GCL Twins blank GCL Reds

GCL Twins 3 at GCL Reds 0

W: A. Sanchez (3-3, 3.26); L: L. Machuca (1-2, 4.15); SV: K. Mota (11)
HR: None.

Angelo Sanchez and three relievers held the GCL Reds to a total of 4 hits and a pair of walks over nine innings as the Twins blanked the Reds 3-0 at the City of Sarasota Complex.

All three Twins runs came in the top of the 3rd inning, which started with a Herbert Lara ground out. Aaron Hicks and Juan Sanchez hit back-to-back singles. A walk to Danny Ortiz loaded the bags. Mike Gonzales would sacrifice in Hicks before Hyeong-rok Choi singled to drive in the remaining two runners. Tyler Ladendorf's fly out ended the inning.

Three of the Reds for hits were for extra bases with Mauricio Pimentel tripling the bottom of the 3rd, but the Reds could not convert on any of their chances.

Jean Mijares, Mike Tonkin and Kelvin Mota combined to hold the Reds hitless over the last three. It was Sanchez's 3rd win of the season; Mota earned his 11th save.

The Twins had 10 hits in the game, but the tight Reds defense kept them at bay. A double to Juan Sanchez and a walk to Gonzales had runners at 2nd and 3rd in the top of the 1st, but with 2 outs on the board, Red's starter Luis Machuca would get Rok to strike out.

A walk to Danny Ortiz would be followed by Gonzales getting plunked by a pitch in the top of the 5th. Sanchez had stuck out to start the inning and Rok would strike out before Tyler Ladendorf drew a walk, but Bryan Gardner finish by getting Danny Rohlfing out on strikes.

Ladendorf would single off Efrain Rodriguez in the top of the 8th, and advance to 3rd on a Lara single. The speedy Venezuelan would then steal 2nd but Aaron Hicks would hit into a ground out, again getting the Reds out of a jam.

Ladendorf had another strong day at the plate going 2-for-3 with a walk, despite not figuring into the scoring. Hicks and Sanchez both finished up 2-for-5 with a run each, Sanchez with a double as well. Ortiz, Rok, Jakub Hajtmar, and Lara were all 1-for-4, Ortiz with a walk and a run, and Rok with a pair of RBIs.

The Pirates defeated the Red Sox 4-1, so the the win did not pick up any points in the standings for the Fort Myers squad, as they continue to trail the Bucs by one game. The other three teams in the division have been eliminated from the play picture. In the North Division, with seven (six) games left to play, the GCL Phillies lead the GCL Braves by 4.5 games.

In the East Division, the Dodgers and the Nationals are duking it out for the title with identical records. The deciding game between the two was postponed by afternoon showers at Dodgertown.

Fort Myers continues to lead the wild card race.

The Twins return home now to face the Red Sox at the Lee County Sportsplex. Thursday's game begins at Noon. Tuesday game against the Orioles will be made up on Sunday as part of a double header the Lee County Sportsplex, starting at 11:00 AM.

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Elizabethton's Angel Morales, an alumni of 2007 GCL Squad, was named the Appalachian Leagues' Offensive Player of the Week. The Puerto Rican center fielder started his week in lackluster fashion going 0-for-7 in the first two games. However, in his next four games, Morales would be dynamic as he has so often been with the E-Twins this season. Morales would club an extra-base hit in each of the team's final four games on the week and at least one homer in the final three games. His best outing came on Sunday, during which he hit a pair of shots giving him seven runs scored for the week. Minnesota's 3rd pick, 122nd over all in the 2007 first year players draft, Morales has done an admirable job crossing the plate with the Twins, especially in August, during which he has scored in all but one game.

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DSL Twins 5 at DSL Diamondbacks 1

W: R. Reverol (4-2, 3.21); L: F. Santana (0-2, 6.65); SV: L. Vargas (2)
HR: DSL TWI: O. Arcia (4).

The DSL Twins scored early and put in some great defensive work against the DSL Diamondbacks to pick up another road win, this time 5-1.

Jair Perez lead off with a double in the top of the 2nd, and moved to 3rd on Eliel Sierra's single. A throwing error on a pickoff attempt saw Perez score and Sierra advance to 3rd. Manuel Soliman would pop out, but Lesther Galvan reached on a fielding error, which also allowed Sierra to score. Randy Pina and Carlos Vasquez would both ground out, letting the Diamondbacks have a turn at bat.

Wifly Gil singled in the top of the 3rd, then stole 2nd. A catching error by the Diamondbacks' Adonys Canelo at short advanced Gil to 3rd. Diamondbacks' starter Frank Santana then unleashed a wild pitch, scoring Gil. Yancarlos Franco pop out before Oswaldo Arcia hit a solo shot home run over the center field fence, making it 4-0 Twins. Perez doubled, then stole 3rd. Sierra would draw a walk, and Santana would take a walk to the dugout, being replaced on the Diamondbacks' mound by Eury De La Rosa. Soliman ground into a force out that took Sierra out at 2nd and scored Perez. Soliman would then caught stealing in a pitch off attempt by De La Rosa to retire the Twins.

Eliencer Cardenas worked the first three for the Twins before giving way to Renzo Revorol for the next trio of innings. Lesmir Vargas would take over in the bottom of the 7th and would allow the only Diamondbacks run in the bottom of the 8th. A fielding error in left by Arcia contributed to the run, making it unearned.

It was Reverol's 4th win of the season, and Vargas' 2nd save.

Arcia would finish up 2-for-3 at the plate with the yard ball. Perez was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs. Jhonatan Arias was 1-for-2 at the plate but did not factor into the scoring. Sierra was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run. Gil batted 1-for-4 with a run.

The DSL Twins move into 2nd place in the B.C. North Division, one game behind the DSL Yankees2. I don't know the playoff format for the league, but given the explosion of participants in both the North and South Divisions which left the Venezuelan League nearly bereft of teams, thre is most likely a wild card slot available.

With 3 games left to play, perhaps we shall find out. The Twins host the DSL Orioles on Thursday for a 10:30 AM Dominican time game.

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GCL Twins rally past Orioles on rainy Saturday

GCL Orioles 3 at GCL Twins 5

W: K. Nanney (3-0, 0.82); L: M. Moore (2-1, 0.00); SV: K. Mota (10)
HR: None.

Despite a light rain and threatening thunderstorms in the area, and a brief delay in the game, the GCL Twins managed to rally back in the 8th inning to pick up a win over the GCL Orioles, 5-3 at the Lee County Sportsplex Saturday.

The rain limited the already small crowd - there were only 3 people in the stands when the first pitch was thrown. Martire Gracia got off to a sloppy start and battled with his control through the first four innings.

Garcia walked Xavier Avery to start off the contest, then missed the throw to Henry Sanchez at first on a pick off attempt, sending Avery to 2nd. Jerome Hoes singled out to center, scoring Avery, as Aaron Hicks was not about to go running full out on wet slippery grass. Garcia would get Luis Ramierez on out strikes, but then unleashed a wild pitch that sent Hoes to 2nd. Omar Casamayor would go down on strikes as well, but Garabez Rosa singled out to center again, bringing in Hoes.

Chris Ray made a rehab start for the GCL Pirates, and Danny Ortiz and Andres Diaz would take line drive singles off the major leaguer with two outs on the board. Tyler Ladendorf would go down on strikes however, sending the Orioles up to bat again.

A pair of walks and a single to Larry Rivera loaded the bags up in the second inning, but Garcia was able to take Ramirez out on strikes to send the Orioles back to the dugout without crossing the plate.

Hyun-wook Choi singled and would get to 3rd on Reggie Williams fly ball single one out later, but Hicks flew out to end the inning.

The Twins finally get a man crossed the plate in the bottom of the 3rd. Anderson Hidalgo singled. Following a ground out to Danny Ortiz that advanced the runner, a passed ball by catcher Dashenko Ricardo and a wild pitch by Vito Frabizio pushed Hidalgo over the plate to make it 2-1 Orioles.

Garcia finally got going in the fourth, striking out a pair and getting Edwin Cintron to fly out to end the inning. It would end his stay on the mound as well, as he exited, having allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7.

Joe Testa would come in for the top of the 5th and strike out all three batters he faced. The free agent signee has been a great pick up for the Twins his season. Here's hoping he can continue the success that he's had. In any case, that was in it started raining and both teams headed for the shelter of the clubhouse and batting cages. The fans however, do not have too many choices for shelter that do not involve metals, so most fled to their cars.

The shower however was brief and the game resumed. Frabrizio continued on the mound for the O's and Khol Nanney would come in to pitch the next three innings for the Twins.

Jesse Beal replaced Fabrizio in the bottom of the sixth, but the Twins fared no better against him. Marcus Moore would handle the seventh, and would return to the mound for the eighth.

Moore would get Diaz and Ladendorf out on strikes, but issued a walk to Henry Sanchez. Wook reached on a force attempt, and Herbert Lara would come in to replace the lumbering Sanchez. Likewise, the speedy Jon Goncalves would join the game, replacing Wook. A wild pitch by Moore moved he pair, leaving room for catcher Jae-Hyung Jang to talk a walk. All that speed paid off when Reggie Williams doubled bringing in two. With two men left on base, the Orioles would call in Brian Anderson to keep the game close, but Hicks singled to plate the remaining runners, making it 5-2 Twins.

Kelvin Mota would be asked to close out the game but with one out on the board, he'd walk Ricardo. Justin Martin singled to move the O's catcher to 2nd. Larry Rivera would go down on strikes and the O's would put Grolmann Gonzalez in a pinch hitter. Gonzalez got the job done, singling out to center to score Ricardo, but Avery flew out to end the contest giving the Twins the win.

Reggie Williams finished off the game 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, a run and 2 RBIs. Anderson Hidalgo was 3-for-5 with a double and a run. Andres Diaz in the designed hitter role was 2-for-4. Wook and Danny Ortiz (1-for-4) and Hicks (1-for-5) each had singles, Hicks with a RBI as well.

Henry Sanchez finished of 0-for-2 with a pair of walks and 1 strike out.

The Twins are not out of playoff contention yet. Unbeknown to me, the GCL has instituted a wild card slot for 2008 so there will be no more buy for the top ranked team. Instead they will face the wild card team in a one game playoff round. The Pirates are leading the GCL South by only half a game and the Twins 26-16, .619 record puts them solidly in the running for the wild card spot.

Sunday, the Twins travel to Sarasota to take on the Reds, they return home on Monday to face the Red Sox. Both games are scheduled for noon.

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DSL Twins 1 at DSL Orioles 4

W: E. Ramirez (3-2, 2.63); L: L. Vargas (1-3, 3.00); SV: E. Nunez (10)
HR: None.

It was a different story for the Dominican Summer League Twins, who were also playing the Orioles. The O's took an early lead and hung on to win 4-1.

Yancarlo Franco doubled in the top of the six. A wild pitch by Eiri Ramirez moved him to 3rd and Danny Santana would sacrifice him in.

Jairo Perez finished up 2-for-4 at the plate. Wilfy Gil was 1-for-3 with a walk while Yorby Martinez, Jairo Rodriguez and Franco were all 1-for-4. Rodriguez and Franco each had doubles.

Lesmir Vargas suffered his first loss fo the season, giving up 2 unearned runs on five hits while striking out 2 in five innings worth of work. Renzol Reverol worked the next two innings before giving way to Raynard Doran, who gave up 2 runs, earned, on three hits in 1.1 innings while fanning 2.

The DSL Twins rest on Sunday. The face the DSL White Sox on Monday for a 10:30 AM Dominican time game.

The Twins trail the DSL White Sox1 by 2.5 games with 2 weeks (12 games) left in the season.

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Hicks has allegedly signed an autograph deal and is no longer "allowed" to sign autographs for fans. I've not had the opportunity to test this out, but I'm sure it will work wonders in alienating his fan base once he gets into a league where they have fans.

Sanchez seemed to think he wasn't going to play as "it's muddy and they don't want to me to reinjure my knee." He played. Sort of.

A reminder to the boys - if you have not picked up your pictures yet, you need to do so. I'm tired of hunting you all down. Just because you are anti-social (Mr. Ortiz) does not mean I don't have pictures for you.