Twins beat storm, Pirates in Bradenton

GCL Pirates 2 at GCL Twins 8

W: J. Mijares (1-2, 3.93); L: G. Alvarado (4-2, 3.43); SV: M. Mopas (1)
HR: TWI: A. Hicks (4), D. Ortiz (2), H. Lara (1).

The GCL Twins used home field advantage at the Pirates complex and 10 hits to win 8-2 against their South Division rival. The game was moved to Bradenton due to the stormy conditions in Fort Myers as the Lee County Sportsplex and the surrounding area prepared for the arrival of Tropical Storm Fay.

The Pirates came out of the gate like a baby hurricane with Adenson Chourio singling off starter Jean Mijares. Ben Gonzalez would strike out, but Chourio stole 2nd and Jarek Cunningham doubled him in. Edward Garcia's ground out advanced the runner and Carlos Silva's ground ball single to center brought him in.

Aaron Hicks homered in the bottom of the inning to cut the Pirates lead in half. Danny Ortiz would follow suite in the bottom of the 4th, to tie up the game. Both balls went over the right field fence, helped by storm brought winds.

Josmir Pinto singled and then moved ot 2nd on Jakub Hajtmar's sac bunt. Juan Sanchez doubled him in. Herbert Lara made use to the wind to put his first home run of the year over the right field fence, scoring two. The Pirates were starting to hate that fence. Following a bunt out to Hicks and a single to Anderson Hidalgo, the Pirates would switch pitchers bringing in Ivan Herrera-Rusova to temporarily quell the Twins' fun.

The top of the seventh would see Sanchez double and Lara reach on Cunningham's throwing error. Hicks would take a walk, loading the bags. Hidalgo flew out and Ortiz struck out, but Mike Gonazales tripled to clean off the bases making it 8-2 Twins.

Mijares would work six inning allowing 2 runs, earned on five hits and a walk. Ian Mopas finished off, allowing just one hit and a pair of walks while fanning two over three innings.

Sanchez would finish off 2-for-3 with a walk, a pair of doubles, two runs and a RBI. Ortiz and Gonzales went 2-for-4 at th plate, Ortiz with a run and a RBI as one of the game's three yard birds, and Gonzales with a triple and 3 RBIs. Hicks was 1-for-3 with a walk, a pair of runs, and a RBI. Hidalgo, Pinto and Lara were each 1-for-4, Pinto with a run, Lara with 2 runs and 2 RBI, leaving Hidalgo to be the one hit wonder of the game.

Tuesday's game against the GCL Orioles has been postponed due to Tropical Storm Fay. Wednesday's game again the Reds will be a game day decision based on the condition of the fields following the storm.

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DSL Twins 5 at DSL Yankees2

W: J. Garcia (3-0, 2.79); L: J. Arias (5-4, 3.12); SV: E. Alvarez (13)
HR: None.

After three days off, the DSL Twins were a little slow coming out the gate, but finished up strong, pulling out a 5-3 win over the DSL Yankees2 on the road.

Orlando Villaroel took the start for the Twins and saw Eduardo Sosa reach on a fielding error by shortstop Carlos Vasquez. Jhorge Liccien then singled to advance Sosa to 3rd. Kelvin De Leon would fly out before Reymond Nunez reached on a fielder's choice that took Sosa out at home. Henry Pena followed that up with a double however, that plated Liccien, giving the Yankees2 one run. Villaroel would then take Jose Toussen down on strikes to end the innings.

Liccien doubled in the bottom of the 3rd and came home on De Leon's follow up single, which game the home team a two run lead.

Villaroel worked five, allowing the 2 runs, only one earned on 7 hits while striking out 3. Johnny Garcia would take over the mound in the sixth inning.

In the bottom of the 7th Juan Rijo singled then moved to 2nd on Keny Rodriguez's ground out. A wild pitch by Garcia put him on 3rd. Sosa would strike out, but Liccien doubled to drive him in, giving the Yankees2 a 3-0 lead.

Elvin Orozco would take over the mound for the Yankees2 in the top of the 8th. With two outs on the board, Felix Caro and Jhonatan Arias hit back-to-back singles for the Twins. Wilfy Gil's fly ball single then plated Caro, to give the Twins 1 and spoil the Yankees2 shut out bid.

It would be spoiled even further in the top of the 9th, when Oswaldo Arcia doubled and advanced to 3rd on a fielding error by Sosa in center. Jairo Perez would go down on strikes but Eliel Sierra singled, driving in Arcia. This triggered a pitching change with Justo Arias taking the Yankees2 mound. He'd issue a walk to Rafael Sanchez to start. The Twins would insert a couple of pinch runners, with Yancarlo Franco taking over for Sierra and Juan Blanco taking Sanchez's place on the base paths. Jean Carlos Mercedes lined out, but Danny Santana, coming in as a pinch hitter for Caro tripled to drive in two, giving the Twins the lead. Arias's single plated Santana to finish off the scoring.

Edison Alvarez blanked the Yankees2 in the bottom of the inning to pick up his 13th save of the season.

Arias was 2-for-4 at the plate with a RBI, Gil was 2-for-5 with a RBI. Arica, Perez and Sierra were all 1-for-4, Arcia with a double and a run, Perez with a double and Sierra with a RBI.

The DSL Twins host the DSL Rockies on Tuesday for a 10:30 am Dominican time contest. They are tied for 2nd in the North Division, trailing the DSL Yankees2 by one game with five left to play.

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Twins enjoy a wild time in Pirate City

GCL Twins 11 at GCL Pirates 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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DSL Twins 9 at DSL Diamondback/Reds 8

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirates' boy for me

Tyler Cox - 35th round


Jesus Aguilera - Non-drafted Free Agent


Ben Gonzalez - 7th Round


Jarek Cunningham - 18th Round


Andury Acevedo - Non drafted free agent


Craig Parry - 50th Round

The layout elements are from Yarrow's A Pirate's Life kit. The lettering is the standard Black Epoxy Alpha available from Free Digital Scrapbooking.

With the except of the Parry photo, which was taken on 29 June, 2008, these were all snapped at Saturday Morning's game (19 July 2008), which the GCL Twins won, 2-1.

GCL Twins BBQ GCL Pirates, 17-3

GCL Twins 17 at GCL Pirates 3

W. A.Sachez (1-1, 1.84) L: G.Alvarado (0-1, 5.50)
HR: TWN: A.Hicks (1)

Evidently the GCL Twins wanted to get the fireworks going early on America's Birthday, and so they set off some of their own, putting up 17 runs on 20 hits as they pounded the GCL Pirates into submission at Pirate City in Bradenton.

Leading the attack was Aaron Hicks who went 4-for-7 at the plate with 3 runs, and four RBIs, falling a triple short of the cycle. Not far behind was catcher Josmir Pinto, who was 3-for-6 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs. He did get the triple, but lacked the home run.

Jon Goncalves and Hicks opened up the contest with back-to-back doubles, putting one on the board right away. Following a ground out to Danny Ortiz and a fly out to Tyler Ladendorf that scored Hicks, Mike Gonzalez and Hyeoung-rok Choi singled. Pinto followed that up with a double to drive in Gonzalez. Juan Sanchez's ground ball single pushed Rocky over the plate for the 4th run and Herbert Lara brought in Pinto and Sanchez for the fifth and the sixth. Having batted around the order, Goncalves took a walk which finished it up for big Gabriel Alvarado. Melvin Vaszquez came in and got Hicks to strike out to let the Pirates have a chance.

Jarek Cunningham would single and make his way to 3rd on a passed ball by Pinto, but with two outs on the board, he'd be stranded when Craig Perry, the Pirates 50th round pick, hit into a force out.

Vasquez would keep the Twins in check for the second and third innings. The Pirates mustered some offense in the bottom of the 3rd, with Kyle Sauldo and Ben Gonzalez taking back-to-back singles off Sanchez. Frezier Pedron lined into a double play, but Cunningham doubled to move Gonzalez to 3rd. Miguel Mendez would get plunked by a pitch before Perry ground out (again) to strand the runners.

The Twins had the bases loaded in the top of the 4th, but Ortiz flew out and Ladendorf ground out that also took Hicks down at 2nd to end the inning. Ortiz and Ladendorf would finish up the game 0-for-4 each, being replaced in the later innings as field manager Jake Mauer tried to muster up a little bit more offense.

The Pirates meekly came up to bat, and equally meekly went to sit down in the bottom of the stanza, much to Tom Prince's chagrin.

Zach Foster would replace Vasquez on the mound in the top of the 5th, and Gonzalez took advantage of the pitching change to hit a double. Rocky would fly out, but Pinto got his triple to score the Twin's clean up man. Juan Sanchez singled in Pinto. Lara would lined out, and Goncalves took a walk. Hicks then went yard over the left field wall - er fence - to drive in 3 more, making it 11-0 Twins.

The sixth inning was a relatively quiet affair, despite the fact that the Twins had the bases loaded and could not capitalize again. They really need to work on that. Jean Mijares would replace Sanchez on the mound and allow a walk to Mendez, but got Perry to hit into a double play.

Carlos Teller would strike out Lara to start the 7th, but Goncalves took a walk and Hicks singled to move him to 2nd. Hyun-Wook Choi would take over Ortiz's spot in the batting order, hitting into a ground out that scored Goncalves. Ladendorf would reach on a fielding error that also scored Hicks, and Gonzalez would sacrifice in Wook to make it 14-0. Rocky took a walk before Pinto flew out to retire the side.

Kyle Sauldo got a single off Mijares in bottom of the seventh for the Pirates, who would manage a total of 9 hits in the game.

Matthew Foust took over the mound for the Pirates in the top of the 8th, and got Sanchez to ground out. Hildago Anderson would come into the game for Lara, who finished up 2-for-4 in the contest with a pair of RBIs. Hidalgo singled and Goncalves took another walk. Hicks went down on strikes before Wook singled in Hidalgo. Jakub Hajtmar would replace Ladendorf, and the Czech reached on a fielding error by Jarek Cunningham that also allowed Goncalves to score. Gonzalez would fly out to end the inning.

Nick Lobanov took over for Mijares in the bottom of the stanza, and allow a walk to Pedron. Cunningham and Mendez both singled to load up the bases, and Perry would reach on throwing error by Rocky, which also brought in two runs. Joe Munoz ground into a force out to which scored Mendez and took Perry out at 2nd. Carlos Silva (remember him from last season?) ground into a double play to end the inning.

The Twins really didn't need any more runs but saw no reason to leave Victor Igsema out of the slaughter, so Rocky lead off with walk and Pinto doubled to move him to 3rd. Sanchez went down on strikes before Hidalgo singled to score Rocky for the 17th and final run of the game.

Kyle Carr worked the ninth inning for the Twins, allowing a single to Ben Gonzalez, but that was all the Pirates would get as Pedron ground out to send the boys out to celebrate Independence Day.

Nice fireworks kids! Keep it up!

The Twins are back at the Lee County Sportsplex Saturday against the Orioles and Sunday against the Reds. Both games start at noon - weather permitting.

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Herald Tribune
News Press: Hicks
Twins Insider Blog


From NDN: So far, the deep ball belongs to Andres Diaz. The Lake Worth native has two home runs, which is two more than the rest of the GCL Twins active roster. Diaz is a 43rd round draft choice by the Twins.

Now it would be ONE more than the rest of his teammates, however, word has it that Diaz holds the unofficial record for the longest home run hit by a GCL Twins player. Supposedly it landed somewhere near the left field lake. "What lake?" you say. You know, the one on the other side of the parking lot.



DSL Cubs1 1 at DSL Twins 2

W: A. Salcedo (1-2, 1.93); L: M. Coletto (1-2, 2.11); SV: E. Alvarez (8)
HR: None.

The host DSL Twins doubled up the DSL Cubs1 Friday, keeping the Cubs off the board until the 9th inning and then allowing only 1 run.

Adrian Salcedo worked five innings for the Twins, allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk while fanning five for his first win of the 2008 season. He'd give way to Jose Gozalez for the next two, who gave up only 1 hit while striking out 4.

Willy Gil would reach on a fielding error by Cub Robert Bautista, then steal 2nd. Following a pop out to Juan Blanco and a line out to Danny Santana, Oswaldo Arcia singled to move Gil to 3rd. A wild pitch by Cubs starter Miguel Coletto put Gil over the plate for the first Twins run.

The Twins would only manage five hits in the game, but made the most of their limited opportunties. With Jose Tineo on the mound for the Cubs and one out on the board, Jairo Rodriguez singled. He'd be lifted from the game in favor of pinch runner Yancarlo Franco. Randy Pina singled to move Franco to 2nd, and Carlos Vasquez would get plunked by a pitch, loading the bags. Gil sacrificed in Franco to give the Twins 2 before Blanco ground out to end the inning.

Edison Alverez allowed a walk to Juan Medina and a single to Albert Hernandez to lead off in the top of the 9th. He'd get Juan Pena to ground into a force out that took down Medina at 3rd. Ramon Bonilla likewise ground into a force out, but a throwing error by Carlos Vasquez at 2nd base proved costly as Hernandez was able to cross the plate. Marcos Perez ground out however, without further damage, and the game went to the Twins.

Pina, the Twins catcher, was 2-for-2 in the contest, the only Twin with a multi-hit game.

The DSL Twins finish up their week on the road against the DSL Reds, with the start coming at 10:30 AM, Dominican time, as always.

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TWINs open 2008 season with a WIN

GCL Pirates 2 at GCL Twins 3

W: S. Blevins (1-0, 0.00); L: J. Charry (0-1, 5.40)
HR: None.

There was lots of rain Thursday morning and their was lots of kitty litter tossed on the diamond to get it going. You know those big industrial sized bags of the stuff? The ones my cat dreams about late at night?

But the Miracle field crew is composed of a bunch of magicians and despite what looked like it was going to be unplayable field conditions, the game got underway and right on time.

Martire Garcia took the start for the GCL Twins, who saw the Pirates get on the board first. On a full count, Anderson Chourio hit a fly ball out to right to open the proceedings. Following a strike out to Edwin Roman, Chourio would steal 2nd. Edward Garcia singled to move Chourio to 3rd. Pirates 35th round draft pick Kyle Morgan would be taken out on strikes before Chourio would steal home.

The Twins tied up the game in the bottom of the third. Anderson Hidalgo would reach on a throwing error by the Pirates Carlos Silva. Lead off man Herbert Lara would ground into a force out that took Hidalgo out at 2nd. Following a ground out to Juan Sanchez, fourth round draftee Danny Ortiz would triple to drive in Lara.

The bottom of the 4th would see Tim Atherton reach on a fielding error by Chourio with 2 outs on the board. Reggie Williams then tripled out to right to plate him.

The Pirates would out hit the Twins 12-5 with Garcia allowing the one run on half that total - six hits - while fanning four over 4 innings.

Aussie Elliott Biddle would make his North American professional debut for the Twins in the fifth. The righty allowed a single to Chourio, but got Garcia and Morgan to ground out to retire the side.

He did not fare so well in the top of the sixth however, with Mendez opening with a double. Craig Parry would fly out before Andury Acevedo bunted Mendez to 3rd. Alex Vargas singled out to left to plate Mendez before Biddle could get Silva to fly out and Chourio to ground into a force out to send the Pirates back to the dugout.

Mauro Schiavoni would take over for the seventh inning on the mound and pitched quite well. In the eighth, Acevedo's ground ball single would slam into him, bowling him over on the mound. After a brief break during which he was checked, he'd be forced to leave the game with bruised right hand. Poor little Schia-pet! Steve Blevins, who had been warming up in the bullpen, would take over a little earlier than planned. He would allow a double to Vargas and and hit Silva with a pitch, but get both Chourio and Roman out on strikes to end the threat.

There was another break during the inning when a ball fouled back off the end of a Pirates bat and into the Miracle dugout, slamming into Javier Brown's face. The rookie infielder would be helped out to the dugout, according to later reports, he has a nice bloodmouse on the side of his face, but nothing is broken. He will miss several games, but is otherwise okay.

Pirate Jorge Cherry would allow a walk to Twins 2nd rounder Tyler Ladendorf in the bottom of the stanza. Blevins returned to the mound for the top of the 9th, going 3 up and 3 down.

Tim Atherton would ground out to start the bottom of the 9th, but Reggie Williams doubled. Twins field manager Jake Mauer would put Jakub Hajtmar in as a pinch runner for Williams. Hidalego would line out to right, which brought us back to the top of the order.

The Twins have had a lot of success with Latin American lead off men in the past with Jeanfred Brito in 2007 and Esterlin De Los Santos in 2006. This year's lead off man is no different. Lara hit a nice little fly ball over the head of Pirates' 1st baseman Alex Vargas to drive in Hajtmar, winning the opening game of the 2008 GCL Twins season!

Williams was 2-for-4 with a double and a triple and a run scored. Lara was 1-for-3 with a pair of walks, a run and a run scored. Ortiz would go 1-for-4 at the plate with a triple and a run batted in, while Aussie outfielder Atherton was 1-for-4 with a double and a run.

The Twins play their next two on the road in Sarasota, facing the Orioles on Friday at Noon and the Reds on Saturday at 10:00 AM. They return home on Sunday for a noon contest against the GCL Red Sox.

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Pirates farm report
Herald Tribune
Sandlot Swashbucklers Blog
Josh's Thoughts Blog

As a matter of expediency, I have posted the 2008 roster as a .jpg and will put it into html as soon as I get a chance. There are also well over 100 pictures coming of the game, so hang tight.

The Twins got new unis - they were so new they still had the little holographic stickers on them. They look sharp!

DSL Indians 2 at DSL Twins 9

W: P. Guerra (2-0, 3.32); L: J. Campos (0-1, 6.35)
HR: None.

The DSL Twins love these big wins at home, this time blowing out the DSL Indians with a 3 runs 2nd inning and a 4 run 4th inning.

Willy Gil was 3-for-4 at the plate with a triple, a walk, and a pair of runs. Juan Blanco was 3-for-4 with a triple, a run, and 2 runs score while catcher Rafael Sanchez was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a pair of runs, plus a run batted in.

Pedro Guerra worked six innings for the DSL Twins, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4.

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GCL Twins, Pirates split double header

GCL Twins 3 at GCL Pirates 4

Current Record: 31 - 16

W: C. Amaro (2-1, 3.92); L: M. Hamburger (1-1, 1.64); SV: E. Cordero (5)
HR: None.

E: Revere (1, fielding), Wright (1, pickoff), Beresford (8, throw).

I told Nelson Prada before the start that I wanted 2 wins. I meant in the same day. The Pirates were already up in this game as it was the conclusion of Tuesday's rain suspended contest.

A Quincy Latimore single, a wild pitch by Glen Perkins and a Thomas Hagan single to center resulted in the run for the Pirates before the game was suspended.

The Miracle were batting, with 2 outs and the count 2-and-2 with Nick Biagini at the plate. So Nick got up there to face Carlos Amaro instead of William Kelly and drew a walk. However, Danny Rohlfing would be called out on strikes so it would be to no avail.

Chris Duffy, on major league rehab, would replace Latimore for this game. Also Ramon Santana had been sent up to Beloit, so James Beresford replaced him at short, and Yangervis Solarte moved over to 2nd base.

Thom Wright took the start for the Twins and struggled from the get go, walking Alex Vargas to lead things off. Ciro Rosero then hit a deep fly ball that was going over the wall, however outfielder Kevin Harrington caught it before it left the park, robbing Rosero of his trip around the bases. Vargas stole 2nd and then Daniel Bomback doubled him in.

I want to stop for a moment and tell you what a joy it is to watch James Beresford field. For the past couple of years watching Trevor Plouffe sleep through games at short, Steve Tolleson misread balls and Luis Ugueto look laxidasical, having a shortstop out there that makes the kind of defensive moves that I last saw out of Hanley Ramirez is such a pleasure.

So had it been Plouffe or Tolleson or Ugueto, Chad Rice would have had a hit. But Beresford snatched it out of mid-air and fired the ball over to Biagini for the ground out. Amazing. Aussie. Now...if we can just get his bat working...

Chris Duffy hit one to Juan Richardson at 3rd to finish off the first inning.

Harrington got up to bat and doubled out to right to cap off his defensive performance. A Ben Revere single brought the speedy Califoria kid home. Solarte then hit a triple to plate Revere and tie up the game.

Wright, however did not respond with the Wright stuff, as he allowed a single to Victor Alvarez, then overthew Biagini on the pick off attempt to move him to second. Revere got to John Fitzpatrick's fly to center, and Wright got Hagan to strike out. Alvarez, getting of tired of sitting on 2nd decided to steal 3rd. This seemed to upset Wright, who unleashed a wild pitch that brought Alvarez home. Josue Peley would single and move to 2nd on a passed ball by Rohlfing before Alex Vargas out be taken out on strikes.

Rosero would reach on a throwing error by Beresford in the 4th, but it proved immaterial as he was caught stealing 2nd and the Pirates could go no where with it.

The Twins tied it up again in the 6th when Richardson hit his way onto first base, then stole 2nd. Angel Morales doubled him over the plate.

Mark Hamburger would replace Wright and got a quick 6th inning. It was in the 7th with Caleb Fields aboard as a pinch runner and at second base when the problem occured. John Fitzpatrick hit the ball to short and Bereford again made a tough catch on the ball then threw to first to try to get the 3rd out. But Hamburger could not handle the catch, which got Fitzpatrick on base and allowed Fields to score. Beresford took it hard, but it wasn't his fault. Hamburger needs some work on his defensive plays. He's a good pitcher otherwise, and I really like having him on the team.

The Twins tried their best in the top of the ninth, with Prada bringing in his big guns in Jon Waltenbury, Alex Soto, and Nick Papasan, but only Soto could get a single, which moved Morales to 3rd but no farther when Papasan was taken out on strikes.

There would be a 30 minute break while the Twins licked their wounds, and the stadium field was groomed.

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GCL Pirates 1 at GCL Twins 5

Current Record: 33 - 16

W: L. Hendriks (4-1, 1.13); L: S. Giblin (0-1, 7.47)
HR: None.

E: Papasan (1, throw).

As near as I can tell, Pirate 3rd baseman Carlos Silva has a broken nose. He had some sort of funny contraption on his face, which we all sort of felt was there to protect his nose. It would prove important in this game as it was blocking his vision.

We started out with another amazing Aussie, this time in the form of starter Liam Hendriks. Hendriks would pitch a 1 hitter through six innings, striking out 11. It was simpley an awe inspiring performance from the 18-year-old, who might well be good enough to make the jump to Beloit to start next season.

Silva had his first fielding error in the 2nd, which allowed Jon Waltenbury to get on base and Danny Rams followed on a force attempt that failed with shortstop Victor Alvarez could not handle the ball. But Nick Papasan lined out and Andres Diaz flew out to end the inning. It did however set the stage for what was to come in the 3rd.

James Beresford singled out to left, and Jeanfred Brito followed with a bunt. However, after both managers yelled at the umpires, Brito was ruled out on batter interferance and Berseford had to go back to 1st. It was okay. Ben Revere singled out to right which moved Beresford to 3rd. Yangervis Solarte followed it up a line drive plated Beresford. Juan Richardson's fly ball scored Revere before Waltenbury flew out to left. Danny Rams singled a ball to the mound which pitcher Sean Giblin couldn't handle. That prompted a pitching change and Gary Amato was brought in.

He led off with a wild pitch that brought Solarte in. Nick Papasan then batted straight to Silva, which hit him, and bounced off. Silva picked up it but mis-threw, which allowed Richardson to score. Andres Diaz followed suit hitting straight to Silva who couldn't see to get the ball, which brought in Rams. Beresford's grounder would end the run fest, but the Twins had 5 which proved a very comforatable lead as Hendriks allowed the Pirates nothing.

Silva was removed after the inning being replaced by Daniel Bomback.

The lone Pirate run came in the top of the 7th when Jakub Toufar took the mound and allowed a Caleb Field's single and a Bomback triple. He would get Thomas Hagan to ground out and Papasan made a nice catch on Andrew Biela's pop ball. Juan Garcia was taken out on strikes to end the game.

Solarte was 2-for-3 in the contest, the only Twins player with multiple hits in the game. (Bomback would be 2-for-2 for the Pirates.)

The split double header put the Twins 4 games up over the Orioles in the South Division with 7 games left to play. The Reds visit the Lee County Sportsplex on Monday for a noon contest.

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