singled, and Richardson advanced to 3rd on a fielding error by Martin. Sandoval's single scored Richardson, and Adam Witter's line drive to right brought in Copeland, putting the Defenders on the top again.

Paul Oseguera took three Cats batters down on strikes in the eighth, and Justin Hedrick used a combination of outs to finish off the game.

Gabino would get hit with both the blown save, his first of the season, and the loss, his fifth.

Winfree finished up the contest 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and a pair of runs scored. Martin and Valencia were both 2-for-5 with a pair of runs and a RBI each. Hughes (1-for-3 with a walk) and Moses (1-for-4) both added doubles, Hughes with a pair of RBIs as well, while Gardenhire and Butera were each 1-for-4 with a run.

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Sunday: New Britain at Connecticut - Canceled

The Connecticut Defenders and the New Britain Rock Cats final matchup of the season was postponed due to wet grounds and unsafe playing conditions on Sunday afternoon.

The two teams will not make up the game in accordance to Eastern League rules. In great appreciation to the fans that showed up for the game, the Defenders are awarding two (2) tickets redeemable for any remaining 2008 home game in exchange for one ticket to Sunday's contest.

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Rock Cats win pitcher's duel at Dodd

New Britain 2 at Connecticut 1

W: Y. Pino (4-4, 4.26); L: D. McKae (6-5, 4.14); SV: B. Julianel (22)
HR: None.

There haven't been too many pitching duels for the New Britain Rock Cats, but they won one Friday night against the Connecticut Defenders.

Yohan Pino worked 7 solid innings, allowing only 1 run, earned, on 2 hits and pair of walks while fanning two. For their state rivals, Dave McKae also allowed 1 earned run on 8 hits and no walks while striking out 3 over seven innings. It was the unearned run that did him in.

Adam Witter walked in the bottom of the 2nd inning for the Defenders, as did Eddy Martinez-Esteve. Following a fly out to Carlos Sosa, and a pop out to Ryan Rohlinger, Simon Klink singled to drive in Witter. A throwing error by David Winfree in right field put runners on second and third, but Pino got Kyle Haines to ground out, ending the threat.

Drew Butera was hit with a pitch in the top of the 3rd, and a throwing error by Rohlinger allowed Matt Moses to reach on a force attempt. The runners would advance on the play and following a pop out to Steve Tolleson, Luke Hughes would ground out, plating Butera.

Danny Valencia doubled in to the top of the 4th and two outs later was singled in by Felix Molina. Molina would try to steal 2nd, but was caught, retiring the side.

Dustin Martin would get on base on a ground bunt single in the top of the sixth and Valencia would double again, but Martin was taken down at home as the Defenders saved the extra run.

Rob Delaney replaced Pino in the bottom of the 8th and allowed a single to Haines. He'd not be able to advance however as Delaney made quick work of the other three batters he faced.

Ben Julianel gets the job done as closer but he likes to make it interesting. After getting Pablo Sandoval to pop out, Witter and Martinez-Esteve took walks off of him. Carlos Sosa would go down on strikes and a wild pitch would advance the runners. Rohlinger then ground out, stranding his teammates and ending the contest.

Valencia was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run. Winfree was 2-for-4 with a double. Molina was 1-for-3 with a RBI and Tolleson, Hughes and Martin were all 1-for-4, Hughes with a RBI, the other two being one hit wonders.

Butera was 0-for-2 at the plate with a run.

The save was Julianel's 22nd of the season.

Game two of the series is Saturday night at the Dodd. First pitch is set for 6:35 PM with Ben Snyder (1-2, 7.66) on the hill for Connecticut, while the Rock Cats counter with Jeff Manship (1-5, 4.50).

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Note: While there has been no word as to which Rock Cat will be replacing Brian Duensing on the Rochester Red Wings staff, it is expected that the outgoing Cat will be replaced in New Britain by Jose Mijares.

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Rochester 3 at Scanton/WB 7

W: J. Karstens (6-4, 3.80); L: B. Duensing (5-11, 4.32)
HR: SWB: M. Carson (6), A. Gonzalez (3).

Brian Duensing's last start prior to his departure for Beijing was less then memorable as the Rochester Red Wings blew a 3 run lead and ended up losing 7-3.

Duensing allowed 5 runs, all earned on 10 hits and a walk and fanned only 2 in 6.1 innings to record his 11th loss of the season.

Adam Everett would get things rolling for the Wings with a soft line drive to center. Darnell McDonald then doubled to move Everett to 3rd. Garrett Jones would go down on strikes before Randy Ruiz doubled in the pair to give the Wings a two run lead.

Matt Macri would walk in the top of the 2nd and after a pop out to Alejandro Machado, advanced to second on a Ryan Jorgenson single. Jason Pridie's single moved Macri to 3rd and following a coaching visit to the mound, Everett would knock a line drive to right to plate him.

Matt Carson homered for the Yankees in the bottom of th 4th. Juan Miranda singled and Cody Ransom walked. One out later. JD Closser singled to load up the bags. Chris Stewart then sent a ball to Everett at short that saw Miranda come home. Nick Green sacrificed in Ransom to tie up the game.

Alberto Gonzalez singled in the bottom of the 5th and advanced to second on McDonald's throwing error. Carson's sac-bunt moved him to 3rd. Miranda's line drive to right plated him to give the Yankees the lead.

Macri would double with two outs in the top of the sixth, but could not convert as Machado ground out to send the Wings back on Defense.

Following a strike out to Bernie Castro, Alberto Gonzalez homered in the bottom of 7th. That would finish it for Duensing with Julio Depaula taking over. Depaula would take Carson out on strikes, but walked Miranada. Ransom then doubled to score Miranda and a Broussard line drive single brought in Ransom.

Everett and Garrett Jones were both 2-for-4 at the plate, Everett with a run and a RBI. Macri was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, a double and a run

Howie Clark (1-for-4) and Pridie (1-for-5) were the one hit wonders, while McDonald and Ruiz were 1-for-4 with doubles, Ruiz with 2 RBIs as well; Machado and Jorgensen were 1-for-3, Machado with a double, Jorgensen with a walk.

Jeff Karstens took the win for the Yankees, his sixth of the season, allowing 3 runs, earned on 9 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 5.

The two teams rematch Saturday at 7:00 PM.

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Reliever Carmen Cali (5-0, 3.38 ERA) will make the spot start Saturday night against Kei Igawa (9-5, 3.80) .

Manager Stan Cliburn entered Friday's game with 999 wins as a minor league manager; Cliburn has a 1,252-1,206 overall managerial record, with 253 of those wins in the Independent Texas/Louisiana League from 1995-1999. Dave Machemer is the only former Red Wings manager to have 1,000 or more minor league wins on the active manager list.

Friday's game ended a streak in which the Red Wings had hit at least one home run in 12 straight games (19 home runs during a 12-game stretch). Alejandro Machado just missed extending the homer streak, doubling off the top of the fence in the ninth inning. Rochester hit 12 home runs during the just completed eight-game homestand, out-slugging the IL home run leaders (Toledo) 8-4 during a four-game series. The 96 home runs Rochester has hit so far this season is the most in one season since 2005 (139).

The Twins lost OF Carlos Gomez after he was injured colliding with the outfield wall making a catch. Gomez needed to be carted off the field after injuring his back, and was taken to a hospital for tests.

Cats split first two games of homestand

Monday: Reading 3 at New Britan 1

W: T. Brummett (2-3, 4.05); L: J. Manship (1-5, 4.50); SV: J. Pope (4)
HR: None.

Jeff Manship gave up 2 runs, only 1 earned, in six innings worth of work, while fanning 4, but got little help from the New Britain Rock Cats' lazy offense, which only managed three hits as they fell, 3-1 to the Reading Phillies in game one of the four-game homestand.

Luke Appert singled and Jason Donald reached on a Felix Molina fielding error. Appert would advance to 3rd on a missed catch by Rock Cats' 3rd baseman Danny Valencia. Greg Golson would then sacrifice him in for an unearned Phillies run to start off the contest.

Neil Sellers singed in the top of the 2nd but Manship got Brad Harman and Mike Eylward to ground out. Sellers would move to 2nd and Kevin Nelson would knock a line drive to center to plate him, before Manship could get Appart to ground out as well to retire the Phillies.

Drew Butera and Dustin Martin took back-to-back walks off Phillies starter Tyson Brummett in the bottom of the 3rd. After Matt Moses popped out, Valencia would single to plate Butera. Erik Lis would go down on strikes however, and David Winfree would ground into a force out to strand the Cats' runners.

Zack Ward would take over for Manship in the top of the 7th, and walk Harman. The Aussie second baseman then stole 2nd. Mike Eylward would ground out and Kevin Nelson and Appert both draw walks which moved Harman to 3rd. Donald's sac-fly would bring him in for Reading's 3rd run of the game.

Aside from Valencia, Dustin Martin (1-for-3) would add a single and walk twice, and Winfree would double to lead off in the bottom of the 8th.

Rob Delaney worked the mound for the eighth and Ben Julianel struck out one during a scoreless ninth.

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Tuesday: Reading 6 at New Britain 7

W: A. Gabino (5-4, 3.07); L: P. Overholt (3-6, 5.09); SV: B. Julianel (21)
HR: REA: J. Blalock (2). NBR: D. Butera (6), F. Molina (2).

The pitching was slightly suspect as Jay Rainville lasted only 3-2 innings, surrendering 4 runs on six hits and 3 walks while striking out 3, but the New Britain Rock Cats used some steady batting to down the Reading Phillies, 7-6 in game two of the four-game series at New Britain Stadium.

Drew Butera opened up the game in the bottom of the 3rd by taking his sixth home run of the season of Reading starter Edgar Garcia.

Rainville allowed 3 straight walks in the top of the 3rd, but got Jeremy Slaydon to strike out to strand the runners in the bases loaded situation. He would not fair quite so well in the 4th.

After getting Neil Sellers to pop out, he allowed back-to-back singles to Brad Harman and Clay Harris. Jake Blalock then put his 2nd home run of the season over the left field wall to make it 3-1 Phillies. After Luke Appert flew out, Jason Donald and Greg Golson took back-to-back doubles off Rainville, resulting in another run, before Armando Gabino was brought in to replace the Rock Cats struggling starter.

The Cats took one back in the bottom of the 4th, with Danny Valencia singling then moving to 3nd on a wild pitch by Garica. Erik Lis would strike out swinging and David Winfree would line out before a Brock Peterson single plated the Cats' third baseman.

Slayden singled and Sellars doubled in the top of the fifth, while Harman took a walk to load the bags. Clay Harris ground into a double play that scored Slayden, making it 5-2 Phillies.

Valencia walked in the bottom of the sixth and moved to 2nd on a Lis single. A wild pitch by Garcia moved the pair, and Winfree would sacrifice in Valencia. Peterson then doubled to scored Lis and also to prompt a pitching change, with Pat Overholt coming in to relieve Garcia. Toby Gardenhire singled to plate Peterson and the Phillies found themselves with a tied up ballgame.

Matt Moses singled in the bottom of the 7th and stole 2nd. After Dustin Martin when down on strikes, Felix Molina put his 2nd home run of the season over the right field wall to give the Rock Cats two more runs. Brett Harker would come in to replace Overholt and after walking Winfree and Peterson, got Gardenhire to strike out to end the inning.

With Ben Julianel on the mound in the top of the 9th, Golson would walk with one out on the board. Lou Marson and Jeremy Slayden hit back-to-back singles to plate Golson, but Sellers would fly into a double play to end the game.

Valencia was 2-for-1 at the plate with a pair of walks and pair of runs. Peterson was 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and a pair of RBIs. Lis was 2-for-4 with a run. Gardenhire, Molina and Moses were both 1-for-4, Gardy with a RBI, Molina with a run and 2 RBIs, and Moses with a run. Butera was 1-for-3 with a walk a run and run scored.

Gabino picked up his fifth win of the season in 3.1 innings worth of work. Frank Mata worked a scoreless eighth, while Julianel's one-run ninth gave him his 21st save of the season.

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While it's probably not surprising to find the New Britain Rock Cats down near the bottom of the league in team pitching, it is surprising to note that both New Hampshire, who recently took three straight from New Britain, and Reading, both trail the Rock Cats in that category. Notably though, the Cats have give up a team total of 102 home runs, six more than Reading and 54 more than inner-state rival Connecticut.

Connecticut however trails the league in team batting average with .251. Erie, Bowie and Altoona also trail the cats, who are hitting .264 as a team in 2008.

New Hampshire slips past Rock Cats

New Britain 2 at New Hampshire 3

W: Z. Dials (2-2, 3.27); L: R. Delaney (1-1, 1.76)
HR: None.

One day after being annihilated by the New Britain Rock Cats at Automerchants.com Stadium, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats bounced back to pick up a 3-2 win.

The Rock Cats were facing one of the Toronto's top prospects in Ricky Romero on the mound, but still managed to get on the board first. Danny Valencia doubled with two outs on the board, and David Winfree would reach on a fielding error by Eric Neilsen. Valencia would waste no time, coming home on the play. Erik Lis doubled to moved Winfree to 3rd, but Brock Peterson would fly out to end the inning.

It would be a different story in the bottom of the 3rd with former Miracle Kyle Phillips singled off the Rock Cats' Anthony Swarzak to get on base. Andrew Pinckney doubled which moved Phillips to 3rd. A Ryan Klosterman ground out put the Fisher's first baseman over the plate tying up the game.

Travis Snider doubled off Swarzak in the bottom of the 4th and following a ground out to J.P. Arencibia, scored on a Brian Jeroloman single to right.

Neither starter game up much however, with Swarzak going 7 inning and allowing the 2 runs, both earned on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5 for a quality start. Romero also worked 7 and returned for the 8th.

Dustin Martin would double off of him before Seth Overbey was brought into the game. Martin moved to 3rd on a Valencia ground out, and Winfree reached on a fielder's choice that took Martin out at home. Daryl Harang would replace Overbey and allowed a single to Erik Lis. Not happy, New Hampshire then turned to Jared Gothreaux to preserve their slender lead. Peterson would single off of him, to score Winfree before Toby Gardenhire ground out to end retire the Rock Cats with the score tied.

Rob Delaney worked the 8th and returned for the ninth, allowing a walk to Snider before getting Arencibia to fly out. Jeroloman drew a walk, and David Smith's line drive brought in Snider to give the Fishers the go ahead run and the game.

Lis was 2-for-3 in the contest with a double and a walk. Valencia was 2-for-5 with a double and a run. Martin as 1-for-5 at the plate with a double, while Peterson, Gardenhire and Moses were all 1-for-4. Peterson had a RBI, while the other two share the one hit wonder title.

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Courant: Fundraiser

Devries de-rails Rays

Fort Myers 6 at Vero Beach 1

W: C. Devries (7-6, 2.45); L: W. Noel (1-2, 3.86)
HR: FTM: W. Ramos 2 (10), J. Portes (9). VER: N. Ashley (1).

Cole Devries has been excellent so far this season for the Fort Myers Miracle. Wednesday night, he took the meaning of the word to a whole new level.

Devries allowed 1 run while scattering 4 hits and a walk and fanning six as he threw his first complete game, going the distance over the Vero Beach Devil Rays.

The Miracle exchanged home runs with the Rays in the 2nd inning. Juan Portes put his 9th of the season over the left field wall, while Nevil Ashley got his first of the year, over the center field wall.

Wilson Ramos put his 9th our of the park in the top of the 4th, going over the left field wall.

Steve Singleton's line drive to left got him on the bags in the top of the sixth and Edward Ovalle walked before Ramos blasted his 10th for the Miracle over the center field wall to add three more runs. One out later, Danny Berg walked which prompted a pitching change for the Rays, with the appropriately named Matthew Walker replacing Chris Kelly. Yangervis Solarte would go down on strikes, before Eli Tintor singled to move Berg to third. Yancarlos Ortis drew a walk to load the bags and Garrett Olson followed that up with a walk of his own to force in a run. Walker finally got Singleton to fly out to retire the side.

The teams play one more on Thursday before the Miracle return home to the Bill on Friday for Dog Daze III. It also include free dogs for you and your canine furrriend to munch on.

Alex Burnett (6-2, 3.52) will attempt to redeem himself after giving up ten (Yes 10!) hits to Lakeland Saturday. He will contend against Heath Rollins (4-7,3.87) who is the Florida State League's strike out leader. First pitch is due at 7:00 PM.

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Pitcher Carlos Gutierrez has been assigned to the Miracle. Gutierrez was the 27th overall pick in last month's draft by the Minnesota Twins after serving as the University of Miami's closer. NDN

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New Britain 0 at Harrisburg 9

W: J. Zimmermann (4-2, 3.68); L: J. Manship (1-3, 3.86)
HR: HAR: G. Guzman (7), L. Davis (4).

Despite eight hits, the New Britain Rock Cats were again shown to be clawless against the Harrisburg Senators, behaving like good little house kitties and catnapping through nine.

Jeff Manship gave up six runs, only 2 earned, on 13 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 2 in five innings. Errors by Felix Molina and Luke Hughes lead to the unearned runs.

Former Miracle Garrett Guzman was 3-for-4 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs for the Senators.

Danny Valencia was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and Matt Moses was 2-for-4 with a double for the Rock Cats.

New Britain plays one more, Thursday, July 10th at Commerce Bank Park for a 6:35 PM contest before returning to New Britain Stadium to host the Portland Sea Dogs. (Upcoming Homestand)

Adrian Alaniz (0-1, 4.18 ERA) goes to the mound for the Sens against the Rock Cats' Jay Rainville (5-7, 6.88 ERA).

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Super Dad Sunday

About 20 years ago, a number of fathers took their sons out on their lawn and taught them to play catch. 25 of those youngster became the young men we know today as the Fort Myers Miracle. To their Dads, and all Dads everywhere, Miraclefans.com would like to wish you all a Happy Fathers Day.

West All-stars 9 at East All-stars 3

W: R.Porcello (1-0, 9.00); L: R.Morse (0-1, 9.00)
HR: WST: Stubbs (1), Iorg (1)

Fort Myers Miracle All-star Brian Dinkelman was 2-for-6 at the plate with 2 runs and Danny Valencia was 2-for-5 with a triple, 1 run and 2 RBIs as the West Division All-Stars beat the East Division All-stars, 9-3.

Catcher Wilson Ramos was 0-1 for 1 at the plate with a walk. Both Valencia and Dinkelman played the whole contest, while Ramos split time with Dunedin's J.P. Arencibia, the only other West Division player with a multi-hit game.

Dinkelman would single to start off the game, then move to 2nd when Clearwater's Gus Milner walked. Valencia's fly out moved Dink to 3rd, and a passed ball by Palm Beach's Tony Cruz brought him home.

In the top of the six, Dinkelman would reach on a fielding error by Jupiter's Logan Morrison. Milner's single moved him to second and the pair would be tripled in by Valencia. Lakeland's Ryan Strieby would single out to left 2 outs later to score Valencia.

Jeff Manship worked the 3rd inning for the West, posting goose eggs on his line score by getting Daytona's Tony Thomas to ground out and Daytona's James Adduci to ground into a double play after Brevard County's Darren Ford reached on a fielding error by Valencia.

Slama worked the fifth inning, walking 2 and striking out 1, while ace closer Rob Delaney mopped up in the ninth, allowing 2 hits and striking out 1.

Sarasota's Drew Stubbs earned MVP honors by going 1-for-3 at the plate with a two-run homer in the 2nd inning.

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The Miracle take Sunday off and return to play on Monday as they head over to Dunedin for a three-game series against the Jays to finish off the first half of the FSL season.

Fort Myers may be a few players short on the trip as Manship, Valencia, Dinkelman and either Delaney or Slama (but not both) will be headed to AA New Britain. Catcher Rocky Palacios was already promoted to back up Rock Cat catcher Drew Butera. Former Miracle Jose Morales re-injured the ankle he hurt at the end of last season, and Fort Myers alumni Jeff Christy received the call to Rochester to replace him.

The Midwest League does not play their All-star game until Tuesday, so unless players are loaned to the Miracle from the GCL for the road trip, the roster will be a little light.

One of the players who may be assigned to the Miracle is former 2nd round draft pick Paul Kelly who has been rehabbing at the Lee County Sportsplex. Kelly had a single in the 7-inning scrimmage that was played between the GCL Twins and Elizabethton Twins Saturday Morning. CGL shut out E-Town, 2-0.

The Miracle return home on Thursday to open the 2nd half of the season against the Sarasota Reds. It is Dog Daze II as well as Thirsty Thursday. The GCL Twins also begin their season on Thursday with a Noon game against the Pirates at the Lee County Sportsplex.

Manship masterful against Jays

Dunedin 0 at Fort Myers 5

W: J. Manship (7-2, 2.72); L: K. Rodriguez (4-6, 3.84)
HR: FTM: J. Portes (4).

Jeff Manship validated his ticket to the Florida State League All-star game Tuesday night, dominating the Dunedin Blue Jays from the first pitch through the last out, allowing only 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out five during a complete, 9-inning game.

Rather unfortunately, also All-star bound is home plate umpire Sean Barber who made some questionable calls last night at 1st base, and continued the trend tonight.

With one out on the board in the first Edward Ovalle would would reach on a throwing error by Jays shortstop Luis Sanchez. Danny Valencia then drew a walk. Whit Robbins ground ball brought in Ovalle, and put Valencia on second, although it was a close, and Valencia was a little slow getting back to his feet. Ramos then singled to load up the bags. Juan Portes hit a ground ball to left that brought in Valencia. Robbins would be called out at home, although he certainly looked safe from where I was sitting. Yangervis Solarte would then get plunked by a pitch, but Barber ruled that Solarte had leaned into the ball, and he was called out on strikes.

Since the ball hit Mr. Solarte on the hand, he was taken out as a precaution and replaced by Eli Tintor in right field.

Valencia would double in the bottom of the third and move to third on Robbin's ground out. Following a strike out to Ramos, Portes went yard over the left center field wall to add two more runs to the total.

Dunedin had their best scoring opportunity in the top of the 5th, when Jonathan Diaz singled on a line drive then got to 3rd base on a Luis Sanchez double. But Robbins would handle Chris Emanuele's pop ball in foul territory for the final out, preserving the shut out.

Valencia hit a line drive in the bottom of the fifth to get on base. Robbins double to plate him for the final Miracle run.

Manship would not let Dunedin get even a whiff of a base during the last four innings. Brian Dopirak would ground out to Yancarlos Ortiz to end the game with just under two hours of playing time.

Valencia was 3-for-3 at the plate with 3 runs and a walk, a validation of his All-star ticket as well - not that he needed it. Robbins was 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs, and Portes was 2-for-4 with a run and 3 RBIs.

On a side note, Ortiz was 1-for-3 at the plate, but he's been just phenomenal at shortstop, vacuuming up anything that comes near him.

For the Dunedin All-stars, Dopirak was 0-for-3 with a walk in the designated hitter role, catcher J.P. Arencibia was 1-for-4 and reliever Conner Falkenbach pitched the bottom of the 8th, strike out Portes.

The final game of the brief homestand is Wednesday with lefty Gustavo Chacin (0-6, 8.59) on the mound for the visiting Jays against righty Deolis Guerra (6-1, 4.23) in the battle of the Venezuelan pitchers.

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Hey Now, you're an All-star: Seven players from the Beloit Snappers will be going to the Midwest League All-game this year, which is being played Tuesday, June 17, at Dow Diamond in Midland, Michigan, home of the Great Lakes Loons. Infielders Steve Singleton (.314 AVG, 30 runs, 61 hits, 24 RBIs) and Garrett Olson (.248 AVG, 24 runs, nine doubles, 30 RBIs) have been named to the team along with catcher Danny Leahmann (.273 AVG, 10 runs, 24 hits, three triples), Outfielder Ben Revere (.420 AVG, 22 runs, five triples, 16 stolen bases), and starting pitcher David Bromberg (3-3, 5.08 ERA, 65 strikeouts, 1.36 WHIP).

Relievers Spencer Steedley (2-2, 2.35 ERA, 40 strikeouts, .191 BAA) and Steven Hirschfield (4-1, 1.20 ERA, 22 strikeouts, 1.20 WHIP) were also named to the game. Furthermore Singleton and Olson have the honor of being named starters for the West Division All-Star team. They are also the players most likely to be joining the Miracle after the All-star break. (Press Release)

One Less Danny: Reliever Danny Vais retired today at around 3:00 PM. The reasons given were that he wasn't having any fun, the hated the travel, and he wanted to be with his wife, who is pregnant with their first child. There are no immediate plans to replace him.

All-star Year: Word has it the Fort Myers Miracle will announce their plans to host the 2009 Florida State League All-star game during this year's showcase. Fort Myers last hosted the game in 2003 when Joe Mauer, Jason Kubel and J.D. Durbin were honored with their selection to the West Division All-star team.

Despite Guerra's walk-fest, Miracle top Palm Beach

Palm Beach 3 at Fort Myers 5

W: D. Guerra (5-1, 4.56); L: B. Dickson (2-5, 3.64); SV: R. Delaney (11)
HR: None.

The Miracle picked up a 5-3 win Friday in a very long game to kick off the Memorial Day Weekend at Bill Hammond Stadium.

Brian Dinkelman singled in the bottom of the seventh. Juan Portes would fly out and Danny Valencia's line drive would put two men on. Whit Robbins then drew a walk to load the bags. Edward Ovalle doubled out to left to drive in two, Robbins would try to cross the plate as well, but was tagged out at home. Ovalle decided to run for three, but the ball was relayed back to second for the 3rd out. Still it proved to be the game inning runs for the Miracle.

Fort Myers actually got on the board first with Dinkelman walking. A missed catch on a pick off attempt moved Dink to 2nd. Portes would line out, but Valencia's line drive to center drove in Binkelman.

Deolis Guerra was struggling with his control early on. With two outs on the board, he'd walk Tony Cruz. Danny Descalso then doubled out to Danny Santiesteban in right to bring in Cruz, tying the game. Nick Derba would pop out to catcher Wilson Ramos, who made a great catch by the netting near the visitor's dugout to end the inning.

In the third Guerra walked Antonio DeJesus. James Rapoport would hit into what should have been a double play, but the umpire called Rapoport safe at first. Rapoport then stole second, but Donoval Solano would draw a walk off Guerra, who suddenly seemed to lose the strike zone. Following a ground out to Brian Cartie, Guerra issued walks to Brown and Jones to force in a run. He finally put one over the plate, which Cruz hit to the outfield and which was handled by Mr. Santiesteban.

Guerra would be tagged for 2 runs, both earned on 2 hits and 7 walks. He fanned only 2 and lasted 5 innings. I wasn't all that excited by his performance. Granted, it's a little hard to get his speed when Tyler Robertson is operating the gun, but I was only seeing speeds off him in the mid-to-lower 80s. Supposedly he throws 93, but I didn't see it.


Dear Mr. Robertson, please hold the gun still, some of us are trying to look at it!

Yancarlos Ortiz walked in the bottom of the fifth, and Dinkelman would double. Portes sac fly scored Ortiz, and Valencia would sacrifice Dinkelman home.

Frank Mata was pitching in the 90s, and would handle the sixth and seventh innings, giving way to Anthony Slama in the 8th. After striking out Brown, he would issue a walk to Jones. Cruz then reached on a force attempt when Ortiz flubbed the catch. Daniel Descalso then doubled off Slama to drive in Jones. Slama would get the next two batters out on strikes to preserve the Miracle lead.

Rob Delaney picked up his 11th save of the year, going three up and three down to finish of the game.

Santiesteban was pulled in the fourth inning, supposedly due to an injury. He did however return to the field as first base coach for the last two innings, so perhaps it was more of a precautionary move than anything.

Dinkelman was 2-for-3 in the contest with 3 runs, Valencia was 3-for-3 with 1 run and 1 RBi. Ramos was 2-for-4 but did not factor into the scoring.

The homestand continues Saturday eveing with Alex Burnett (3-2, 3.16) tossing out the first pitch at 7:05 PM. Shaun Garceau (3-0, 1.93) will be on the mound for the Cards. Fireworks will provided by North Trail RV and Coors Light and - one hopes - by the Miracle bats.

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Jeff Manship and Yangervis Solarte sign autographs before the game

Note: TwinsBaseball.com reported Friday that RHP Scott Baker will make two minor league rehab starts beginning Monday at Extended Spring Training. The game, which is played at the Lee County Sportsplex, starts at 10:00 AM.

Miracle slide by Hammerheads to claim series

Fort Myers 4 at Jupiter 3

W: C. Devries (3-4, 4.13); L: J. Santos (4-2, 3.21); SV: R. Delaney (10)
HR: FTM: W. Ramos (6). JUP: K. Randel (2).

Wilson Ramos cranked out his sixth home run of the season and Cole Devries limited the Hammerheads to 1 run (unearned) on 4 hits and 2 walks while fanning 4 over 5 innings.

Yangervis Solarte and Danny Valencia hit back-to-back doubles in the first inning to open the scoring for the visiting Fort Myers Squad. Edward Ovalle's line drive would bring in Valencia making it two for the Miracle.

The'd add another run in the top of the 3rd when Ramos went yard on Hammerhead starter Jarrett Santos.

Brian Peterson and Smelin Perez hit back-to-back singles in the bottom half of the stanza, one out later, Kevin Randal would reach on a fielding error by Yancarlos Ortiz which also allowed Peterson to score. It was Ortiz 6th error of the season, he now leads the Miracle squad in that category.

Jay Buente replaced Santos at the top of the fifth inning and gave up back-to-back double to Valencia and Ovalle to add another onto the Miracle total. It would be the last run the Miracle would tally, but it would prove to be the game winner.

Matt Fox allowed a single to Logan Morrison in the bottom of the 8th, then watched as Randel took him yard over the right field fence. He would get Spike McDougall out on strikes before Rob Delaney was called in to finish off the game. Delaney would allow a walk to Greg Burns and a single to Agustin Septimo, but got Jake Blackwood and Justin Webb out on strikes to retire the side.

The Miracle pitching staff has only allowed 18 home runs this season, Fox is tied with starter Deolis Guerra, with each of them giving up 4. Only Daytona (17) and Tampa (13) have allowed fewer balls over the fence so far in 2008.

Ovalle and Ramos were both 2-for-4 at the plate, Ovalle with 2 RBIs and Ramos with a run and a RBI. Solarte and Valencia were 2-for-5 each, Solarte with 1 runs and Valencia with a pair of runs and an RBI. When he wasn't hitting the ball, Valencia was striking out - picking up 3 in the game. Ovalle and Juan Portes both had a pair of strike outs each. Valencia is second on the team in hits (51) and is also tied for 3rd on the team for strike outs, with 31.

Brian Dinkelman leads the team in hits (52) and runs (32) but has only 17 strike outs to his. Ramos home run makes him the lead yard-getter on the Miracle, Valencia follows with 5 and Ovalle and Woodard with 4 each.

With the brief road trip concluded the Miracle return home Thursday night for Thirsty Thursday where they will host the East Division leading Palm Beach Cardinals for a four-game Clash of the Titans series.

Miracle Ace Jeff Manship (5-1, 3.62) will toss out the first pitch at 7:05. The Cards will likely counter with right hander David Kopp (1-3, 3.76).

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Former Miracle Matt Tolbert will have surgery Thursday to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb. He will be restricted from baseball activities for 5-6 weeks and will likely be out as much as 2 months before he can play again. Tolbert, currently with the major league Twins, will report to the Lee County Sportsplex for rehab after the surgery is completed.

Alexi Casilla, who played with the 2006 Miracle squad, got his first major league home run Monday night as the Twins defeated the Texas Rangers 7-6 in 12 innings. Casilla was called up to replace Tolbert, and has 2 runs on 3 hits with 5 RBIs in 5 games for the Twins in the 2008 season.

Upcoming Events

CEO Sandi Stewart of Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Inc. of Sarasota will throw the first pitch for Fort Myers Miracle baseball team on Monday, June 9, at 7:15 p.m., at Hammond Stadium, 14400 Six Mile Cypress Parkway, in Fort Myers.

Girl Scout Jaclyn Granitz, age 12, of Troop 531 in Bonita Springs, will sing the National Anthem and nearly 200 Girl Scouts will be there to cheer on the team.

Fort Myers Miracle and Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Inc. have partnered to kick off the summer and invite all current Girl Scout families and anyone interested in learning about Girl Scouts to join them for America's favorite pastime!

Cost is $10 per person and includes admission, Miracle baseball hat, hot dog, and soda.

Tickets can be ordered online at www.MIRACLEFUN.com (enter "girl" as the password).

For information contact either Sean Fox (239) 768-4210 or sfox@miraclebaseball.com or Amy Gainey (239) 561-1800 ext 402 or amyg@gsgcf.org.

Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Inc. is chartered by Girl Scouts of the USA and serves more than 10,000 girls in ten counties: Manatee, Hardee, Highlands, Sarasota, Charlotte, DeSoto, Lee, Glades, Hendry, and Collier.

Miracle get back in Win Column

Fort Myers 10 at Sarasota 6

W: D. Guerra (4-1, 4.93); L: R. Gonzalez (2-2, 6.35)
HR: FTM: D. Valencia (4), E. Ovalle (3), R. Tosoni (1). SAR: J. Francisco 2 (7).

The Fort Myers Miracle out slugged the Sarasota Reds during a slug fest at Ed Smith Stadium Tuesday night. The teams had 22 combined hits.

With two outs on the board in the first inning, Danny Valencia drew a walk. Johnny Woodard then hit a line drive double to drive in Valencia, earning himself a ham sandwich in the process.

The Miracle would add three more runs in the third inning, when Brian Dinkelman and Rene Tosoni walked and Valencia tripled them in. After a Woodard strike out, Eddie Ovalle's sac fly brought in Valencia. Sadly Wilson Ramos beautiful double was wasted as Whit Robbins flew out to end the inning.

Ortiz would single in the top of the 4th and, with two outs on the board Rene Tosoni and Valencia would hit back-to-back homers, using the wind to take the ball over the center field wall. Valencia is making a strong case to find himself in the FSL All-Star game this June.

The Reds finally got to Deolis Guerra in the bottom of the 4th inning. Todd Frazier drew a walk and Juan Francisco hit his first home run of the game, his sixth of the season over the center field fence. Following a pop out to Heisey, Danny Dorn doubled out to Right, then came home on a Chris Denove single. Tosoni would try to relay the ball the first, but found the Red's dugout instead of Whit Robbins, allowing Denove to move to 2nd base. That would make the score 7-3 Miracle, but the Reds were not done.

Misael DeJesus replaced Rafael Gonzalez on the Reds mound for the top of the 5th. He would keep the Miracle largely quiet in that inning, allowing a walk to Robbins, hitting Danny Berg with a pitch, and then walking Yancarlos Ortiz to load the bags. Dinkelman would strike out though, leaving the ducks stranded.

Todd Frazier doubled in the bottom of the 5th and Francisco - who looks like he will be joining Mr. Valencia at the All-star game - hit his second home run of the game, his 7th of the season, over the right field fence. That made the score 7-5 and the Reds were again very much in the contest.

Tosoni would single in the top of the sixth, but would get caught stealing second. Woodard took a walk and Edward Ovalle homered over the left field wall, his 3rd yarder of the year, to make it 9-5 Miracle.

The top of the 7th would do it for the Miracle. With Ruben Medina on the mound, Robbins would get plunked by a pitch. Danny Berg ground into a force out that took down Whit, while Yancarlos Ortiz followed that up with a single, moving Berg to second. Dinkelman's line drive out to left scored Berg to make it 10-5.

Danny Vais replaced Guerra on the mound in the bottom of the sixth and allowed a pair of walks before retiring the side. He'd stay there for the seventh, getting Justin Turner to fly out and striking out Frazier and Drew Stubbs.

Slama came on it the 8th inning, allowing only a walk to Chris Denove to placate the Reds. A throwing error by Whit Robbins in the 9th allowed Michael DeJesus to reach, and progress to second. Slama would allow a single to Frazier that would plate DeJesus to give the Reds six, but he'd strike out Francisco and Stubbs to end the game.

Valencia, Tosoni, Ovalle and Ortiz were all 2-for-4 on the night; Valencia with 3 runs and 3 RBIs, Tonsoni with 2 runs and 2 runs scored, Ovalle with 1 run and 3 RBIs, and Ortiz with 1 run. Catcher Wilson Ramos was 2-for-5 at the plate.

The Miracle return home on the victory bus to Hammond Stadium to conclude the series. It's also Sanibel and Captiva Island Night at the ballpark with the Island Night parade starting at 6:00.

Normally we'd make the Reds walk over to Fort Myers, but because they won game one of the series, we'll let them ride on a bus too. But just for this one game.

Alex Burnett (2-1, 2.70) will be on the mound for a 7:05 first pitch, taking on Sarasota's Daniel Guerro (2-2, 5:68).

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Special Note: Dan Covey, the Director of Group Sales for the Brevard County Manatee lost his home recently to a wild fire. 71 home in total were destroyed by the fire in the Palm Bay area. The Manatees are asking for donations of furniture and other household items, but as it is a bit far to get those items to Melbourne from Fort Myers, you might want to help out with a cash donation. Contact Kyle Smith at the Manatees by calling 321-633-9200 for additional information.

Anything not used by Covey and his family will be donated to the other 70 families who lost their homes in the fire.

Clinton 5 at Beloit 7

W: S. Steedley (2-1, 1.54); L: H. Nelo (0-1, 3.86)
HR: CLI: M. Moreland (2).

The Snappers claimed game two of their four-game series with the LumberKings by a final of 7-5 with the help of Clinton reliever Adalberto Flores and his back-to-back balks in the bottom of the eighth inning. Flores and his LumberKings pitching staff allowed six of their seven runs in the last two innings to fall to the Snappers.

Ben Revere and Garrett Olson were both 2-for-4, Revere with 3 RBIs, Olson with a run. Joe Benson was 1-for-3 with 2 runs and a walk; Chris Parmelee was 0-for-2 with 2 strike outs, but with a pair of walks as well.

David Bromberg allowed 3 runs - earned - on seven hits and 2 walks while striking out 9 over 6 innings. Brad Tippett gave up 2 more runs on 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 1 in 1.1 inning of relief.

Spencer Steedley picked up his 2nd win of the season, working 1.2 innings in relief, and striking out 2 to close the game.

Parmalee would draw a walk in the bottom of the 8th and be replaced by pinch runner Mark Dolenc. Danny Lehmann singled to bring in Garrett Olson who had doubled his way onto base, to tie up the game. A wild pitch by Flores put Dolenc on 3rd. After Steve Singleton lined into a double play, Joe Benson walked his way onto base. A balk by Flores allowed Dolenc to score to give Beloit the winning run. A wild pitch followed by another Flores balk saw Benson cross the plate for the insurance marker.

Game three of the series is Wednesday, starting at 6:30 PM Central Time.

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New Britain 2 at Binghamton 4

W: R. Parnell (3-2, 5.27); L: J. Rainville (2-5, 9.00); SV: E. Kunz (7)
HR: BIN: C. Stewart (3).

Jay Rainville allowed 4 runs, 3 earned on 7 runs and 1 walks while striking out 2 over 6.1 innings to suffer his fifth loss of the season.

Back-to-back doubles in the 4th by Steve Tolleson and Dustin Martin put the Rock Cats on the board. In the fifth Felix Molina and Drew Butera hit back-to-back singles. Tolleson' ground out moved the pair and a wild pitch by the B-Met's Robert Parnell allowed Molina to score.

Six different New Britain batters had one hit each, with Brock Peterson, Erik Lis and Trevor Plouffe (who struck out twice) going without.

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Columbus 7 at Rochester 5

W: C. Balester (4-2, 3.79); L: K. Mulvey (2-5, 3.89); SV: C. Manning (5)
HR: ROC: B. Buscher (5), D. Span (2).

Home runs by Brian Buscher and Denard Span did not help much, nor did out-hitting the Columbus Clippers as the Rochester Red Wings still fell, 7-5 at home.

New Britain managed 14 hits to Columbus' eleven, but the game was pretty much won by Columbus in the first inning. A fielding error by Howie Clark, a balk by Kevin Mulvey and doubles by Ryan Langerhans and Javi Herrera helped the Clippers to a 5 run lead. the Wings got 2 back in the bottom of the inning, one of Spans single shot homer. Buscher's fifth of the year gave them another run in the third, and they drew to within one run in the bottom of the 4th, when Howie Clark singled and was driven in by Chris Basak's double.

Ricky Barrett allowed walk to Herrera in top of the 6th. A sac bunt and a single saw him across the plate for what would prove to be the game winning run.

Span was 2-for-3 with 2 runs and 1 RBI in the slugfest, Darnell McDonald was 2-for-4 with a run, Buscher was 4-for-5 with a run and 3 RBIs, Clark was 2-for-4 with 1 run and Chris Basak was 3-for-4 with 1 run scored.

The two teams rematch Wednesday at 11:05 for a businessman's special.

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Infielder Sergio Santos has been claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Twins and sent to Rochester. Santos was batting .183 with four RBI in 26 games for Syracuse. Santos was Arizona's top pick in the 2002 draft, and was traded to Toronto in the Troy Glaus deal 12/27/2005. Santos was an Eastern League All-Star in 2007, hitting 20 homers in 113 games for the Jays' Double-A New Hampshire club. He will be in uniform for the Wednesday morning game.

The Red Wings and Syracuse Chiefs play in the Cooperstown Classic this Sunday May 18; a limited number of tickets remain for the game and the special VIP reception after the game, featuring Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk.

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Homestand Happenings



The brief home stand concludes on Saturday, May 17 with an event so great you will want to stay late! The “Great All-Nighter” takes place following the 7:05 p.m. contest.

Scouts, families and church groups are encouraged to bring their pop up tents and gear for an overnight camp out on the field. Movies will be shown on the big screen for campers and all pre-registered scout troops of 20 or more will receive a commemorative scout night pin.

Fort Myers tops St. Lucie late, heads for Sara

Fort Myers 7 at St. Lucie 5

W: R. Delaney (1-2, 0.48); L: C. Hoorelbeke (0-1, 7.71); SV: A. Slama (6)
HR: None.

A miraculous late inning comeback saw the Fort Myers Miracle sweep their series against the St. Lucie Mets. The Miracle now travel to Sarasota for a 3-game home-and-home series against the Reds.

The Miracle got on the board early with Juan Portes singling in the second inning, then stealing 2nd. A fielding error by Mets 3rd baseman J.R. Voyles allowed Portes to score and Danny Berg to reach base. Berg would be left stranded but the one run seemed an omen of good things to come.

And indeed, things were humming along quite well until the bottom of the third inning. With two outs on the board, Luis Rivera, Lucas Duda, D.J. Wabick and Josh Peterson all hit singles off Cole Devries to drive in one run. Josh Thole then doubled down the left field line to clear the bases, giving the Mets a three run lead.

Yancarlos Ortiz tripled in the top of the fifth, then came home on a Brian Dinkelman single to cut the lead in half.

Duda would double in the in 5th, then move to 3rd on Peterson's ground out. Following a walk to Thole, Reben Tejada sent a ground ball to left that scored Duda to restore the Mets three run lead.

Cole would get out of the inning but not return, his final line being 5 runs, earned on 10 hits and 3 walks while striking out one. Perhaps he was thinking of his mom's home cooking, as this was not one of his better performances.

Tobi Stoner would work six for the Mets, allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, on 5 hits and one walk while striking out 5. Ryan Coultas would head to the mound for the top of the seventh. With 2 outs on the board, Allan de San Miguel surprised everyone with a single. Ortiz followed him onto the bags on a grounder. The Mets would put Edgar Alfonzo on the mound to try for the 3rd out, but Dinkelman send a ground ball to second that scored the Miracle's Aussie catcher, helped in part by Rivera's throwing error on the play.

Jose Lugo would keep the Mets off the board in the six, and Rob Delaney took over for the seventh and 8th innings.

Casey Hoorelbeke replaced Alfonzo in for the top of the 8th, and gave up a single to Danny Valencia. Whit Robbins would hit into a double play though, so it was Juan Portes, with a double, who would come home on Ramos single. St. Lucie's dwindled down to just one run, and they would of course get nothing from the Miracle's Sandman.

Johnny Woodard would strike out for de San Miguel in the 9th - something I'm sure Dirty could have handled on his own - and Eddie Ovalle would fly out for Yancarlos Ortiz before Dinkelman gave the Miracle a glimmer of hope with a single out to center. Rene Tosoni then following him on to base, hitting a grounder out to right. Danny Valencia doubled to tie up the game and bring in the game winning run. A missed catch by Josh Thole at the plate sent Valencia over for the insurance run. Brandon Niall would get Whit Robbins out on strikes to retire the Miracle, but Anthony Slama went three-up, three-down, slamming the door on St. Lucie and sending the Miracle out of town on the victory bus.

Valencia was 4-for-5 with 1 run and 1 RBI and he also sends his love home to his Mom and dedicated his performance today to her. Happy Mother's Day Mrs. Valencia!

Dinkelman was 3-for-5, also with a run and an RBI. Portes was 2-for-4 with 2 runs and Oritz was 2-for-3 with a run.

with the win, the Miracle are now in first place, one game over the Tampa Yankees who come into town on Thursday for a three game set.

The Miracle return home on Wednesday against the Sarasota Reds who are in 3rd place in the division, three games back for "Island Night".

Jeff Manship (4-0, 3.23) will be on the mound tomorrow night at Ed Smith Stadium against former Miracle Alexander Smit (2-3, 5.17) for the 7:00 match up with the Reds.

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Homestand Happenings



Wake up early on Friday, May 16 and head to the stadium for a special “Education Day” start time of 10:35 a.m. Thousands of kids from Southwest Florida schools take this one-of-a-kind field trip. Kids learn about math, social studies and language arts and how it relates to baseball.

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Beloit at Burlington

Sunday’s game between the Beloit Snappers and Burlington Bees was postponed due to rain. The game will now be made up in Beloit at Pohlman Field on Saturday, May 24th as part of a doubleheader beginning at 5:00 PM.

New Britain 7 at New Hampshire 4

W: R. Mullins (3-2, 3.25); L: A. Wideman (1-5, 7.36)
HR: NBR: S. Tolleson (4). NHM: A. Hatch (5).

New Britain took an early three run lead and managed to keep it, downing the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 7-4 at Merchants Auto Stadium.

Toby Gardenhire's double led off the New Britain attack in the 3rd. Felix Molina drew a walk to get on base. Both would come home when Steve Tolleson smacked his 4th home run of the season over the left field wall.

Aaron Mathews doubled for the Fisher Cats in the bottom of the same inning and came home on Chris Gutierrez line drive to put New Hampshire on the board. The Cats took it back in the top of the next inning however, when David Winfree doubled, moved to 3rd on an Erik Lis single and scored on a Molina force out.

Ryan Patterson singled in the bottom of the fourth, and Anthony Hatch hit his fifth home run of the season to give the Fisher Cats two more.

Former Miracle lefty Ryan Mullins would work six inning allowing the 3 runs, earned, on six hits and 2 walks while striking out 2. A.J. Wideman would only make it through 5.1 innings, as New Britian turned on the offense again in the sixth inning.

Felix Molina would double before the pitching change that put Sean Stidtole on mound for the Fisher Cats. Jeff Christy then doubled to drive in Molina while Tolleson's line drive out to left brought in Christy. Dustin Martin would strike out swinging, but Brock Peterson reached on a fielding error by shortstop Ryan Klosterman allowing Tolleson to score.

Tolleson was 2-for-5 on the game with 2 runs and 4 RBIs. Winfree was 2-for-4 at the plate with a run.

The two teams rematch tomorrow with a 6:35 start.

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Buffalo 4 at Rochester 2

W: M. Ginter (1-4, 6.48); L: P. Humber (1-4, 5.29); SV: R. Bauer (8)
HR: None.

Phillip Humber suffered his fourth loss of the season and the Wings continued to find ways to miss the ball. Garrett Jones was 2-for-4 in the designated hitter role, but the slugger is only .175 on the season. Howie Clark was 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and an RBI.

Denard Span took a walk in the bottom of the first, then moved to 3rd on a Darnell McDonald single. Brian Buscher's line drive would bring in Span to give the Wings one, but Buffalo took back 2 in the top of the 2nd.

Doubles by Jones and Clark got them one more in the bottom of the second, but they would get little else off Matt Glinter or the three relievers that followed him.

The last game of the four game series is Monday night at 7:05 at Frontier Field.

The Red Wings wore special pink jerseys as part of Breast cancer Awareness Day. The jerseys were auctioned off and raised over $3,400 for the Pluta Cancer Center. Tommy Watkins' number 8 jersey and Julia DePaula's number 35 each brought in $200, the top money raisers for the day.

Red Wings starting pitchers have just six wins in the first 38 games of the 2008 season (6-17 record).

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D&C - Humber
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Former Miracle Nick Blackburn starts for the Twins against the Red Sox Sunday night, with the game shown live on ESPN.

Infielder Alexi Casilla, another former Miracle, became the fifth member of the Red Wings' Opening Day roster to be promoted to the Minnesota Twins. Overall, seven different players have played for both Rochester and Minnesota this season.

Class A Beloit outfielder Ben Revere is the Twins' Minor League Player of the Week for the week ending May 9. Revere hit .481 (13-for-27) and five steals in six games.

Miracle avoid sweep, return home

Fort Myers 4 at Lakeland 3

Record 14 - 11

W: J. Lugo (1-1, 6.55); L: B. Wise (0-3, 8.25); SV: R. Delaney (6)
HR: None.

The Miracle avoided being swept in Lakeland when Danny Valencia doubled to clear the bases, then came home on an Edward Ovalle sac-fly. Rocky Palacios singled and Brian Dinkelman doubled of Lakeland's Brendan Wise to put runners on the corners. Rene Tosoni would then be hit by pitch to load the bases, leading up to Valencia's late inning heroics.

It was largely a pitchers duel up until that point. Lakeland ace Luis Marte allowed only 4 Miracle hits and struck out 4 over 7 innings worth or work.

Almost as good was Fort Myers Tyler Robertson who gave up 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6 over six.

Lakeland would get on the board in the first period when Scott Sizemore singled, moved to 3rd on a ground rule double by Jeramy Laster, then come home on a Brennan Boesch sac-fly.

Lakeland manager Andy Barkett would be ejected in the inning after arguing the call on Laster's hit. Lakeland however proceeded along without their manager, utilizing a walks to Justin Justice and Sizemore in the 3rd to get on base, a single by Laster to put the pair in scoring position, and another sac-fly by Boesch to push Justice over the plate.

Jose Lugo would replace Robertson in the 7th, and issued a walk to Shawn Roof. A sac-bunt by Louis Ott put Roof on second. He'd score on a Sizemore fly to left. Lugo would still pick up the win though, his first of the season.

Rob Delany would be brought in to keep the slim lead in tact, allowing 2 hits and striking out 2 over 2 innings for this sixth save of 2008.

The Miracle finished up 2-4 on this last road trip. They will take Tuesday off as a part of a FSL wide free day, and return home on Wednesday to face the Clearwater Threshers.

Since Alex Burnett pitched in relief yesterday, Cole Devries (1-3, 5.48) is likely to start for the Miracle. He is expected to face Joe Savery (1-1,2.25 ERA) for the Threshers.

The good news is that the Threshers will be without Adrian Cardenas, who was placed on the DL, and the Miracle will not have to face Clearwater ace Antonio Bastardo, who is not schedule to pitch again until Saturday. Find out more about Bastardo in this week's Florida State League report.

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The South Bend Silverhawks crushed the Beloit Snappers 7-1. Brian Kirwan gave up all 7 runs (5 earned) on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 1 over 4.1 innings. Fielding errors by Chris Cates and newly arrived 2007 1st round draft pick Ben Revere helped the Silver Hawks. Chris Parmelee had the lone run for the Snappers, coming home on a Steve Singleton triple. (Boxscore)

You can find out more about Revere's promotion as well as other Snapper roster moves at Rookie Whites.

The Rock Cats took advantage of the an Eastern League wide off day to take a cat nap. Minnesota had the day off as well.

In Triple A Action, the Pawsoxs downed the Rochester Red Wings 8-6 at Frontier Stadium. Jason Pridie was 3-for-5 with a run for the Wings, Darnell McDonald and Randy Ruiz were both 2-for-5, McDonald cracking a home run in the 7th to account for 4 RBIs. (Boxscore)

Rochester infielder Tommy Watkins was placed on the disabled list today (retro to 4/25) with a strained left groin. Watkins is batting .143 in 13 games for the Red Wings. Taking his spot on the roster is LHP Francisco Liriano, who was optioned to Rochester from Minnesota on Friday. Liriano was 0-3 with an 11.32 ERA in three starts for the Twins. Matt Macri left Monday's game with a strained left calf during his first inning at-bat and may be headed to the DL list as well.

Double-A New Britain infielder Luke Hughes was named the Twins' Minor League Player of the Week, ending April 25. In seven games, Hughes hit .406 with six home runs and 10 RBIs.

Miracle down Flying Tigers, 6-2

Lakeland 2 at Fort Myers 6

Record 10 - 7

W: J. Manship (3-0, 4.12); L: D. Below (1-2, 5.21); SV: A. Slama (3)
HR: FTM: D. Valencia (3).

It was the bottom of the fifth, and I was just telling Tyler we needed to get some offense going.

"We had 10 hits yesterday," he says. "It was all just one at a time."

"I meant today." We only had 3 hits on the board at the time, and Lakeland had a 2 run lead.

Ryan Strieby had taken a walk in the top of the 3rd, and Jeffrey Kunkel doubled a line drive out to right. A fielding error by Edward Ovalle allowed Strieby to score. Kunkel would go for a triple, and was taken out at 3rd. Cale Iong then tripled off Miracle starter Jeff Manship, out to right. Louis Ott ground out, but Iong came home on the play. Scott Sizemore would single out to left before Brennan Boesch would strike out to retire the side.

Danny Santieseban walked to start out the bottom of the fifth, and Yancarlos Ortiz flew out to right, which led up to the above conversation, with just three Miracle hits on the board.

Brian Dinkelman and Juan Portes both drew walks, when the Tigers decided to pull starter Duane Below and go with reliever Ed Clelland. That gave me a chance to thank Tyler for the autograph and get back to my seat.

Just in time. Danny Valencia got the fourth Miracle hit, singling out to left to bring in Santiesteban. Wilson Ramos kept it going with a life drive out to Jeremy Laster in center field that brought in Dink and Portes. Edward Ovalle would ground into a force out and Rocky Palacios would ground out as well, but the Miracle were on the board and had the lead.

With two outs in the 6th, Brandon Timm would single, but field manager Jeff Smith was taking no chances, turning to reliever Jose Lugo. The outgoing Manship would have given up 2 runs, both earned, on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 in 5.2 innings worth of work.

Lugo would get the final out in the sixth and hold the Tigers hitless in the seventh.

Gabriel Benitez would take over the mound from Clelland in the 7th, when Dinkelman walked. Portes flew out, and with Valencia at the plate, Dinkelman would steal 2nd. That's when Valencia connected to take Benitez deep, bringing in two. I'd later hear Sean Fox saying on the Miracle broadcast that is was the longest home run he'd seen out of the Miracle. There was no tape, but that ball went a ways, that is for certain. Ramos almost made the fence as well, flying out on the warning track to Brennan Boesch. That gave the Miracle a nice little cushion to their lead.

Anthony Slama would be called in to "Slama the door" on Lakeland, which he did well in the 8th, allowing only walk to Sizemore.

The Flying Tigers turned to pitcher Brendan Wise in the bottom of the 8th. Following a Whit Robbins fly out, Santiesteban and Yancarlos Ortiz would hit back to back doubles to give the Miracle their sixth run of the night. Wise would intentionally walk Dinkelman to get at Portes, who hit a single to left. Valencia would be called out on strikes, a very controversial call by the umpire, especially as Valencia felt he'd earned a walk. Ramon ground into a force out to end the inning.

Slama would make things a bit interesting in the ninth however, allowing a single to Pedro Cotto, and then throwing the ball past 2nd base on a force attempt that allowed Laster to get on the bag. With one out on the board though, held get Strieby to ground into a double play to end the contest.

Valencia would go 2-for-3 on th night with 1 run and 3 RBIs. Dinkelman would go 2-for-2 with 3 walks and 2 runs. Santiesteban was 1-for-2 with a walk, but also had 2 runs to his credit.

The two teams rematch tomorrow for a 7:05 PM start. The Miracle will have Twins' pitcher Kevin Slowey on the mound on a rehab start. Lakeland will send Johan Nickerson (1-1, 7.30) out to the hill in retaliation.

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Despite home runs by Ozzie Lews and Ramon Santana in Beloit, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers still took a win, 4-3 from the Snappers. Blair Erickson and Charles Nolte would combine to surrender 3 runs in the 6th inning, on 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 2. Erickson would be charged with the loss. Santana would go 2-for-3 with 1 run and 1 RBI at the plate, while right fielder Mark Dolenc was 2-for-5. (Boxscore)

The New Britain Rock Cats downed the Trenton Thunder 5-4 in Eastern League play (Boxscore). Former Miracle lefty Kyle Aselton picked up the win in the 12th inning, the second straight time these two teams have played extra innings. Trevor Plouffe, Matt Moses and Erik Lis were each 2-for-5 in the game, Plouffe and Lis with a run each and Moses and Lis with an RBI each. Dustin Martin was 2-for-6 with 1 run and 1 RBI. Ryan Mullins worked six innings on the mound, allowing 3 runs, 1 earned on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 2.

Triple AAA Rochester would take a big 7-4 win from the Scranton/WB Yankees on Sunday. Darren McDonald would go 3-for-3 at the plate with 3 walks and 1 RBI. Chris Basak was 2-for-4 with 2 runs. Former Miracle catcher Jose Morales picked up 2 RBIs in the contest while Jason Pridie accounted for 2 runs and 3 RBIs on a hit and a walk, going yard in the ninth to give the Red Wings the win (Boxscore). Naples resident Carmen Cali recorded his second win of the season for the Twins farm team, while Bobby Korecky recorded his 4th save of the season.