Miracle avoid sweep, force game four

Fort Myers 5 at Daytona 3

W: C. Gutierrez (1-1, 9.00); L: J. Russell (0-1, 6.75); SV: A. Slama (3)
HR: FTM: E. Ovalle (1), W. Robbins (1). DAY: T. Thomas (1).

It seems the Miracle weren't quite as done in as some bloggers seemed to think. Indeed, the Fort Myers Miracle will live to see game four of the best of five series against Daytona, batting their way past the Cubs at Jackie Robinson Stadium Monday night.

Juan Portes would lead off with a double in the top of the 1st and Edward Ovalle smacked a home run over the left field fence, giving the Miracle a 2-0 lead. Rene Tosoni would follow it up with a single, but Wilson Ramos hit into a double play and Whit Robbins ground out to send the Cubs up to bat.

The Miracle would give the ball to Deolis Guerra, who would in turn keep the Cubs off the board until the bottom of the third, when Tony Thomas singled and stole 2nd. He'd be given 3rd when Guerra unleashed a wild pitch, and James Adduci doubled him in, cutting the score in half. Guerra would walk Ty Wright before getting Blake Lalli and Russ Canzier out on fly balls, leaving two men stranded.

Tosoni lead off the top of the fourth with a singled and Ramos doubled him in. Robbins then rocked one out of the park for two more runs, giving the Miracle a 5-1 lead.

It would stay that way until the bottom of the fifth when Darwin Barney singled and Thomas put one out of the park for the Cubs, making it 5-3. Adduci would go down on strikes and Wright would walk before Jose Lugo was brought in to replace Guerra. Lugo would take pinch hitter Marquez Smith out on strikes and induce Canzier to ground into a force out to end the inning.

Carlos Gutierrez replaced Lugo in the bottom of the the sixth and worked one inning, walking one and striking out one before giving way to Blair Erickson. Erickson allowed 2 hits and a walk over the next 1.2 innings while fanning three but keeping the Cubs off the board. Anthony Slama would strike out four, allowing a hit and a pair of walks in 1.1 innings to finish off the contest for the Miracle.

Daytona's James Russell gave up all five runs for the Cubs on 8 hits while striking out 3 over 5.2 innings. Guerra would also give up 8 hits, plus a walk, while fanning 3, but his would come over 4.1 innings and he'd allow only three runs.

Tosoni was 2-for-3 with a run and a walk, while Ovalle and Ramos were both 2-for-4 with a run each, Ovalle with 2 RBIs and Ramos with a double and 2 RBIs. Robbins finished up 1-for-4 with the home run and a pair of RBIs. Portes was also 1-for-4 with a run, but added a double instead of a yarder.

So the Miracle push it to game four Tuesday night at 7:05 PM. Alex Burnett (1-0, 0.00) will go up against the Cubs Marcos Mateo (0-1, 2.45) on the mound. The Miracle faithful can listen in to the play-by-play action with the Voice of the Miracle, Sean Fox, on WMYR AM-1410 and WCNZ AM-1660 starting a 6:50 PM.

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Yankees, Yankees everywhere: The Scranton/WB Yankees will take on the the Devil Rays affiliated Durham Bulls for the International League's Governor's Cup. In the Eastern League, the Yankee affiliated Trenton Thunder will seek a championship against the Cleveland affiliated Akron Aeros.

LEN3 lists Wilson Ramos as his top prospect pick for the Twins this year. Ramos would, in my honest opinion, benefit from a bit of plate discipline. As Alex put it "He hits into a shit load of double plays." In part, I think you have to look at which prospects are in a position to help the Twins the soonest, so I'd have to go with either Anthony Swarzak or Luke Hughes as the top prospect overall. But then, we all have our own agendas in filling out lists, don't we?

Yankees provide fireworks on a Soggy Saturday Night

Tampa 10 at Fort Myers 2

W: H. Sanchez (1-1, 3.38); L: D. Guerra (11-9, 5.47)
HR: None.

The Fort Myers Miracle left the park with 11 hits, but just couldn't get them strung together for runs, falling 10-2 to the Tampa Yankees.

The game would suffer a nearly 2 hour delay after a brief, but heavy, rain shower soaked the field before it could be tarped, turning 3rd base into a muddy mess that required extensive reconditioning.

Deolis Guerra continued to demonstrate his inconsistency. After a good outing last time, he was back to his old tricks before the home town audience. Seth Fortenberry singled, then moved to 2nd when Guerra unleashed a wild pitch. Andres Perez's fly out sent Fortenberry to 3rd, and Tommy Baldridge single brought him home to put the Yankees on the board to open the contest.

Fortenberry walked in the top of the 4th, and Perez doubled him in. A line drive single by Baldridge sent Perez home before Guerra would take Jose Gil down on strikes. Chris Kunda singled, which prompted field manager Jeff Smith to get Joe Testa out of the bullpen. Matthew Cusick singled off Testa, scoring Baldridge and Luis Nunez's grounder to left filled up the bags. Testa then got Kevin Smith to ground out, but it scored Kunda, making it 5-0 Tampa.

The Miracle took one back in the bottom of the stanza. Danny Santiesteban took a walk with one out on the board. Wilson Ramos ground into a force out. Johnny Woodard took a walk, putting Ramos on second, and he'd come home on Edward Ovalle's line drive single to left.

Testa would work the next two innings, giving up nothing else and striking out one. Dave Shinskie took over for the seventh.

Shinskie gave up back to back singles to Luis Nunez and Kevin Smith. Nunez would try to steal home, but it didn't happen as Lehmann was on the job. Josh Kreuzer singled to drive in Kevin Smith. Seth Fortenberry and Andres Perez both claimed singled off Shinskie, which drove in Kreuzer. Baldridge's line drive filled the bases. Gil would reach when Shinskie mis-threw the ball, and Lehmann could not get a glove on it. Fortenberry scored on the play while a Chris Kunda single brought in Baldridge. Matthew Curisck finally ground into a double play to end the inning. Well...the fans wanted fire works!

Shinskie would surrender 5 runs, 3 earned on seven hits in one innings worth of work.

Eddie Ovalle would be hit by a pitch in the 8th, advance on Garrett Olson's line drive single, and come home on a Juan Portes grounder, but it was the only run the Miracle could manage in the late going. And with a huge hole to climb out of, it wasn't enough.

Blair Erickson and Ozzie Sosa worked an inning each, giving up a hit each, Sosa allowing a pair of walks while Erickson struck out two.

Johnny Woodard was 2-for-4 at the plate with a walk; Portes and Singleton finished up 2-for-5, Portes with a RBI, Sing with a double. Olson and Ortiz were 1-for-2 each, both one hit wonders, while Ovalle going 1-for-3 had a double and a RBI.

Lehmann was 1-for-4 with a double, while Ramos at 1-for-5 had a run.

The two teams rematch Sunday for the final game of the regular season. Game time is 1:05 PM, weather permitting.

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Due to the delay in Starting Saturday night's Fan Appreciation Game and Festivities, the Miracle are inviting everyone with a ticket from Saturday's game to return for Sunday's final home game, or any of the FSL Playoff games to be played at Hammond Stadium during the upcoming week. All you need to do is bring your torn or untorn ticket to the Ticket Office window prior to the game you wish to attend and make the exchange. For more information, please call the Miracle office during regular business hours at 239-768-4210.

The New Britain Rock Cats defeated the Binghamton Mets, 7-1. Ryan Mullins picked up the win. Steve Tolleson cranked his 9th home run of the season over the left field wall in the fifth inning. Tolleson and Danny Valencia each had a pair of runs and a pair of RBIs in the contest (a href="http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3711267" target="newwin">Rock Cats/OSC). Fernando Martinez went yard for the B-Mets, but it was evidently forgotten by the Rock Cats at the time they wrote up their game report.

The AAA Yankees defeated the Rochester Red Wings 8-6 in extra innings at Frontier Field. Trevor Plouffe hit a grand slam home run for the Red Wings, who got runs from six different players (RD&C).

The Burlington Bees stung the Beloit Snappers 7-2. All three of the Twins affiliated teams finish up their seasons on Monday (Bees).

Gustav crossed Cuba and is off the Tip of Key West in the Gulf. High sustained winds were 125 miles, a Cat 3. It is expected to strengthen before it plows into Louisianna Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.

Miracle slip past Clearwater defense

Fort Myers 3 at Clearwater 2

W: D. Guerra (11-8, 5.26); L: A. Cruse (4-9, 3.53); SV: A. Slama (25)
HR: None.

The Fort Myers Miracle pounded out 11 hits, but came away with only three runs, Monday night at Bright House Networks Field. Still it was enough to avoid a sweep by the Clearwater Threshers, as they won, 3-2.

Clearwater would open the scoring, with Tuffy Gosewisch doubling, then moving to 3rd on Fiedel Hernandez's single. Quintin Berry sacrificed him in for the first Clearwater run.

The Miracle would not take it back until the top of the 5th when Edward Ovalle and Johnny Woodard hit back-to-back doubles, tying up the contest.

Woodard would single in the top of the 7th, and Danny Santiesteban doubled. Woodard would try to go home, but was taken out at the plate on the throw. However it did allow Santiesteban to reach 3rd. Garrett Olson's single pushed him over the plate for the go ahead run. Juan Portes doubled Olson to 3rd and after a pitching change that saw Ben Pfinsgraff replace Andy Cruse, Eli Tintor took a walk to load the bags. Pfinsgraff unleashed a wild pitch that scored Olson before Steve Singleton flew out to score the runners.

Wilson Ramos would triple in the top of the 8th and Whit Robbins would get plunked by a pitch. Edward Ovalle reached on a fielder's choice that took Ramos out at the plate before Woodard ground into a double play.

Deolis Guerra worked six innings, allowing only 1 run on 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out six. It was a substantially better start than his last outing. David Shinskie worked the seventh, walking one and striking out 1, giving way to Carlos Gutierrez in the 8th.

With one out on the board, the rookie hurler would hit Jesus Villegas Andino with a pitch. Michael Taylor struck out swinging, but John Urick reached on Woodard's fielding error. Mike Eylward singled to score Andino. After a couple of substitutions, pinch hitter Gus Milner would ground out, ending the Clearwater threat.

Olson would double in the top of the 9th, but Juan Portes flew into a double play that doubled Olson off 2nd to retire the Miracle for good.

Anthony Slama would strike out two before getting Fidel Hernandez to ground out, ending the contest.

Woodard was 2-for-4 with a double and a RBI, but also cost the Miracle a pair of runs. Olson went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double a run and a run batted in. Eli Tintor was 2-for-3 with a walk, but did not factor into the scoring. Ramos, Ovalle, and Santiesteban were all 1-for-4; Ramos with a triple, Ovalle and Santiesteban with a double and a run each. Portes would finish up 1-for-5 with a double.

The Miracle now return home for the final 2-for-Tuesday of the 2008 season as they host the Lakeland Flying Tigers for a three game series to start out their final homestand.

Alex Burnett (8-5, 3.92) will be in the driver's seat on the mound for the Miracle on NASCAR night. Johan Nickerson (11-4, 3.88) is due up on the hill for the Flying Tigers. The races get underway at 7:05 PM.

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Rene Tosoni went 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run in Monday's GCL game which the GCL Twins won. Tosoni is eligible for the FSL playoffs, and should prove to be a huge boost for the Miracle (GCLTwins).

Danny Valencia hit his 8th AA home run as the New Britain Rock Cats defeated the Portland Sea Dogs, 6-5, at Hadlock Field. Matt Tolbert was 2-for-5 with a double, a pair of runs, and a RBI on major league rehab (Sea Dogs).

Former Miracle Anthony Swarzak defeated former Miracle Brian Wolfe as the Rochester Red Wings downed the Syracuse Chiefs, 7-1. Ol' Wolfey gave up 4 runs, earned, on 10 hits and 1 walk in 3.1 innings as the Wings exploded on him.

Beloit topped Kane County 4-3 at Pohlman Field. Chris Cates was 3-for-5 with a RBI in the lead off roll, filling in for Ben Revere who went to Minnesota to consult with Twin's physician Dr. John Steubs about some loose particles in his knee, which have been causing him some discomfort. Relief pitcher Chris Anderson had an emergency appendectomy on Friday Night and was placed on the DL.

From MILB.com:

THE WEEK THAT WAS: It was a rough week for the Miracle as Fort Myers won just two of five games. But the winners of the FSL West's first-half title learned who their opponents in the divisional playoffs will be as Dunedin wrapped up the second-half title.

WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT: LF Juan Portes is getting hot right when the playoffs are about to begin. The Boston native is in postseason form, hitting .375 in the past 10 games (12-for-32). ... 3B Garrett Olson hasn't been as fortunate as he has just five hits in his last 34 at-bats for a .147 average.

PLAYER TO WATCH: SP Alex Burnett was dominant in an 8-1 road win over Lakeland on Aug. 21. The right-hander from Anaheim, Calif., fanned 10 Flying Tigers while walking just one over six innings for his eighth win of the season.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: In a 15-1 road win at Sarasota on Aug. 17, DH Johnny Woodard nearly beat the Reds all by himself. The Oakland, Calif., native had three hits in four at-bats with four RBIs. Woodard singled in a run in the second inning with a fly ball to left field. In the third he got an RBI on a groundout to second. In the fifth Woodard got his third and fourth RBIs when he belted a drive over the right-field wall for a two-run homer.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "I jumped over two levels -- Advanced Rookie and Low A," SP Joe Testa told the Brick Township Bulletin (N.J.) of how he was promoted to Fort Myers. "It's exciting, and I got my first start. At first, I was surprised to get the start. I just pitched my game, and that was the best defense playing behind me, ever. All the plays they made looked routine. When they [other team] hit ground balls off me, they were harder than in the Rookie league and the guys made the plays for me. I had to adjust. Mentally, I was fine, because I had done this before, but physically, it was different," said Testa. "In the past few weeks, I was throwing only one or two innings when I'd go out there, so this was definitely different. I just made sure I loosened up."

Lakeland issues Miracle their 8th shut out of the season

Lakeland 9 at Fort Myers 0

W: J. Nickerson (11-3, 3.66); L: D. Guerra (10-8, 5.44)
HR: LAK: M. Bertram (7).

"What's wrong with Deolis tonight?" Iris was wondering in the first inning.

"What's always wrong with Deolis?" We'd been talking about who would be getting promoted and who would be staying--Spencer Steedley says "I'm staying", and I said I thought Guerra would be staying with the Fort Myers Miracle as well.

"He's been in this league for FOUR years!" Alex Burnett exclaimed. Actually, it's more like 2 1/2 as he split 2006 between Hagerstown and Port St. Lucie.

"But he's not progressed Alex," I remind him. Although he does have a better win/loss record than he did last night. Still, after tonight he's probably leading the Florida State League in walks, so I'm not sure how you can consider him a candidate for promotion.

"Unless they promote him and put him in the bullpen." Which wouldn't be a bad idea. Too bad we don't have anyone to take his place right now.

In any case, Michael Bertram picked up right were he left off on Thursday night, cracking home runs over the fence as the Lakeland Flying Tigers issued a 9-0 drubbing to the Fort Myers Miracle.

Guerra issued walks to Justin Justice and Louis Ott before Bertram's 7th home run of the season went over the right field wall. Jeremy Laster and Jordan Lennerton followed it up by drawing walks, as did Brandon Timm, loading the bags. Gustavo Nunez ground into a force out that scored Laster, and took Timm out at 2nd. Jeff Kunkel ground out, but plated Lennerton while he was doing it. Carmelo Jaime would be called out on strikes.

"How long are they going to leave him out there?" I often wonder those things myself, but no one was warming up in the bullpen.

Guerra managed to get through the 2nd inning, with only a walk to Bertram.

He was back in action in the 3rd however, leading off with walk to Lennerton. Timm doubled and Nunez singled, which drove in Lennerton and put Tim on 3rd. That did it, as Jeff Smith fetched Matt Williams out of the bullpen. Kunkel would sacrifice in Timm, although I'm fairly certain it was an accident and he was really trying to hit it over the fence. Jaime singled to move Nunez to 3rd and Justice walked to fill the bases. Ott's fly ball to center turned into a sac-fly as Nunez scored. Michael Bertram lined out to send the Miracle up to bat.

Jonah Nickerson held the Miracle to 4 hits and a walk over 7 innings, striking out 3. Indeed, the Miracle never put enough of an offense together to threaten.

Williams would go on to work four innings, Oswaldo Sosa took one, and Blair Erikson took one, allowing a single and walking 2, but managing to keep the Tigers off the board.

Lennerton would take a walk in the top of the ninth off Danny Santiesteban. Timm doubled him to 3rd, and Nunez's sac fly would score him. Kunkel and Jaime would both walk as well, before Santiesteban got Justice out on strikes.

Ryan Perry would walk Woodard in the ninth, but there were no last minute rally attempts as the Miracle were quietly blanked during a golf give away night.

The rubber-game of set is Saturday night with a special 6:05 start time. Steedley (0-3, 10.59) should be on the mound for the Miracle. "Son of a Sailor" the Jimmy Buffett Tribute Band will perform a post-game concert.

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The two Lobanov's left to play for Team Russia in some European Tournament or other. Nicky did this last year about the same time as well.

Team USA lost to Cuba in 11 innings in Olympic action. Former Miracle Terry Tiffee finished up 2-for-4 at the plate to lead the US attack (USABaseball.com / Duensing's Blog). The US stormed back however to take a 5-4 win over Team Canada. Brian Duensing, another former Miracle, hurled 3.1 scoreless innings of relief to pick up the win as the US improved to 2-2 in the Beijing games (USABaseball.com).

Twins prospect Ben Revere was honored by the MWL Managers in the most recent issue of Baseball America as Best Batting Prospect, Best Strike Zone Judgment, Fastest Baserunner, and Most Exciting Player. Revere currently leads the league in batting average (.380) and on-base percentage (.433), while also tied for second in stolen bases (41) and third in slugging percentage (.498). Ben also leads the Snappers in average, hits (122), doubles (17), triples (9), stolen bases, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Revere will be finishing the 2008 season with Beloit. Look for him to be in a Miracle uniform when the 2009 season opens.

Four different Miracle were honored in the same article as the best in the Florida State League. They are Anthony Slama (Best Reliever), Wilson Ramos (Best Defensive Catcher), Yancarlos Ortiz (Best Infield Arm), and Jeff Smith (Best Manager Prospect). All ranking were compiled by field managers in their respective leagues.

Dunedin now leads the West Division by 10.5 games over the Tampa Yankees with 16 games left to play in the season. While anything is possible, it appears the Miracle will one again dance with Dunedin in the playoffs. Jupiter is currently leading the East Division, but has only a one game lead over Daytona.

Miracle Rally past Reds late

Sarasota 2 at Fort Myers 3

W: J. Lugo (2-4, 4.19); L: R. Medina (2-7, 3.33)
HR: FTM: W. Ramos (12).

Brandon Roberts line drive out to center plated Danny Berg for the game winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning, a nice win in a game that, for a long time, looked like it might see the Fort Myers Miracle shut out.

Jose Castro doubled in the top of the first off Deolis Guerra and Juan Francisco's line drive to left plated him to put the Sarasota Reds on the board.

Deolis Guerra would limit the Reds to that lone run on six hits over five innings, but he'd walk six and fan only one. Scott Carroll on the other hand blanked Miracle, scattering six hits a walk over six innings while fanning two.

The Miracle finally found some action in the bottom of the 7th, with Joseph Krebs taking over the mound for Carroll. He'd give up a home run to Wilson Ramos. The Venezuelan catcher launched his 12th home run of the season over the center field wall to finally put the the Miracle on the board.

Logan Parker doubled off Carlos Gutierrez in the top of the 8th and moved to 3rd on Carson Kainer's sac bunt. Daniel Perales doubled to drive in Parker, putting the Reds back on top. Blair Erickson would come in at that point to get Justin Tordi to strike out and Jacob Long to ground out.

With two outs on the board in the bottom of the stanza, Brandon Roberts drew a walk, and Yancarlos Ortiz followed that up with a single. Edward Ovalle's line drive to right plated Roberts to tie up the game again. Ruben Medina would replace Krebs on the mound, getting Ramos to fly out to end the inning.

Erickson would walk Chris Heisey, who would be advanced by Castro's sac-bunt. Erickson then intentionally walked Francisco to get at Todd Fraizer, who flew out. Jeff Smith would then put Jose Lugo into the game, and the Dominican reliever walked Parker to load up the bags. But he'd put Kainer down on strikes, much to the delight of 900 or so fans still in attendance.

Berg walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth and Juan Portes singled to move him to 2nd. Smith would keep signaling for a bunt, first with Portes then with Tintor so perhaps it was not surprise that Tintor ended up striking out once the bunt was off. A wild pitch moved Berg and Portes around and Medina intentionally walked Santiesteban to get at Garrett Olson, who would pop out. That's when Roberts walk-off RBI came on a single out to Heisey in center, and set off a feel good win that had the guys jumping around on the field like they'd just won the world series.

Roberts finished up 3-for-4 on the night with a walk, a run and a run batted in. Ortis was 2-for-3 while Ovalle, Ramos, and Portes were all 2-for-4. Ovalle had a RBI, while Ramos added a run and a run scored. Santiesteban finished up 1-for-3 with a walk, while Berg, who was 0-for-2 at the plate had a run on a pair of walks.

The Miracle head off on a six game road trip starting off Tuesday night in Tampa where Ivan Nova (6-11, 4.37) will toss out the first pitch at 7:00 PM. The Miracle will counter with Oswaldo Sosa (2-0, 3.52).

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Jose Mijares was promoted prior to the game, I believe to the Rock Cats. It would have been nice to hang onto him, but we already knew it was only a matter of time before he went up.

What up with the Miracle? It's pretty obvious that their play of late has been not up to par. That's because Jeff Smith has been working the team hard on drills and trying to get them ready for the up coming playoffs. Up until about a week ago. He's now started to lay off, let the guys use the skills they've learned, and get a little bit of breather before they head down the home stretch.

From MiLB.com:

THE WEEK THAT WAS: The Miracle split their six games last week, chalking up two wins over Dunedin and a win over Clearwater to end the week. The Miracle are in fifth place, seven games behind Dunedin in the FSL West.

WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT: C Wilson Ramos has been opening some eyes with his bat. With 16 hits over his last 40 plate appearances, Ramos has been hitting at a .400 clip. In his last nine games Ramos has 12 RBIs and a home run. ... SP Deolis Guerra has been tagged for 10 runs in his last nine innings pitched.

PLAYER TO WATCH: CF Danny Santiesteban has been giving FSL pitchers headaches in recent days, averaging nearly an RBI a hit. The Miami native has 12 RBIs in his last 10 games while racking up 13 hits in 33 at-bats for a .394 average.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: Ramos was responsible for a third of the Miracle's 15 runs in a 15-4 home win over Clearwater July 31. The native of Venezuela had four hits in five at-bats, including a double, for five RBIs. The right-handed hitter began the game with a run-scoring line drive single to left as part of a three-run first inning for Fort Myers. He drove home two more runs in the second on a double to center, singled to center in the third for another RBI and plated another run in the sixth on a ground ball to center.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "He always told me to put away the bat and start pitching," RHP Carlos Gutierrez told the Fort Myers News-Press of how his high school coach coaxed him to pitch, which he first began in his junior year of high school. "I played infield for a good part of my life."

Ft. Myers Miracle catcher Wilson Ramos is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week for July 27-August 2. Ramos, 20, hit .433 (13-for-30) with three doubles, a home run, four runs scored and 10 RBIs in six games. Ramos entered the season as the Twins third ranked prospect by Baseball America. He was signed as a non-drafted free agent, July 7, 2004.

5-run fifth inning dooms Miracle

Fort Myers 6 at Dunedin 7

W: R. Gonzalez (9-3, 3.56); L: D. Guerra (10-6, 4.89); SV: C. Falkenbach (20)
HR: None.

Deolis Guerra would not make it out of the fifth inning, giving up 5 runs - a total of 7, 6 earned - on 9 hits and 4 walks. He'd strike out only one.

As a result, the Dunedin Blue Jays took a five run lead and were able to hold off the Fort Myers Miracle until the end of the contest, winning 7-6 at Knology Park.

Steve Singleton opened the game with a walk, then moved to 2nd on a wild pitch by Reider Gonzalez. After Danny Lehmann popped out, Wilson Ramos doubled Singleton in for an early Fort Myers lead.

Chris Emanuele singled in the bottom of the inning, then moved to 2nd on a wild pitch by Guerra. Brad Eamau took a walk and a passed ball by Lehmann advanced the pair. Cory Patton's ground out would score Emanuele, tying up the game.

In the bottom of the 2nd Adam Calderone walked, then stole 2nd. Al Quintana singled to move him to 3rd, and a Luis Sanchez sac-fly plated him for the Jay's second run of evening.

Juan Portes reached on a fielding error by Brad Emaus and moved to 2nd on Garrett Olson's single. Eli Tintor singled as well, loading the bags. Danny Santiesteban then hit into a force out that scored Portes to tie up the game again.

Patton lead off the bottom of the fifth with a walk. Brian Dopirak singled and Jesus Gonzalez doubled to plate the pair of runners. Marcos Cabral singled to bring in Gonzalez and Calderone tripled in Cabrial. At the point field manager brought Spencer Steedley into the game, replacing Guerra. Steedley allowed a single to Quitara which drove in Calderone but finally found an out as he got Sanchez to ground into a force out. Emanuele wold single before Emaus and Patton both ground out to end the inning with runners on second and third.

The Twins now had a lot of catch up work to do, so they got to it with Johnny Woodard and Portes hitting back-to-back singles. The Jays would then call for a pitching change bringing Chad Blackwell into the game to replace the outgoing Gonzalez. Blackwell would get Olson to ground into a force out that took Woodard down at 3rd. Tintor would fly out before Santiesteban singled to score Portes. Yancarlos Ortiz would reach on a throwing error that also plated Olson before Singleton popped out to finish off the top of the sixth.

In the top fo the 7th, Lehmann would be plunked by a pitch. Ramos and Woodard hit back-to-back singles to load the bags. Portes would go down on strikes, while Olson sacrificed in Lehmann. Tintor would go down on strikes as well to send the Jays up to bat again.

Steedley would work two innings for the Miracle, allowing just two hits. Matt Williams had the hill for the seventh and the eighth innings, allowing 3 hits and a walk, but otherwise keeping the Jays under control.

The top of the 9th would be do or die for the Miracle, and Wooodard opened up the crucial inning, going down on strikes. Portes would ground out before Whit Robbins was brought in as a pinch runner and drew a walk. Tintor and Santiesteban hit back-to-back singles score Robbins before Yancarlos Ortiz ground out, ending the contest.

Ramos, Woodard, Tintor and Santiesteban were all 2-for-5, Ramos with a double and a run scored and Santiesteban with 3 RBIs. Singleton was 1-for-4 with a run, and Olson was 1-for-3 with a run and a RBI. Portes was 1-for-5 with a pair of runs.

Dunedin claimed the series, 2 games to one. The Miracle take Wednesday off before returning home to Hammond Stadium on Thursday to face the Clearwater Threshers on a Thirsty Thursday. The Mighty Gonzalez with will on hand to perform stupid human tricks,

Oswaldo Sosa has the mound for the Miracle. Game time is 7:05 PM, gates open at 6:00.

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Thresher edge out Miracle

Fort Myers 3 at Clearwater 4

W: D. Byrd (1-4, 6.35); L: D. Guerra (10-5, 4.56); SV: M. German (3)
HR: CLE: T. Gosewisch (2).

Darren Byrd held the Fort Myers Miracle scoreless through 8 innings to lead the last placed Clearwater Threshers to a a 4-3 win over the first half division champions.

Michael Taylor doubled in the bottom of the 2nd to get on base. Clearwater's Tuffy Gosewisch then hit his 2nd home run of the season over the left field wall to give the Threshers a two-run lead.

A walk to Taylor and doubles to Gosewisch and Gary Cates lead to two more runs in the bottom of the 4th. Deolis Guerra would finish off allowing 4 runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five over five innings.

Danny Berg singled to lead off the top of the ninth and Steve Singleton doubled him in. Edward Ovalle would go down on strikes, but Wilson Ramos followed that up with a double that brought in Sing. Ben Pfinsgraff would then come in to replace Byrd and allowed a single to Garrett Olson that scored Ramos. Eli Tintor would go down on strikes and Matt German would take over on the mound to get Danny Santiesteban to hit into a ground out to protect the Clearwater lead and end the contest.

Singleton was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a run and a run batted in to lead the Miracle offense. Tintor was 2-for-4 with a double but did not factor into the scoring. Wilson Ramos was 1-for-2 with a double, a pair of walks, a run and a run batted in. Berg, Olson and Santiesteban were all 1-for-4, Berg with a run and Olson with a RBI to leave Santiesteban as the one hit wonder of the night.

The two teams rematch on Friday with Oswaldo Sosa (2-0, 3.57) on the mound against Clearwater's Joe Savery (5-8, 3.85), who will toss out the first pitch at 7:00 PM.

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Singleton and Solarte sink Cubs

Fort Myers 10 at Daytona 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Miracle win pitchers' duel

Jupiter 0 at Fort Myers 1

W: D. Guerra (9-4, 4.28); L: J. Allison (5-7, 4.39); SV: A. Slama (19)
HR: FTM: S. Singleton (2).

The Fort Myers Miracle came out on the winning end of a pitchers duel against the Jupiter Hammerheads, thanks to Steve Singleton's solo shot home run over the right field wall in the bottom of the first.

Neither team got much in the way of hits and neither team really threatened throughout the game.

Edward Ovalle, Danny Lehmann and Yancarlos Ortiz all had singles in the game.

Deolis Guerra worked 6.1 innings scattering 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. Jose Lugo worked the next 1.1 inning before giving way to Anthony Slama who finished of the contest, doing what he's best at.

Of more interest was the injury report. Johnny Woodard was in the stands tonight and reported he was two to three weeks away from playing again, but probably closer to two than three. Whit Robbins is off the DL and says he is playing Saturday. Rene Tosoni said he went for another X-ray on this foot and that it has not healed up properly over the last two weeks, so that it will likely be a bit longer before he returns.

Tyler Robertson went for an MRI today. He says he thinks it's going to be clean but won't know the results until tomorrow. In any case, Ozzie Sosa (1-0, 4.26) will be taking his place in the rotation, pitching tomorrow against the Marlin's Graham Taylor (8-5, 3.10).

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I stopped Foxy in the concourse and I said, "I just have to ask but, have you guys been calling Olson and Berg the Weasley Twins down in the clubhouse." He said they have not - yet - but thought that was a good one.

I'm dead tired right now and have to get up early as we have a 10:00 AM start down in GCL, so I probably won't get to the rest of the write ups until sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Tigers take early lead, hang on to win

Fort Myers 6 at Lakeland 7

W: J. Sborz (2-0, 1.60); L: M. Williams (0-2, 9.39)
HR: FTM: J. Portes (7).

Deolis Guerra gave up 5 runs on 4 hits and 5 walks while striking out 1 to put the Fort Myers Miracle in a hole they'd never quite recover from, falling 7-6 to the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

After a stellar outing against the Tampa Yankees, Guerra reverted to form against Lakeland. He'd give up a lead off single to Carmelo Jaime, then walk Luis Ott. James Skelton singled to score Jaime, and a fielding error by Juan Portes moved Ott to 3rd. Guerra then walked Ryan Strieby before allowing a single to Brennan Boesch that plated Ott and Skelton. Santo De Leon hit into a force out that moved Strieby to 3rd, and Jeramy Laster walked to load the bags. Justin Justice sacrificed in Strieby to make it 4-0 Tigers before Brandon Timm ground out to retire the side.

Jonah Nickerson kept the Miracle off the board until the top of the 4th. Yangervis Solarte drew a lead off walk, and Danny Berg singled to put two men on. Danny Santieseban's line drive to right plated Solarte. Danny Lehmann reached on a fielding error by Boesch which also scored Berg. Garrett Olson hit into a double play that served to plate Santiesteban, and Steve Singleton flew out to retire the side.

Timm would take a walk in the bottom of the stanza, then steal 2nd. He'd get to 3rd on Jaime's ground out and scored on a wild pitch by Guerra.

Portes would hit a solo shot home run in the top of the fifth to make it 5-4 Tigers. His seventh of the season went over the left field wall.

Oswaldo Sosa took over for Guerra in the bottom of the sixth, hitting Jeramy Laster with a pitch. Justice then doubled and Tim walked to load the bags. Jaime ground into a force out that took Laster out at the plate. Ott then ground out as well, with Justice being forced out at the plate. It was only a matter of time however, and Sosa issued a walk to Skelton, forcing in Timm.

With Zach Simons on the mound for Lakeland and one out on the board in the top of the eighth, Lehmann singled and Olson and Singleton both took walks to load the bags. Jay Sborz was brought in for the Flying Tigers, and allowed a single to Edward Ovalle that plated Lehmann. Wilson Ramos then sacrificed in Olson to tie the game up at six each.

It did not stay that way long. Matt Williams replaced Sosa for the bottom of the stanza, and gave up a single to Timm. He'd move to second on Jaime's sac bunt, and to 3rd on Ott's fly out. Skelton singled him in to put the Tigers on top again. Sborz allowed a walk to Berg in the ninth, but used a pair of ground outs and a pop out to end the game.

Singleton was 2-for-3 in the contest with a double and a pair of walks; Ovalle and Solarte were 2-for-4, Ovalle with a walk and a run scored, and Solarte with a walk and a run. Berg, Santiesteban and Lehmann each had singles and one run in the game, Berg took a couple of walks as well, and Santiesteban finished with a walk and a run.

Three nights of fireworks seemed a bit much, even by Lakeland standards and the only 545 were on hand to watch the third and final display. Fort Myers now heads over to Vero Beach where they will take on the (Devil) Rays in a four game set starting at 7:00 PM Monday. Tyler Robertson gets control of the mound for the Miracle. The big lefty is 5-2 on the season with a 2.75 ERA.

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Viva Venezuela!

Tampa 0 at Fort Myers 4

W: D. Guerra (8-4, 4.32); L: G. Duff (1-5, 3.27)
HR: None.

Deolis Guerra threw a complete nine-inning shut out, limiting the Tampa Yankees to only 3 hits and 3 walks while fanning 4 to lead the Fort Myers Miracle to a 4-0 blanking of the New York affiliate Tuesday night at Hammond Stadium.

If this performance does not win Senor Guerra Florida State League pitcher of the week, than I can't image what would.

Tampa is battling a number of injuries and is without All-star catcher Kyle Anson, but the squad still has some bite. Fortunately for the Miracle, they didn't get much more than a nibble out of Guerra.

Yancarlos Ortiz and Steve Singleton walked to start off the bottom of the 1st. Wilson Ramos then singled to load the bags. Juan Portes would hit into a sac-fly to plate Ortiz and Edward Ovalle would take a walk, but Berg out be taken out on strikes by Tampa starter Grant Duff to strand the men.

The bottom of the 3rd would see Ramos single and Portes double him in. Ovalle's sac bunt would move Portes to 3rd. Following a walk to Berg, Eli Tintor would single out to left to drive in Portes making it 3-0 Miracle.

It would stay that way for a while. Duff would give up 3 runs on six hits and 4 walks while striking out 3 in four innings before giving way to Phillip Bartleski. He'd keep the Miracle off the board for the next three.

Wilkins Arias would take over for the 8th, allowing a single to Berg and a double to Tintor. Yangervis Solarte would like out, but Garrett Olson took a walk to load the bags. Arias would then hit Yancarlos Ortiz with a pitch to force in Berg. He'd get Singleton and Ramos out on strikes however.

James Cooper would hit a laser in the top of the 8th that looked like it was headed for the outfield, but Ortiz, the Human Hoover, sucked it in somehow to pick up an unassisted double play. That kid is just stellar.

Tintor was 2-for-4 with a run batted in and Ramos was 2-for-5 with a run. Everyone else in the line up had at least a single, except for Olson and Ortiz, although both drew walks.

Tyler Robertson (4-2, 2.93) takes the start tomorrow against Tampa right hander Jason Stephens (2-0, 0.82). Ian Kennedy would then be in line to start for Tampa on Thursday, IF they decide to bring him over from Casa de Steinbrenner. He did not travel with the team for this road trip.

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I realize that click Sharpies are a relatively new invention, but the technology behind them has been around for a long, long time. I've had to show three different players how to use them this week, two at this game alone.

Needless to say, I did not get Kennedy's autograph. Nor did I get Anson's, Sublett's or Garcia's. But I did pretty well with the rest of the team.

If you ordered Beloit Cards (Ed, T.J.) they are in. Please see Iris to pick up your set.

A Rock Cats press release last week had indicated that reliever Jay Sawatski was on his way down to the Miracle. This is not the case. Sawatski has been placed on the DL.

Blue Jays batter Miracle, 9-5

Fort Myers 5 at Dunedin 9

W: N. Starner (1-0, 2.08); L: D. Guerra (7-3, 4.83)
HR: DUN: S. Shoffit (7), C. Patton (6), M. Cabral (1), D. Corrente (1).

Matt Williams may have been named a Midwest All-star, but his 2008 debut for the Fort Myers Miracle on Wednesday would not earn him any recommendations as All-Star material. Replacing starter Deolis Guerra in the sixth inning with 2 outs on the board, Williams would give up back-to-back home runs to David Corente and Sean Shoffit, adding 3 to the total of what had been up until then a very close game.

The Miracle got on the board in the bottom of the first when Steve Singlton knocked a line drive out to right to get on base and Edward Ovalle hit a double of Dunedin Blue Jays starter Adrian Martin. Juan Portes would fly out to center before Whit Robbins sacrificed in Singleton.

Despite a triple to Cory Patton in the bottom of the stanza and a walk to Brian Dopirak, Guerra would keep the Jays off the board until the bottom of the second inning when he allowed a home run to Marcos Cabral. It would be the team leading 7th home run allowed by Guerra this season.

The score would stay tied then, until the bottom of the six. Patton would double out to right to lead off. Dopirak would line out and Jesus Gonzalez would fly out before Marcos Cabral singled to plate Patton. That's when Williams would take over.

The Jay were not done in the sixth however, as Luis Sanchez and Adam Calderone hit back-to-back singles to follow up the home runs. Williams would then walk Brad Emaus to load the bags. A passed ball by Wilson Ramos allowed Sachez to score. Corry Patton would be issued a walk before field manager Jeff Smith made his way to the mound with Blair Erickson in tow. Erickson would get Dopirak to ground into a force out to exit the inning.

The Miracle would attempt to battle back with Danny Berg and Eli Tintor both singling in the top of the 7th. Following a ground out to Yancarlos Ortiz that moved the pair, Singleton was hit a sac-fly to center to drive in Berg.

Jose Lugo would take over the mound in the bottom of the 8th and today, we were treated to the bad Jose Lugo. After getting Shoffit out on strikes, he'd walk Sanchez. Calderone would go down on strikes as well, but Lugo would then plunk Emaus with a pitch. Patton would go yard over the right field fence, adding another 3 to the Blue Jays total.

Undaunted, Berg would draw a walk with one out in the top of the 9th. A wild pitch would move him to 2nd. Tintor would strike out, but Yancarlos Ortiz singled his way onto the bags, moving Berg to 3rd. Singleton then doubled in Berg. Ovalle would hit a fly ball single to center to knock in the two runners, but Jay's reliever Paul Phillips would get Juan Portes to pop out to end the game.

Singleton would finish up 2-for-4 with 2 runs and 1 RBI. Ovalle would go 2-for-5 at the plate with 2 RBIs. Berg was 1-for-3 with a walk and a pair of runs. Robbins was 1-for-3 with an RBI and Ortiz was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run.

Ramos and Tintor were the one hit wonders of the game, Tintor with a pair of strike outs. Ovalle would strike out twice as well.

Guerra would pick up his 3rd loss of the season, allowing 3 runs, earned, on five hits and a pair of walks while striking out 6 over 5.2 innings.

The Miracle finish up the first half of the season with a 45-24 record, which is also a clubhouse record a well.

Fort Myers hosts Sarasota on Thursday to kick off the second half of the FSL 2008 season. Alex Burnett (5-2, 3.36) will handle the pitching chores against former Miracle southpaw Alex Smit (5-4, 3.60). It's Dog Daze II so bring your pooch to the park as well as Thirsty Thursday with half priced beer. First pitch will be thrown out at 7:05 PM.

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Expecting Twins blog

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The Minnesota Twins have sent middle infielder Nick Punto to the Lee County Sportsplex on a rehab assignment. He is expected to play in an intersquad scrimmage today with the GCL Twins and will begin a stint with the Fort Myers Miracle on Thursday when they start their three game home stand against the Sarasota Reds. The Twins have stated they want Punto to play in at least three game this time before joining the major league club. That means he would play the entire homestand with the Miracle and fly out to join the Twins in San Diego in time for their series against the Padres.

This is the second rehab stint that Punto has made due to a hamstring injury. He first injured the muscle back in early May and spent close to three weeks on the DL with the injury. He appeared in several extending spring training games over the Memorial day weekend, but in his first game back with the Twins following the rehab stint on May 31, Punto re-injured the muscle while playing on the FieldTurf at the Metrodome.

The setback is the reason the Twins are being more cautious with Punto's rehab stint this time and making sure that his leg gets fully tested in game action.

Former Miracle Matt Tolbert had his cast removed a week ago on his surgically repaired left thumb and reported that is is feeling much better. Tolbert is currently wearing a splint on the thumb, but it is reportedly only for one more week. He could start gripping a bat next Wednesday to begin his rehab work. The target date for Tolbert to return to the Twins line up is still Aug. 1.

Miracle clinch first half division title

Vero Beach 4 at Fort Myers 6

W: D. Guerra (7-2, 4.83); L: B. Mann (3-6, 3.73); SV: A. Slama (11)
HR: VER: G. Groce (2). FTM: E. Ovalle (5), E. Tintor (2).

Edward Ovalle's grand slam home run in the 5th led to the Fort Myers Miracle clinching the West Division first half championship, and a playoff berth, on what turned out to be a beautiful night for baseball at Hammond Stadium.

Late afternoon thundershowers led to a somewhat soggy stadium, but the best field crew in the Florida State League turned out a perfectly groomed diamond despite the foul weather.

Deolis Guerra tossed out the first pitch right on time and went on to work 6.1 innings, allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and one walk while striking out 2 for a quality start.

The Miracle opened the scoring in the bottom of the second when Whit Robbins doubled, the moved to 3rd on a Wilson Ramos single. Juan Portes would sacrifice Robbins in.

Vero Beach did not wait to answer back however, as Desmond Jennings singled with out one on the board. John Matulia would fly out, but Ceasar Suarez took a triple on a line drive when Eli Tintor slipped on the wet grass while trying to make a diving catch in the outfield. Jennings would score to tie up the game.

In the top of the fourth, Nevin Ashley singled and Garrett Groce put one over the left field fence to put the D-Rays on top.

Prior to the game, I'd congratulated Tintor on his first home run of the season and told him I expected at least 15 more of those out of him before the end of August. He figured the bottom of the fifth was a good time to start, as he clocked one over the center field wall to put the Miracle down by one. Danny Santiesteban would draw a walk and Yancarlos Ortiz moved him to second on a sac bunt. Ortiz would be given first though when pitcher Brandon Mann miss-threw the ball. Santiesteban took 3rd on the same play. Dinkelman then drew a walk to load the bags and you just KNEW what was coming. Ovalle's ball sailed well over the Beef Jerky sign in left to bring in four runs and give the Miracle a nice 6-3 lead.

Frank Mata would replace Guerra in the seventh. He'd give up a double to Matulia in the top of the 8th. After getting Suarez out on strikes, T.J.Hall would walk. Matt Fields' fly ball single to left brought in Matulia and a little bit of coaxing brought Jeff Smith out of the dugout and Anthony Slama out of the bullpen. Slama would take Ashely and Groce out on strikes to end the inning.

Juan Portes hit a nice double in the bottom of the 8th, but with 2 outs on the board, went no where with it. Slama would start the top of the 9th by taking Vero Beach short stop Neil Walton out on strikes. Joey Collander would single out to right, but Slama took Jennings out swinging. Callender would steal 2nd, but Matulia hit a nice little grounder to Robbins. Once Robbins foot hit the bag, the team came spilling out of the dugout to celebrate their victory.

No one had a multi-hit night, but that was okay. Wilson Ramos was the one hit wonder for the evening. Jim Rantz and Joel Lepal watched the proceedings from the stands. What tomorrow may bring, well...we'll see tomorrow, but for tonight, the Miracle are celebrating their championship.

Alex Burnett (5-2, 3.34) will take on lefty Mike Wlodarczyk (0-0, 0.00) for Vero Beach as the two teams rematch on a two-for-Tuesday. First pitch is schedule for 7:05 PM.

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Tyler Robertson will miss his start on Wednesday but says he will make his next scheduled start after the All-star break "which will be here."

"Against Sarasota," I nod as I collect my hot dog.

"No Dunedin," he says as we fight over condiments.

"Sarasota's in next. I just did all the photos so I could get autographs."

"Oh. I've never faced Sarasota before. That will be fun."

I think those are the same kids he faced like 16 times in GCL. I wonder if he'll face Smitty.

Meanwhile, Cole Devries has the pleasure of taking on the D-Rays top prospect David Price on Thursday. "I look forward to it," Devries said. I have no doubt Mr. Devries will kick his behind despite the fact that Price is 2-0 with a 2.26 ERA and has only allowing 3 earned runs in the 23 1/3 innings of his professional career.

Vero Beach will also be bringing a bus load of fans to the game. Much fun is planned for beer night.

Guerra soggy in Miracle loss

Dunedin 7 at Fort Myers 2

W: G. Chacin (1-6, 7.78); L: D. Guerra (6-2, 4.89); SV: R. Gonzalez (1)
HR: DUN: J. Arencibia (11). FTM: Y. Solarte (2).

To use a horse racing term, Deolis Guerra is not a mudder.

After a start delayed by rain, Guerra got on the mound to allow 7 runs (5 earned) on five hits and 3 walks in 1.2 innings.

Guerra opened up the game by issuing back-to-back walks to Chris Emanuele and John McDonald. J.P. Arencibia then took him yard, putting his 11th home run of the year over the left field wall. After Brian Dopirak popped out, Bradley Emaus would triple. Jesus Gonzalez also hit a pop out before Adam Calderone's line drive plated Emaus. Calderone would be caught stealing for the 3rd out.

Gustavo Chacin made short work of the Miracle in the bottom of the inning, allowing a single to Danny Valencia.

Kevin Nelson would get plunked by a Guerra pitch to open the 2nd inning. Sean Shoffit doubled out to center, and Emanuele walked to load the bags. Following a fly out to McDonald, Arencibia reached on a fielding error by Valenica, driving in Nelson and Shoffit. Dopirak would fly out to left and Emaus would single to score Emanuele before field manager Jeff Smith had seen enough and called Matt Fox from the mound. Fox would get Gonzalez to fly out to end the inning.

For a man who's not seen much work on a 12-man pitching staff, Fox threw well through the next three innings, allowing only 3 hits and fanning 2.

Yangervis Solarte would hit a solo shot home run, his second of the season, off Chacin in the bottom of the 3rd.

The rains would start again in the and the game was halted in the bottom of the 5th. The Miracle had been held to 3 hits through five, with Ovalle collecting a single in the bottom of the 3rd.

TRe conclusion of the game would see the Miracle rally back. Ovalle tripled to lead off the bottom of the sixth and came home, one out later on a Wilson Ramos line drive.

Ovalle and Rocky Palacios were the only two Miracle with multi-hit games, both went 2-for-4, Ovalle with a run.

The Miracle head out on the road and will play tomorrow in Spacecoast Stadium, home of the Brevard County Manatees. Alex Burnett (4-2, 3.07) will handle the Miracle pitching chores. For the Manatees, lefty Zach Braddock (2-2, 3.46) will toss out the first pitch at 7:00 PM.

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Quad Cities 11 at Beloit 6

W: W. Daman (2-1, 3.00); L: M. Tarsi (3-7, 5.62)
HR: QC: M. Arburr (8).

The Quad Cities River Bandits annihilated the Beloit Snappers 11-6 on Wednesday. Southpaw Mike Tarsi would get roughed up for 6 runs, 3 earned on 8 hits while striking out 3 over five innings.

Tarsi and Ramon Santana each had a pair of errors in the game, and Ben Revere was also tagged for missing a catch for his 5th error of the season.

Revere would go 1-for-4 at the plate with a walk, a pair of runs and 2 runs scored. Chris Cates was 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Ozzie Lewis, Joe Benson and Santana were the one hit wonders of the night, with Lewis collecting 3 strike outs, and Benson 4.

Danny Lehmann also collected a single on 3 at bats, and picked up a walks and a pair of runs as well.

Reliever Luke Van Mil gave up a pair of runs on 3 hits and 1 walk while fanning 3 over 3 innings; Charles Nolte allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk striking out only 1 in an inning's worth of work.

Beloit now heads out on the road to face the Kane County Cougars for a four game series.

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New Britain 7 at Altoona 10

W: J. Sues (2-0, 3.27); L: Z. Ward (2-1, 2.29)
HR: None.

The Miracle weren't the only soggy team on the diamond Wednesday night. The New Britain Rock Cats and the Altoona Curve got off the a late start after a rain delay. And the Red Wings weren't the only team to suffer a bullpen collapse, as Zach Ward gave up 5 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk in .2 innings to let the Curve rally past the Cats for a win.

Starter Anthony Swarzak kept the Cats in the game through six, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks whiles striking out 2.

Meanwhile the Cats got their bats working early, with Dustin Martin singling out to center and Trevor Plouffe drawing a walk with one out on the board. A passed ball by Altoona Catcher Ryan Doumit moved the pair, and a Felix Molina single would score Martin. Following a fly out to Drew Butera, Steve Tolleson doubled in Plouffe for the early Rock Cats lead.

Plouffe would double in the top of the 4th. Following a Felix Molina fly out, Drew Butera would single to plate him, giving the Cats yet another run.

Molina would reach on a fielding error and Butera would double. Following a fly out to Tolleson, Matt Moses singled to score the pair.

After the damaging 7-run eighth inning, Brock Peterson, Erik Lis and David Winfree all hit doubles to put another run on the board. Dustin Martin would sacrifice in Lis, but the attempt to tie the game fell short.

Peterson and Lis were both 3-for-5 with a run, Lis also had the 1 RBI. Tolleson was 2-for-5 with an RBI, and Butera was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

The teams rematch tomorrow with Jay Rainville (5-5, 6.02) on the mound for New Britain. Yoslan Herrera (3-6, 4.14) is expected to make the start for the Curve.

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Rochester 7 at Buffalo 8

W: E. Buzachero (2-2, 3.29); L: M. Gomez (1-1, 2.41)
HR: ROC: D. McDonald (8), G. Jones (6), R. Ruiz (5), J. Pridie (4).

Brian Duensing worked 8 innings for the Rochester Red Wings, allowing 4 hits and fanning 3. It was a pity he couldn't go for nine. The Red Wings bullpen suffered a major breakdown, allowing 6 runs in the 9th inning to allow the Bisons to tie up the game. The would go on to win 8-7 in 10.

Bobby Korecky gave up 4 runs on 3 hits and a walk, and former Miracle closer Tim Lahey gave up 2 more on 3 runs. He would eventually strike out 3 to get out of the inning.

Mariano Gomez took the loss, allowing 2 runs - 1 earned - on a run and a walk.

Garrett Jones was 2-for-4 in the game with a walk, a pair of runs including a solo shot home run, and a run scored. Howie Clark was 3-for-5 with a run and a RBI, Randy Ruiz was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run in the designated hitter role, driving in 3, including 2 on his 5th home run of the season.

Jason Pridie and Darnell McDonald also when yard for the suddenly mighty Red Wings and were each 1-for-5 at the plate.

The series continues with a 1:05 afternoon game with southpaw Francisco Liriano (0-2, 4.18) on the mound for the Red Wings and looking for his first win of the season.

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DSL Twins 0 at DSL Rockies 7

W: E. Cabrera (1-0, 0.00); L: O. Villaroel (0-1, 0.00)
HR: None.

Orlando Villaroel was the hard luck looser for the DSL Twins, allowing only one unearned run on 2 hits and a walk while fanning three over five innings. He got virtually no run support from the DSL Twins, who were held to just 2 hits in the contest.

The Rockies' Dewar Cabrera fanned 10 over 7 innings, sat down 7 on ground outs and 4 on fly outs to leave the Twins offense in shambles.

Manuel Soliman and Jairo Rodriguez were the two one-hit wonders for the DSL boys, although Soliman did draw 2 walks. Eliei Sierra also had a pair of walks for the Twins who got runners to 3rd in the 4th inning and 6th innings, but who could progress no further.

The DSL Twins host the DSL Diamondbacks on Thursday for a 10:30 AM (Dominican Time) game.

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Miracle sweep Reds way with 13 hits

Fort Myers 5 at Sarasota 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Let's Go Miracle

Snapper Game postponed by rain

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

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

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.