Twins drop final two of regular season

GCL Twins 3 at GCL Red Sox 6

W: C. Cabral (2-5, 5.55); L: J. Mijares (0-3, 5.13); SV: A. Batista (1)
HR: None.

The GCL Red Sox have nearly a whole new roster from what they started the year with, but that's not surprising for the deep pocketed Sox. So losing to them late in the season is not surprising either.

It does mean however, the Twins lose home field advantage for the playoffs.

Aaron Hicks doubled to lead off in the first for the Twins. Juan Sanchez singled, scoring the speedy Hicks. A passed ball by Boston's Christian Vazquez moved Sanchez to 2nd, and he'd advance to 3rd on the throw from Danny Ortiz dropped pitch strike out. Andres Diaz's ground ball to short scored Sanchez to give the Twins an early two run lead.

Wilfred Pichardo and Peter Hissey both singled, then orchestrated a double steal. Twins starter Jean Mijares then got Carson Blair out on strikes. Robert Feliz ground out and Bryan Peterson doubled to plate the two runners, tying up the game. Chih-Hsiang Huang singled in Peterson and Joantoni Garcia doubled in Huang to make it 4-2 Red Sox.

Hissey would double in Pichardo in the bottom of the 2nd. With two outs on the board in the bottom of the 4th, Mijares would plunk Hissey with a pitch. Hissey then stole 2nd and advanced to 3rd on a passed ball by Twins catcher Jae-Hyung Jang. Blair then singled to scored Hissey, making it 6-2 Calcetines Rojos.

Blayne Weller, the Twins 14th round pick in the 2008 first year draft would make his professional debut, giving up 2 hits to the Red Sox in the fifth while striking out one.

For the Sox, Cesar Cabral would allow 9 hits over five innings, while striking out 8. He would allow a lead off double to Sanchez in the top of the sixth. Ortiz and Diaz hit back-to-back singles off him, which drove in one more run for the Twins before the Red Sox called for a pitching change, getting Anatanaer Batista out of the bullpen to replace Cabral. The new hurler got J.J. to strike out. Diaz would be caught stealing, and Hidalgo ground out to end the Twins brief rally.

Jay Sawatski tossed the sixth inning for the Twins, giving up 2 hits but keeping Boston off the board.

Batista would get Hyun-wook Choi and Javier Brown to ground out before giving up a single to Jakub Hajtmar. Hicks hit into a force out however, ending the contest.

Sanchez and Diaz were each 2-for-3 in the game, Sanchez with a pair of runs and a RBI. Hidalgo, Wook, Brown, and Hajtmar were all 1-for-3, sharing the love as the one hit wonders of the game. Ortiz was 1-for-3 as well, but picked up a RBI. Hicks finished off 1-for-4 with a double and a run.

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GCL Red Sox 3 at GCL Twins 2

W: M. Lennox (2-3, 3.94); L: K. Nanney (4-2, 3.12); SV: D. Mercadante (8)
HR: None.

The Twins would have home field advantage for the second game as they made up the rain out of August 21, but they could not hold off a sixth inning rally by los Calcetines Rojos, falling 3-2 at the City of Palms complex.

Frederic Hanvi, the Twins' new catcher, would make his professional debut, singling in the bottom of the 3rd. Jon Goncalves and Herbert Lara followed it up with singles of their own, scoring Hanvi. Hyeong-rok Choi reached on a fielder's choice which took Goncalves out at home. Mike Gonzales' single to center loaded the bases, and Reggie Williams brought Lara home on a sac-fly to left. Danny Rohlfing would fly out to end the inning, stranding two men.

Ian Mopas would work the first 3 innings for the Twins scattering one hit and a pair of walks while striking out 2. Mauro Schiavoni came in for the next two, also fanning a pair.

Kohl Nanney would take over the mound for the Twins in the sixth, giving up a lead off single to Wilfred Pichardo, who then stole 2nd. Peter Hissey would ground out but Carson Blair, Bryan Peterson, and Andrew Frezza all singled off the tall reliever. Pichardo would score, but the Twins were able to save a run when they took Blair out at home. Chih-Hsiang Huang took a walk, once again loading the bases, before Maykol Sanchez doubled to drive in two, giving the Sox the lead.

Michael Lennox would give up a single to Wang-Wei Lin in the bottom of the sixth, but ground outs to Rohlfing, Tyler Ladendorf and Hanvi would not help the Twins cause.

Goncalves took a single off closer Dustin Mercadante in the bottom of the seventh, but Lara ground into a force out. He'd then try to steal 2nd and would be caught. Rok's ground out ended the game.

Goncalves and Gonzales were both 2-for-3 in the contest, Goncalves with a walk. Rohlfing, Ladendorf and Lin, all were all 1-for-3 one hit wonders, while Hanvi went 1-for-2 with a run. Lara finished up 1-for-4 with a run and a RBI.

The Twins face the Nationals on the Thursday - they can not play the Pirates in the elimination round because the two teams are from the same division - so it's away to Brevard County our boys in blue. Game time is Noon, weather permitting.

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Tuesday's game between the DSL Twins and the DSL Mariners was postponed due to rain, and will be played on Wednesday at 10:30 AM Dominican Time.

Games of August 26, 2008

Pirates down Twins, pull ahead in playoff race

GCL Twins 1 at GCL Pirates 4

W: G. Amato (2-0, 0.00); L: A. Sanchez (2-3, 3.71)
HR: None.

The GCL Pirates roughed up Twins starter Angelo Sanchez, taking 3 earned runs of him on 7 hit and a pair of walks over 3 innings at Pirate City in Bradenton.

Meanwhile Gabrial Alvarado limited the GCL Twins to just one hit and pair of walks over the first four innings.

Adenson Chourio singled in the bottom of the 1st then moved to 2nd on Edwin Roman's sac bunt. Jarek Cunningham would fly out before Edward Garcia singled in Chourio to put the Pirates on the board in the bottom of the first.

Cunningham would single in the bottom of the 3rd with one out on the board. Sanchez then unleashed a pair of wild pitches that advanced Cunningham to 3rd. Garcia would take walk before Carlos Silva doubled in Cunningham. Craig Parry's follow up single to center scored Garcia. Sanchez would get Andury Acevedo out on strikes, but issued a walk to Jesus Aguilera to load up the bags. Happily, Kyle Saukko ground into a force out to to end the inning.

Ian Mopas replaced Sanchez for the fourth. After getting Chourio to pop out, he'd give up back-to-back singles to Roman and Cunningham. A throwing error on the Roman's single advanced to him 2nd and he'd come home on Cunningham's line drive. Mopas then picked Cunningham off at first, but walked Garcia and advanced him to second on a balk. Silva ground out however to get Mopas out of the inning.

Ivan Herrera-Rusova replaced Alvarado at the top of the fifth. The top of the seventh would see Josmir Pinto double. Ladendorf ground out, and the Pirates brought in Gary Amato to replace Herrera-Rusova. Amato would get Javier Brown out on strikes, but Jon Goncalves doubled to score Pinto for the lone Twins run.

Pinto would finish up 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles and a run. Aaron Hicks and Juan Sanchez were both 1-for-4, while Andres Diaz, Brown and Goncalves were all 1-for-3, Diaz and Brown with walks and Goncavles with a double and a RBI.

Sanchez would take the loss, his third of the season. Mopas worked three allowing 1 run, unearned, on 2 hits and 2 walks, striking out just one. Khol Nanney worked the last 2 innings, allowing just one Pirates hit.

The Pirates pull out to a 1.5 game lead in the South Division, while the Twins still head up the wild card race.

The GCL Orioles come into the Lee County Sportsplex for a game against the GCL Twins Thursday at noon. They Twins remain at home to take on the GCL Reds on Friday.

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DSL Yankees2 3 at DSL Twins 2

W: W. Eusebio (4-5, 5.40); L: E. Alvarez (0-3, 2.34)
HR: DSL TWI: D. Santana (1).

Despite a home run by Danny Santana, the Twins fell in extra innings to the DSL Yankees2 at home. Closer Edison Alvarez would suffer the loss, his third of the season.

Santana put a ball over the center field all in the bottom of the first with one out. Yankee's starter Victor Beriguete worked 5.2 innings for the Yankees.

Following a ground out to Oswaldo Arcia in the top of the sixth, Jairo Perez tripled. Eliel Sierra would sacrifice him in. Manuel Soliman would take a walk before Beriguete was lifted in favor of Sherssy Cruz, who finished the inning by getting Jhonatan Arias to ground into a force out.

Beriguete exited the game allowing 2 earned runs on 4 hits and 3 walks while fanning 2.

The Yankees would take an unearned run from Eliecer Cardenas in the third inning. Juan Rijo singled, and Julio Rojas advanced him on a sac bunt. But a throwing error by Yancarlo Franco as 3rd base allowed Rojas to reach and while Rijo took an extra base, moving to 3rd. Keny Rodriguez hit into a double play, but Rijo came home while the Twins were busy taking Rojas out at 2nd.

Alvarez took over in the to of the 8th. In the top of the ninth, Kelvin De Leon tripled off the Twins closer. After Reymond Nunez went down on strikes, Henry Pena would reach on a fielder's choice. The play at the plate failed however, as De Leon scored to tie up the contest.

Eduardo Sosa tripled in the top of the 10th, then came home on a De Leon single one out later. The Twins could find no offense in the bottom half of the stanza to counter with, as Felix Caro went down swinging to end it.

Santana, Arcia, and Perez were all 1-for-4 with Santana and Perez added a run each. Yorby Martinez was 1-for-2 with a walk and a double. Meanwhile the Yankees put seven hits on the board off the Twins pitchers.

The Twins are on the road Thursday against the DSL Diamondbacks/Reds. Game time, as always, is 10:30 AM Dominican time.

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Twins romp over Orioles, 11-5

GCL Orioles 5 at GCL Twins 11

W: M. Munoz (2-1, 3.86); L: S. Taveras (0-2, 12.46)
HR: None.

For the true baseball enthusiast, nothing quite beats a day watching a GCL game. Unlike most minor (and major) league games, there are no distractions. No promotions, no vendors, no - or very few - unattended kids running around. You can focus on the game of baseball.

Which is the whole point of the Gulf Coast League. For the young players who participate in it to focus on baseball.

The GCL Twins picked up Saturday's contest against the Orioles in about the same place they left off Friday's contest with the Pirates. With a lot of hits.

The Orioles got on top first with Gorabez Rosa bunting. Twins catcher Danny Rohlfing picked up the bunt, but threw wide to first letting Rosa advance to 2nd. Jerome Hoes singled out to short and Tyler Ladendorf made a great save on the ball. Unfortunately his throw was from a bad angle and was a bit off, and Anderson Hidalgo could not handle it, ending up with Rosa on 3rd. He'd come home on Dashenko Ricardo's ground out to second.

The Twins answered right back however with Jon Goncalves taking a walk. Aaron Hicks and Danny Ortiz hit back-to-back singles that drove in Goncalves. After a pop out by Ladendorf, Mike Gonzalez singled to drive in Hicks. Andres ground into a force out that took Mike out at 2nd, but Reggie Williams followed that up with a triple that drove in both runners, making it 4-1 Twins. That would end it for Sam Taveras, as the O's got Luiyi Batista out of the pen.

Batista would keep the Twins semi-quiet in the second, although Hicks singled and Ortiz doubled. Ladendorf would reach on a fielder's choice that saw Hicks taken down at the plate.

Diaz led off in the bottom of the 3rd with a single and Williams doubled him over to 3rd. Rohlfing's single plated Diaz, while Hidalgo sacrificed in Williams. Goncalves would reach on a fielding error by the O's 3rd baseman, and a wild pitch would progress the Twins runners. After Hicks struck out, a second wild pitch scored Rohlfing. Ortiz then singled to drive in Goncalves, making it 8-1 Twins. That ended it for Batista, and Jario De La Cruz got to pitch for a while.

Ricardo walked in the top of the 4th off Twins starter Miguel Munoz. Dennis Perez then doubled to move him to 3rd. Grolmann Gonzalez's sac-fly saw the runner score for the O's second run.

Munoz would work five, allowing 2 runs, only 1 earned, on six hits and a walk while striking out 3. Jose Mijares would take over for the next two, making a rehab start. With some luck, the Venezuelan closer will be ready for New Britain or Rochester shortly after the All-star break.

Mijares would get two quick outs in each inning, but back-to-back hits in the sixth and a walk in the seventh made the third out a little more interesting for the small crowd of onlookers.

Luis Lebron would come in for Justin Moore in the top of the 7th. Moore, a side arm pitcher had worked one inning allowing a single and a walk and tossing a wild pitch, but keeping the Twins from the plate.

Lebron saw Rohlfing reach when he failed to catch the ball. Following a fly out to Hidalgo, a passed ball by Janensis Guerrero put Rohlfing on second. Goncalves and Hicks then hit back-to-back singles to plate the Twins catcher. Ortiz would triple, to drive in the pair of runners, making it 11-2.

Everything went along peachy until the ninth inning. We got our first look at Joe Testa in the eighth, who allowed a lead off single to Perez, but got the O's Gonzalez to ground into a double play, then took Javi Santana out on stikes.

Ian Mopas would come in for the ninth, and allowed Justin Martin to walk. He'd get Francisco Mejia to ground into a double play but then gave up singles to Xavier Avery and Rosa. Hoes took a walk to load the bags, and then Ricardo walked to force in a run. Perez singled to score two more before Mopas could get Gonzalez to ground out, ending the game. (Proving to me that Mr. Hendriks was correct and we did have someone on the squad who could potentially blow a 9-run lead.)

The Twins remain at home Sunday against the Reds with yet another noon start for our boys.

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Someone had asked me, BTW, about AA infielder Luke Hughes playing for Team Australia in the Olympics. Liam reminded me that the Aussies failed to qualify for the Olympics, so, I suppose you can rule out any possiblity of Mr. Hughes involvement in the event.

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The DSL Twins dropped a pair to the DSL Reds, playing the game that had been washed out earlier in the month.

DSL Twins 1 at DSL Reds 4

W: J. Marizan (2-2, 2.23); L: O. Villaroel (1-3, 1.96); SV: S. Gerson (1)
HR: None.

Yancarlo Franco had the lone Twins run, which came in the sixth inning. Franco would double, then score on Yorby Martinez's ground out.

Orlando Villaroel took the loss, allowing 3 runs, earned, on 3 hits and a walk while striking out 4 over 3.

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DSL Twins 1 at DSL Reds 3

W: E. Infante (1-0, 0.44); L: L. Vargas (1-2, 4.40)
HR: None.

Danny Santana singled in the top of the 4th, then stole second base. Jairo Rodriguez then doubled him in for the Twins only tally.

Lesmir Vargas took the loss, putting a run on base via a walk, and seeing him advance on a sac bunt. Jose Gonzalez would then come in a allow a double to score the inherited runner to put the Reds ahead.

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