Dogs fall before hot Javilina offense

W: J. Jeffress (1-0, 3.00); L: J. Manship (0-1, 6.00)
HR: None.

Former Miracle hurler Jeff Manship (Minnesota) gave up 3 runs on four hits over three innings while fanning 3, putting the Desert Dogs in an early hole that they never recovered from. He'd take the loss, his first of the season for the defending Arizona Fall League champions.

The Dogs actually got on the board first, with Evan Frey (Arizona) taking a lead off walk. Eric Young (Colorado) would bunt into a force out, then stole 2nd. Following a ground out to J.P. Arencibia (Toronto), Sean Doolittle (Oakland) doubled to drive in Young.

Manship with drill former Sarasota Reds Drew Stubbs with a pitch to lead off, but got Carlos Triunfel (Seattle) to ground into a double play and Austin Jackson (NY Yankees) to fly out to get out of the inning. Juan Miranda (NY Yankees) singled to lead off the bottom of the second. Greg Halman (Seattle) singled, moving Miranda to 3rd. He'd then try to steal 2nd, and would have been caught, but an error Adrian Cardenas (Oakland) gave Halman the base. Manship would would get J.T. Hall (Tampa Bay) out on strikes, but then unleashed a wild pitch at scored Miranda, and put Halman on 3rd and Hall on first. Justin Turner (Cincinnati) would ground into a double play that served to plate Halman before Rob Johnson (Seattle) would go down on a foul tipped strike to end the inning.

Taylor Green (Milwaukee) doubled in the bottom of the 3rd before Manship could take Stubbs down on strikes. Triunfel then doubled as well, knocking in Green. Jackson would hit into a fielder's choice double play to end the inning.

Tony Barnette (Arizona) replaced Manship for the fourth, then gave way to Jeff Gray (Oakland) in the fifth.

Peoria struck again in the sixth with Zach Dials (Toronto) on the mound. Miranda tripled and was singled in by Halman. Hall singled as well before Turner and Johnson could be taken out on strikes. Mike McDonald (Oakland) would be summoned from the bullpen. Green would reach on a Josh Donaldson (Oakland) fielding error, which scored Halman as well, before Stubbs would be induced to hit into a ground out to end the inning.

McDonald returned to the mound for the bottom of the 7th, allowing a double to Truinfel to open things up. Jackson's ground out put Truinfel on 3rd, and Miranda would double him in, to make the score 6-1 in favor of the Javalinas.

The Dogs would finally get back onto the board in the 9th, with Doolittle singling off reliever Rob Manuel (Cincinnati), then moving to second on a wild pitch. Danny Valencia (Minnesota) singled to move Doolittle to 3rd, and a sac fly by Rusty Ryal (Arizona) would bring the South Dakota native home.

Chris Mason (Tampa Bay) would take over the pitching chores for Peoria in the ninth, getting Chris Nelson (Colorado) to ground out before giving up a walk to Ryan Patterson (Toronto). A fielding error by Stubbs allowed Scott Campbell (Toroto) to reach and Patterson to score. Eric Young's ground out would plate Campbell, but that was the all the Dogs would get despite a single to Young and walk to Doolittle.

Milwaukee's Jeremy Jeffress took the win for the Javelinas who remain unbeaten after three games.

Phoenix continues their string of night games, facing the Scottsdale Scorpions for a 7:05 PM MST contest Friday at Scottsdale Stadium.

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Beloit Snappers' centerfielder Ben Revere was honored by Baseball America once again in their most recent issue after his impressive 2008 campaign. The speedy outfielder from Kentucky was rated as the 4th best prospect in the Midwest League, trailing Mike Moustakas (Burlington Bees), Neftali Feliz (Clinton LumberKings) and Jarrod Parker (South Bend Silver Hawks).

Revere had what may turn out to be the most successful season in Snappers’ history. The Twins’ 2007 first round draft pick ended up hitting .375 with 129 hits and 44 stolen bases while picking up the following awards:

- Midwest League MVP
- Midwest League Prospect of the Year
- Midwest League All-Star
- Midwest League Post-Season All-Star
- Best Batting Prospect (Baseball America)
- Best Strike Zone Judgment (Baseball America)
- Fastest Baserunner (Baseball America)
- Most Exciting Player (Baseball America)
- Topps Co-Midwest League Player of the Month (May)
- Minnesota Twins Minor League Player of the Month (May)
- Brodie Trophy Player of the Year

Miracle catcher Wilson Ramos as also honored by the magazine as the 8th best prospect in the Florida State League. Ramos batted .288 with 13 home runs and 23 doubles during the 2008 season for the FSL West Division Champions. Wilson also collected an impressive 130 hits in 452 at-bats.

Ramos was signed by the Twins as a non-drafted free agent on July 7th, 2004. In 73 games for the Snappers in 2007, Wilson hit .291 with eight homers, 17 doubles and 42 RBIs.

The honor often times leads to good things for the players chosen by the prestigious magazine. Five of the ten players listed in 2003 by Baseball America as the top prospects in the Midwest League are now playing at the major league level. Prince Fielder #1 (Beloit Snappers), Manny Parra #4 (Beloit Snappers), Joe Blanton #5 (Kane County Cougars), Joel Zumaya #6 (West Michigan Whitecaps) and Felix Pie #8 (Lansing Lugnuts) all called the Midwest League home at one time in their playing career.

Peterson takes win over Bowie

New Britain 3 at Bowie 2

W: A. Gabino (6-5, 3.11); L: G. Casadiego (5-5, 3.34); SV: B. Julianel (23)
HR: NBR: B. Peterson 2 (13).

A pair of home runs by Brock Peterson helped the New Britain Rock Cats to a 3-2 win over the Bowie Baysox, concluding the road series which Bowie took, 3 games to 1. New Britain returns home to fireworks Friday night at New Britain Stadium.

Jeff Manship worked six innings allowing only 2 runs, 1 earned on 3 hits and a walk while fanning 4 but would get the no decision. Manship would put two outs on the board in the first inning before allowing a single to Luis Montanez. A passed ball by Drew Butera moved Montanez to 2nd, and Nolan Reimold's line drive to left, combined with a Danny Valencia throwing error, plated him.

Valencia would single in the top of the 4th as would Erik Lis, who sent the speedy Valencia to 3rd. Brock Peterson then drove Valencia in with a grounder to third to tie up the game.

Sebastien Boucher would get plunked by a pitch in the bottom of the sixth, then moved to 3rd on a Carlos Rojas single. A wild pitch by Manship allowed Boucher across the plate for the Baysox second run.

Peterson answered back by hitting is 12th home run of the year over the left field fence in the top of the 7th.

Armando Gabino replaced Manship for the bottom of the seventh inning, and Gerardo Casadiego replaced Zach Clark in the top of the 8th. Singles to Rojas and Montanez and a walk to Reimold loaded the bases for Bowie in the bottom of the eight, but after Steve Torrealba popped out, Mike Rodriguez would ground into a force out and Toby Gardenhire would relay the ball to Butera, who took Rojas out at home. Jeff Nettles would fly out to get the Cats out of the inning unscathed.

Peterson would launch his 13th home run over the center field wall in the top of the ninth.

Ben Julianel came in to close the game and gave up singles to Blake Davis and Matt Wieters. But he'd take Rojas and Montanez out on strikes to end the game.

Peterson was 3-for-4 at the plates with a pair of runs and all three Rock Cats RBIs. Valencia and Gardenhire were 1-for-4 each, Valencia with a run, and Lis was 1-for-3 with a walk.

The Rock Cats will now face off against the B-Mets for three, with the first pitch due out at 7:05 PM. Aside from Fireworks, ESPN will be at the park filming a commercial for their upcoming SportCenter AM show. (Rock Cats)

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Pawsox slip past Wings late

Rochester 6 at Pawtucket 7

W: J. Switzer (5-1, 5.37); L: B. Korecky (5-4, 3.36)
HR: ROC: R. Ruiz (17), R. Jorgensen (8). PAW: C. Carter (23).

The Pawtucket Red Sox rallied past the Rochester Red Wings in the ninth inning to win 7-6 at McCoy Stadium Thursday night.

Carmen Cali, making a spot start, was jumped on early by Jeff Bailey who took a double off of him to lead off the bottom of the first. Jeff Natale ground out, but Bailey moved to 3rd on the play and scored on Keith Ginter's single. Chris Carter then went yard over the right field fence for his 23 home run of the season to give the Pawsox two more. A pair of fly outs would Cali out of the first inning.

Randy Ruiz blasted his 17th home run of the season over the right field wall to put Rochester on the board in the top of the 2nd.

Bailey doubled in the bottom of the second and came home on a Natale line drive single to make it 4-1 Pawsox.

In the top of the 4th, Howie Clark hit a ground rule double. Following a fly out by Garrett Jones, Ruiz singled out to center to drive in Clark, cutting the Pawsox lead to two.

Danny Graves would take over for Cali in the bottom of the 4th and would work the next three, allowing the Pawsox only 1 hit.

Ryan Jorgensen's 8th home run for the Wings in the top of the 5th cut the Pawsox lead to one. Jones would doubled in the top of the sixth and come home on Ruiz ground ball to center to tie up the contest. After Macri went down on strikes, Luke Hughes would single, moving Ruiz to 2nd. Trevor Plouffe and sent a ground ball to right field to plate Ruiz, putting the Wings on top.

Keith Ginter took a walk off Mariano Gomez in the bottom of the seventh inning and moved to second on Chris Carter's ground out. George Kottaras singled to center to drive in Ginter and the game was even again.

With Jon Switzer on the mound in the top of the ninth, Ajejandro Machado singled. Clark doubled to move him to 3rd and after a coaching visit to the mound, Garrett Jones singled to plate Machado. Randy Ruiz would get hit by a pitch, but the Wings would leave two runners stranded as Macri popped out and Hughes flew out to bring the Pawsox up to the plate.

Bobby Korecky would be called in to close the game, but issued a walk to Bailey. Natale would bunt into a force out, but Korecky then hit Ginter with a pitch. A throwing error by Macri allowed Carter to reach and Natale to scored to even up the contest again. But the Pawsox were not done. George Kottaras took a single off Korecky to score Ginter, putting the Pawsox on top and ending the game.

Ruiz finished up 3-for-4 with a pair of runs and 3 RBIs. Jones was 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a run and a run scored. Clark was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a run. Machado and Plouffe were both 1-for-4, Machado with a run, Plouffe with an RBI; Jorgenson was 1-for-3 with a walk, a run and a run scored.

Pridie, Macri and Hughes were all 1-for-5, Pridie with a double.

The Wings will look for a split in the series Friday night at 7:05 PM. Francisco Liriano (10-2, 3.82) is scheduled to take the start for Rochester, but word has it that won't happen, that Frankie is going to Minnesota. Stay tuned for further updates...

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TwinsBaseball.com reported that second baseman Alexi Casilla will not immediately undergo surgery to repair the torn ligament in his right thumb, but the option for surgery has not been completely ruled out.

Photos of Randy Ruiz and Garrett Jones by Nancy Zinni.

Defenders, weather, claim games from Rock Cats

Saturday: New Britain 7 at Connecticut 8

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was short lived.

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

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

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

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

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Sunday: New Britain at Connecticut - Canceled

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

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

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Cats split first two games of homestand

Monday: Reading 3 at New Britan 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tuesday: Reading 6 at New Britain 7

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dinkelman Rocks, Manship Rocked

Portland 9 at New Britain 5

W: M. James (3-3, 4.33); L: J. Manship (1-4, 5.06)
HR: POR: M. Hall (6), J. Otness (2). NBR: B. Dinkelman (1).

Poor Manny. I wonder if he's wishing for the greener pastures of Southwest Florida yet. Jeff Manship gave up 6 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks, lasting only 4 innings and striking out only 2 as the New Britain Rock Cats succumbed to the Portland Sea Dogs 9-5.

At least the Rock Cats made an effort to support their starters.

Manship would get Mickey Hall to fly out to open the top of the first, but would then issue walks to Iggy Suarez and Jeff Corsaletti. An Aaron Bates single scored Suarez, before Zach Daeges hit a ground rule double that brought in Corsaletti and moved Bates to 3rd. John Otness doubled in the pair before Jorge Jimenez would pop out. A wild pitch moved Otness to 3rd. He'd be plated by Sandy Madera's single to make it 5-0 Dogs to start.

Brian Dinkelman hit his first home run in a Rock Cats uni over the right field wall in the bottom of the 3rd to put the Cats on the board. The Dogs answered back immediately as Hall knocked his sixth of the season over the center field wall in the top of the 4th.

Former Twin prospect Dave Gassner worked four for the Sea Dogs. The bottom of the 4th saw Erik Lis walk and Brock Peterson double. A Felix Molina ground out scored Lis and Toby Gardenhire sacrificed in Peterson. Rocky Palacios and Dustin Martin hit back to back singles. Dinkelman's line drive then plated Palacios to make it 6-4 Dogs. Gassner would exit after allowing 4 runs, all earned, on 7 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 3.

Ryan Mullins replaced Manship in the top of the 5th and the Eastern League All-Star would allow a single to Daeges before Otness took a ball deep for his second home run of the season.

Michael James relieved Gassner and Winfree took a double off him to start out the bottom of the fifth. Two outs later, Molina doubled to bring in Winfree, making it 8-5.

The Dogs came back in the sixth though with Suarez walking with one out on the board. Corsaletti singled to advance him to 3rd and a wild pitch by Mullins saw him score.

Mullins would finish up allowing 3 earned runs on three hits and a pair of walks while fanning 2. Jason Miller worked the next 1.2 innings, allowing 2 hits and a walk while putting 2 K's up in the K-Korner.

Frank Mata, just off the DL, finished up, striking out two.

Dinkelman was 3-for-5 with a run and 2 RBIs. Winfree would go 2-for-4 at the plate with walk and a run. Martin, Peterson, and Molina were all 2-for-5, Peterson with a run, and Molina with a pair of RBIs. Erik Lis put up a walk, a single and a run through four at bats, while Palacious had a single and a run in five at bats. Gardenhire went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk. Danny Valencia was the one hit wonder, going 1-for-5 with a single in the bottom of the first.

The Rock Cats now break for the All-star game, and will resume on Thursday at MerchantsAuto.com Stadium against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

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Devries de-rails Rays

Fort Myers 6 at Vero Beach 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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New Britain 0 at Harrisburg 9

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Peterson puts 2 over the wall as Cats down Defenders, 5-3

Connecticut 3 at New Britain 5

W: R. Mullins (7-6, 3.90); L: J. Waddell (0-2, 3.67); SV: B. Julianel (16)
HR: CT: E. Martinez-Esteve (4), P. Sandoval (1). NBR: L. Hughes (15), B. Peterson 2 (9).

New Britain's AA All-star game representatives came up big for the Rock Cats, but it was Brock Peterson who lead the home town team to 5-3 Independence Day victory over the Connecticut Defenders at New Britain Stadium.

David Winfree's 17th double of the season lead off the bottom of the 3rd inning for the Cats. Felix Molina pushed Winfree to third with a fly-ball single and Butera's ground ball would plate him for the Rock Cats' run.

The Defenders answered back though when Pablo Sandoval went yard on Jeff Manship, his first home run of the year clearing the right field wall. Eddy Martinez-Esteve followed that up with a single before Manship took Adam Witter out on strikes. Simon Klink then doubled out to right to score Martinez-Esteve putting the Defenders up by one.

It would not stay that way for long as Peterson clocked his 8th yard ball of the season over the left field fence in the bottom of the stanza, tying up the score.

With one out on the board in the bottom of the sixth, Brian Dinkelman took a walk. Peterson smacked his 24th double of 2008 out to left and Dustin Martin followed that up with 18th double for the Rock Cats, driving in Peterson to put the Cats on top.

The Defenders did not like that however, so Martinez-Esteve bashed a ball over the left field fence off Ryan Mullins in the top of the 8th to tie the contest up again.

Luke Hughes responded in the bottom of the inning with his 15th home run of the year to give New Britain the lead again. Following a line out to Dinkelman, Peterson sent number 9 over the center field wall for the insurance run.

Manship finish up allowing 2 earned run on 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 in seven innings. Mullins picked up the win, allowing 1 run on 1 hit while fanning 2 in one inning. Ben Julienel picked up his 16 save of the season to finish off the game.

Peterson finished up 3-for-4 with 3 runs including the pair of homers, and 2 RBIs. Martin (1-for-4) and Winfree (1-for-3) both had doubles, Winfree picked up a run as well while Martin had a run scored. Drew Butera was 1-for-3 with a run score, while Matt Moses and Felix Molina shared the one hit wonder of the game title.

The two teams play the second of the four game series Saturday at 7:05 PM.

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Courant

The Rock Cats made three roster moves, place two players on the disabled list and recalling pitcher Jay Rainville from Fort Myers of the Florida State League.

Infielder Steve Tolleson has been placed on the Cat's disabled list, retroactive to June 30. The 24-year-old University of South Carolina product broke a bone in his right index finger last month and has been unable to play at full capacity since. The Knoxville, TN, resident has been among the league leaders in batting this year and, with a .335 BA, is currently tied with teammate Luke Hughes for third best in the circuit. His strong play earned Tolleson a spot on the 2008 Eastern League All-Star team, but the injury will prevent him from participating.

Pitcher Frank Mata joins Tolleson on the Rock Cats' disabled list with a pulled right hamstring. The 24-year-old Mata, a native of Barcelona, VZ, appeared in 6 games out of the New Britain bullpen this season, compiling a 1-0 record and 6.75 ERA;

Pitcher Jay Rainville, a 22-year-old native of Providence, RI, will rejoin the New Britain roster today from the Ft. Myers Miracle of Florida State League. The Naples, Fl, resident began the season with the Rock Cats, compiling a 5-6 W-L record and 7.00 ERA before his June 16th assignment to Ft. Myers. In three Florida State League appearances, the big righty was 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA. He is expected to start Saturday for the Rock Cats against the Connecticut Defenders. (Press Release)

Buffalo 1 at Rochester 8

W: B. Duensing (5-8, 4.02); L: J. Halama (4-2, 5.66); SV: C. Cali (2)
HR: ROC: G. Jones (8), T. Plouffe (3).

The Rochester Red Wings swung a hot bat Friday Night, thrilling the Independence Day crowd at Frontier Field with a 8-1 win over the Buffalo Bisons.

Brian Duensing picked up his fifth win of the season, allowing only 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 over six innings.

Garrett Jones homered to lead off the bottom of the second inning for the Wings. Following a fly out to Randy Ruiz, Howie Clark singled. Matt Macri doubled to put runners on second and third before Bisons' starter John Halama unleashed a wild pitch. Clark would scamper home, but Macri would be taken out at 3rd on the play. Sergio Santos ground out ended the inning, with the Wings up by two.

With one out on the board in the 4th, Jones, Ruiz, Clark and Macri all singled, plating two. Santos sacrificed in Clark to make it 5-0 Wings. Ryan Jorgensen would single, but Tommy Watkins lined out to end the inning.

Trevor Plouffe added to the total with his 3rd AAA home run, going over the left field wall.

In the 7th, Tommy Watkins reached on a throwing error and Plouffe doubled a line drive out to right. Darnell McDonald would ground out and former Twin Juan Rincon would walk Garrett Jones. Rincon then got Ruiz out on strikes, but Clark singled to plate Watkins and Plouffe, making it 8-0 Twins. Randy Newsom would replace Rincon, who would be charged with two runs, neither earned, on 3 hits and 2 walks over 1.2 innings.

Todd Linden would draw a walk off Carmen Cali in the top of the 9th. Morgen Ensberg then doubled. Jason Cooper's ground out scored Linden, but Brad Snyder's soft ground out kept Ensberg pinned at 3rd, and Yamid Haad ground out to end the game.

Clark was 4-for-4 for the Wings with 2 runs and 3 RBIs, Jones was 2-for-3 with a walk, 2 runs and a run scored. Plouffe was 3-for-5 with a pair of runs and a run scored. Macri finished up 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, a double and a RBI. Jorgenson was the one hit wonder of the game.

The final game of the set is Saturday at 7:05 PM with lefty Francisco Liriano (5-2, 4.07 ERA) taking on Bisons right hander Jeff Harris (3-5, 5.09).

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With his single in the fourth inning, Randy Ruiz extended his hitting streak to 13 games and is hitting .392 over that stretch. He has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games.

Garrett Jones' home run in the 2nd inning was his eighth of the season and the 66th of his Red Wing career, tying him with Luke Easter and John Valle for 10th all-time on the Red Wing home run list.

Friday's crowd of 11,416 was the largest Fourth of July crowd since 1980, when the Wings daily records began.

Former Twins prospect Terry Tiffee was named to the Pacific Coast League All-star sqad, representing the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. Tiffee leads the PCL in hitting (.383) and was promoted to the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this season.

Rock Cats win two, Red Wings Rocked

New Britain 1 at New Hampshire 0

W: K. Aselton (4-2, 4.47); L: R. Ray (3-1, 0.92); SV: B. Julianel (15)
HR: None.

Surprise! Surprise! The New Britain Rock Cats took both sides of a double header from the New Hampshire Fishing Cats, ending the Fisher's win streak.

In game one, lefty Kyle Aselton fired off six innings, scattering five hits and fanning 3. Ben Julianel picked up the save in the last inning and also preserved Aselton's shut out.

The only Rock Cats run came in the top of the 4th when Brock Peterson took a walk, then moved to 2nd on David Winfree's ground out. Felix Molina's line drive to right plated him.

Luke Hughes would go 2-for-3 in the contest, but did not factor into the scoring. Molina was also 2-for-3, with 1 RBI.

Rob Ray took the loss, allowing 1 run on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6 over 6.1 innings.

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New Britain 3 at New Hampshire 2

W: J. Manship (1-2, 4.50); L: D. Harang (2-3, 4.76); SV: B. Julianel (15)
HR: NBR: E. Lis (9).

In game two, the Cats jumped on the board early when Dustin Martin smacked double out to center off Julio Pinto. Brian Dinkelman's ground out moved him to 3rd, before Erik Lis took a walk. Danny Valencia ground into a force out which plated Martin. Valencia would then be caught stealing 2nd.

The Fishers responded in the bottom of the 2nd with Kyle Phillips doubling. Eric Nielson and Anthony Hatch would go down on strikes before Ryan Klosterman's grounder drove in Phillips. Klosterman would move to 2nd on Erik Lis's throw. Scott Campbell then singled out to left to plate Klosterman, before Jeff Manship would get Andrew Pinckney out on strikes.

Those would be the only 2 runs Manship would give up, on 4 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 8 over six innings.

Pinto would work five innings, giving way to Daryl Harang in the sixth. Rocky Palacios would single his way on to base and then be replaced by pinch runner Steve Tolleson. Two outs later, Erik Lis would blast a ball over the right field wall for his 9th home run of the season.

Martin had the only multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 at the plate. Lis, Palacios and Toby Gardenhire were both 1-for-2, Lis with a walk, a run and 2 RBIs. Felix Molina was 1-for-3.

Having had enough of Fishing for a while, the Rock Cats head over to First Energy Stadium to try their paw against the Reading Phillies. Monday's game is set for 7:05 PM.

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Pawtucket 10 at Rochester 0

W: D. Hansack (4-8, 4.39); L: B. Duensing (4-8, 4.25)
HR: PAW: J. Van Every 3 (21), J. Lowrie 2 (5), G. Velazquez (3).

There is no mercy kill rule in baseball, so Mother Nature felt sorry for the Rochester Red Wings and instituted her own, chasing the teams off the field in the 8th inning.

The chances of a Red Wings comeback was probably pretty slim in any case.

Brian Duensing allowed 4 runs, earned, on 3 hits and a pair of walks over 5 innings. Casey Diagle and Julio DePaula fared even worse, as the Pawtucket bats knocked out ten runs on 8 hits over the Wings.

Meanwhile, offensively only Darnell McDonald and Randy Ruiz had the only hits for the Wings, with McDonald getting a double.

The Red Wings now welcome the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs to Frontier Field, for a 7:05 PM game on Monday. It will be a battle of the lefties as Francisco Liriano (4-2, 4.44) is the probable starter for the Wings against Lehigh's Travis Blackley (3-4, 4.66).

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The Twins called up Denard Span and placed OF Michael Cuddyer (finger) on the DL Sunday afternoon. Span started Sunday in right field for the Wings, but came out of the game in the top of the third inning and was congratulated by his teammates in the dugout. He had a 5:12 PM flight from Rochester to Minneapolis.

Beloit OF Ben Revere brought a 22-game hitting streak into Sunday afternoon's contest against Cedar Rapids; Revere was not in the starting lineup Sunday.

A tale of two shut outs

New Hampshire 6 at New Britain 1

W: R. Ray (3-0, 0.78); L: J. Manship (0-2, 5.40)
HR: None.

Once again, the New Britain Rock Cats proved to the New Britain declawed cats, as they managed only 5 hits against New Hampshire's Rob Ray.

Sure Rob Ray's a good pitcher, but the recently promoted FSL hurler looked unstoppable as he worked 9 innings of shut out baseball, allowing only 5 hits and fanning 10.

Scott Campbell doubled off former Miracle Jeff Manship to start off the proceedings. Aaron Mathews singled to move him to 3rd before Travis Snider was called out on strikes. J.P. Arencibia singled to score Campbell, putting the Fisher Cats on the board.

Manship catches on quick however and set on to to work 6 innings, allowing only 2 more hits the entire time and going on to fan 4 more, for a total of 5.

Jason Miller would take over in the 7th, but it was in the 8th that New Hampshire rocked him. Ryan Klosterman doubled. J-Mill then hit Campbell with a pitch. A throwing error on the pick off attempt moved the pair of runners to 2nd and 3rd. Mathews line drive out to left plated the pair. Snider drew a walk, and Arencibia singled out to center to score Mathews before Brian Jeroloman was taken out on strikes. Eric Nelsen then flew out before former Miracle Kyle Phillips doubled to drive in 2 more.

Felix Molina was 2-for-3 while Steve Tolleson, Brock Peterson and Danny Valencia were all one hit wonders, Tolleson with three (3!) strike outs on the side.

The Rickity Cats will try to find some offense against New Hampshire on Wednesday night at 6:35 PM as the series continues at New Britain Stadium. Left Ryan Mullins (6-5, 3.47) will throw out the first pitch. New Hampshire counters with southpaw Brett Cecil (2-1, 3.59)

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Rochester 0 at Louisville 8

W: M. Maloney (7-4, 4.55); L: B. Duensing (4-7, 4.10)
HR: LOU: A. Rosales 2 (4).

The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory is located in Louisville Kentucky, and so the Rochester Red Wings evidently felt they did not need to bring bats with them, they could just buy new ones at the gift shop.

Unfortunately, the Wings have yet to take a tour. Rochester was shut out by the Louisville Bats' Matt Maloney and two relievers, managing - much like their Double A affiliate - only 5 hits in the contest. Meanwhile the Bats wasted little time breaking out their sluggers against Rochester starter Brian Duensing.

Jerry Hairston doubled to get things started off for the home town team and Andy Green followed him onto base with a single that served to plate Hairston. Following a ground out to Drew Anderson and a fly out to Aaron Herr, Ryan Hanigan walked putting two runners on. Adam Rosales then slugged his 3rd home run over the left field wall to give the Bats a 4 run lead.

In the bottom of the 6th Anderson singled with one out on the board. A wild pitch moved him to 2nd, just in time for Aaron Herr to double him in. Following a ground out to Harigan, Rolases put his second home run ball of the night over the left field fence, making it 7-0 Bats.

With Julio DePaula on the mound in the bottom of the 8th, Chris Dickerson would double with two outs on the board. Jerry Gil drew a walk before Luis Boilvar's line drive scored Dickerson.

Randy Ruiz was 1-for-4 at the plate with a double, while Darnell McDonald, Garrett Jones, Trevor Plouffe and Ryan Jorgensen all shared the one hit wonder title.

The two teams play at 12:05 game Wednesday and one can only hope that the Wings send someone out to buy them some bats early Wednesday morning. Lefty Adam Pettyjon (7-1, 4.48) will throw out the first pitch, while southpaw Francisco Liriano (3-2, 4.14) will counter for the Wings.

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The Red Wings starting pitchers have struggled the last five games; in 24.2 innings of work, the starters have allowed 24 runs (22 earned) on 36 hits, while walking four and striking out 18.

The Wings were blanked for the seventh time this season.

Rookie LHP Mariano Gomez has been a bright spot out of the Rochester bullpen, with a 2-1 record with one save and a 1.99 ERA in 31 games. Gomez has not allowed a run in 22 of his 31 appearances, and has allowed just two of his 12 inherited runners to score.

Former Twins and Wings right-hander Juan Rincon signed a Minor League deal with the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday, and will report to Buffalo later this week.

From a bit of mail in the Extra Bases blog: "They started out a couple guys (Aaron Hicks, et al) at Ft Myers (in the GCL) who could/should be in Elizabethtown or maybe even Beloit." I love people who have naver seen these kids play sit there and make these assessments. Hicks is currently hitting 3 for 10 with a walk and one run in three games. This qualifies him for Elizabethton? Beloit? The world is full of GMs who have never seen a single game. Oh - I know - maybe they could call him up to Rochester so he could help the Wings! There you go. And take Ladendorf and his .231 average with along as well.

Dogs pound Manship, Cats, 10-4

New Britain 4 at Portland 10

W: M. Bowden (6-3, 2.20); L: J. Manship (0-1, 11.25)
HR: NBR: E. Lis (7). POR: M. Wagner 2 (6).

Jeff Manship got a rude reception in his first AA game Thursday night. The Miracle ace gave up 5 runs on 8 hits and 1 walks while striking out 6 over just 4 innings, as the Portland Sea Dogs demolished the New Britain Rock Cats 10-4.

Sea Dog Tony Granadillo singled with one out on the board in the bottom of the first. Jeff Corsaletti reached on a failed force attempt, with a throwing error by Brock Peterson moving the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Mark Wagner then took Manship yard over the left field fence to give the Sea Dogs an early 3 run lead.

The Cats answered back in the top of the 2nd, with Erik Lis putting his 7th home run over the right field wall. Brock Peterson would get on base on a fielding error by John Otness. Matt Moses would ground into a force out however, and would move to 3rd on a throwing error by Michael Bowden on the pick off attempt. David Winfree would hit a fly ball single to right to score Moses.

Manship would get Mickey Hall out on strikes before giving up a walk to Ryan Khoury. Iggy Suarez then singled, moving Khoury to 3rd. Bubba Bell tripled the runners in before Granadillo would go down on strikes and Corsaletti would ground out.

The Cats would get a single out of Brian Dinkelman in the top of the 3rd, but left him stranded. In the bottom of the stanza, Mark Wagner put a single shot home run, his sixth of the season, over the left center field wall. Andy Pinckney would fly out before Otness singled. Hall would go down on strikes again, but Khoury doubled a line drive out to left to plate Otness.

By the bottom of the fourth, Manship had figured out if you don't get them out on strikes, you're not going to get them out, and so struck out 2 of the three batters he faced.

Moses would get as far as 3rd in the top of the 4th, and Danny Valencia would find himself there in the top of the fifth, but the Cats couldn't convert.

Jason Miller took over for Manship in the 5th. With two outs on the board, Otness doubled. Hall would single to drive him in, then stoled 2nd base. Khoury would draw a walk, and the pair would orchestrate a double steal. Iggy Suarez then singled out to left to bring in the pair. Suarze would try to stretch it for 2, but was taken down at second, ending the inning.

The Cats finally found some offense in the top of the 8th, with Winfree singling his way onto base. Felix Molina followed him onto the bags with a grounder. A fielding error by Corsaletti proved costly as it allowed Drew Butera to reach, and Winfree and Molina to score. Dinkelman would get plunked with a pitch, but Dustin Martin's force out retired the side before they could take a sizable chunk out of Portland's lead.

Hall would single off Miller in the bottom of the stanza and Khoury drew a walk. Suarez would go down on strikes before Bubba Bell's single scored Hall for the Dogs' 10th run of the night.

New Britain takes on Connecticut on Friday with Ryan Mullins (6-4, 3.23) getting the start against Nate Bump (0-3, 5.70).

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Rochester 9 at Indianapolis 3

W: B. Duensing (4-6, 3.69); L: J. Chavez (1-2, 3.89)
HR: ROC: D. McDonald (10).

The Rochester Red Wings used a pair of big innings late in the game to overcome the Indianapolis Indians 9-3.

Sergio Santos, Trevor Plouffe and Alejandro Machado all singled to load the bases with one out in the top of the 7th. Ryan Jorgensen then doubled to clear the bags, then moved to 3rd on the throw. He'd be plated by Denard Span.

Randy Ruiz would single in the top of the 8th, and move to 3rd on Santos double. Plouffe walked to fill up the bags again, and Machado tripled to clear them off giving the Wings 7 runs in two innings.

Brian Duensing worked 7 innings, giving up just 2 runs on six hits and 3 walks while striking out 5. Tim Lahey finish off the last two allowing 1 run on three hits.

Santos was 4-for-5 at the plate with a pair of runs, Machado was 2-for-3 with a run and 3 RBIs, Plouffe and Span were both 2-for-4, Plouffe with 3 runs and a walk and Span with a walk and a run scored. Darnell McDonald was 2-for-5 with a run, and a RBI.

Nancy has an excellent first hand write up at Sandlot Swashbucklers (with pictures), so pounce on over there and have a look.

The two teams rematch on Friday at 7:15 PM with Frankie Liriano (3-2, 3.78) on the mound against Pittsburgh prospect Bryan Bullington (3-6, 5.70).

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Infielder Chris Basak was traded to the New York Yankees organization for cash considerations after the game on Tuesday. Basak was batting .260 with six home runs and 17 RBI in 56 games for Rochester.

A season ago, Rochester and Indianapolis split the season series 4-4. The Red Wings were 3-1 at Frontier Field and 1-3 at Victory Field.

Extra Bases Blog

Miracle blanked by Brevard

Fort Myers 0 at Brevard County 5

W: J. Butler (2-7, 5.31); L: J. Manship (7-3, 2.86)
HR: None.

Evidently the Brevard County Manatees had no intention of letting the Fort Myers Miracle clinch a division title in their stadium. Or perhaps Jeff Smith forgot to mention they needed to put some offense together to win games.

Jeff Manship allowed 3 runs - earned - on six hits while striking out 3 over six innings of work; a quality start, but still not one of his better performances. (Sorry Manny, but we raise the standard for you.)

The Miracle had the bases loaded in the first, but Eli Tintor struck out to end the inning.

Brevard opened up the scoring in the bottom of the 4th when Jimmy Mojica singled then stole 2nd. Taylor Green's ground out moved him to 3rd, and he'd be plated by a Charlie Fermaint line drive to center.

In the bottom of the sixth, singles to Mojica, Cain and Green loaded the bases. Mojica scored on Fermaint's ground out, and a Stephen Chapman sac fly brought in Cain.

Danny Santiesteban would get on base with singles in the top of the second and the top of the 7th, but would get picked off at first on both occasions.

Matt Fox replaced Manship in the bottom of the 7th. After getting Kenny Holmberg out on strikes, Anderson De La Rosa and Yohannis Perez hit back to back singles. Mojica sacrificed in De La Rosa and Cain tripled to drive in Perez.

The bottom of the 8th would see Blair Erickson replace Fox on the mound. He'd allow a double to Chapman, but was able to leave the runner stranded.

The Miracle found a pair of singles in the top of the 9th, but it was all they could muster with the bottom of the order going down meekly.

Fort Myers heads home to host the Vero Beach Devil Rays for a four-game series starting on Monday. Deolis Guerra (6-2, 4.89) will get the start on the mound for the Miracle. Much as I like Señor Guerra as an individual, I am still not overwhelmed by his pitching abilities. Perhaps he will offer the Miracle fans a pleasant surprise after last Wednesday's performance.

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The Palm Beach Cardinals secured their playoff berth on Saturday despite dropping a 7-5 decision to the Tampa Yankees. The blanking of the Brevard County Manatees on Saturday by the Fort Myers Miracle put the Manatees 8 games behind Palm Beach with 8 left to play. The first half of the FSL season ends June 18, 2008. (MiLB)

(They should really send a thank you note to Mr. Devries for pitching such a fine game on Saturday, don't you think?)

Summer reading

"Books & Bats" for children 12 and under will be sponsored by the Miracle Baseball team and Dunkin' Donuts. Get a bookmark from any Lee or Collier County public library, the Lee County Sports Complex or any Dunkin' Donuts and read four books over the summer. Fill out your bookmark and return to a Dunkin' Donuts to receive two tickets to a Miracle game on June 26, July 23 or August. 13. Information: (239) 768-4219

I thought you liked to let them have fun?

The Twins prefer to wait until the FSL All-Star Game to promote a few Miracle players, but they will be forced to do it earlier this year.

"We'll move them now if we can clinch the first half," said Jim Rantz, Twins director of minor leagues. "We have a couple guys who have earned promotions. You have to challenge them. Plus, I have some injuries [at New Britain] that I'm dealing with." (Strib)


Beloit 3 at Kane County 4

W: S. Mitchinson (5-2, 1.60); L: D. Bromberg (4-4, 4.65); SV: C. Kerfoot (2)
HR: None.

The Kane County Cougars took four runs off David Bromberg in the fifth inning and hung on to defeat the Beloit Snappers, 4-2 at Elfstrom Stadium.

The Snappers got on the board first. Chris Parmelee would be plunked with a pitch. He'd then steal 2nd base. A sac-bunt by Jair Fernandez got him to 3rd. Following a walk to Steve Singleton, Joe Benson hit into a ground out that scored Parmelee.

Bromberg worked 7 innings, allowing 5 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 5. Larry Cobb started out the bottom of the 5th by hitting a fly ball single off Bromberg. Corey Brown would ground into a force out, which took Cobb out. Dusty Napoleon singled to move Brown to 2nd and Daniel Hamblin took a free pass off Bromberg to load the bags. Justin Frash then walked to force in a run. Shane Keough's line drive to right brought in Napoleon and Hamblin. Adam Klein would sacrifice in Frash for the fourth run before Bromberg got Matt Ray out on strikes.

Cougar starter Scott Mitchinson must have been on a foul mood, as he would hit Ben Revere with a pitch to start off the top of the sixth. Revere paid him back by stealing 2nd, and advanced to 3rd on a throwing error by Napoleon. Chris Cates would single to drive in Revere cutting the Cougars lead in half.

Mark Dolenc would single a line drive to center and Revere doubled to plate him in the top of the 8th. That would do it for Mitchinson as the Aussie hurler was taken from the mound in favor of Justin Friend. Despite a sac-bunt and walk, the Snappers would leave Revere stranded at 3rd and the tying run unscored.

Matt Williams pitched a perfect 8th inning for Beloit, striking out 2.

Cates was 2-for-3 in the contest. Steve Singleton picked up a double in the top of the 5th but could do nothing with it.

The Snappers return to Pohlman Field to host a four-game series starting on Monday against the Cedar Rapid Kernels. Mike Tarsi (3-7, 5.62) will throw out the first pitch for Beloit at 7:00 PM central time.

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The Twins re-drafted Johnny Bromberg in the 49th round on Friday, he is the brother of David Bromberg and was previously drafted in the 32nd Round in 2007. He turned down an offer last year to pitched for Pierce College in Los Angeles.

Manship masterful against Jays

Dunedin 0 at Fort Myers 5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Manship, Slama shut out Reds

Sarasota 0 at Fort Myers 2

W: J. Manship (6-2, 3.11); L: A. Smit (4-4, 3.51); SV: A. Slama (9)
HR: None.

For the second straight game, the Miracle shut out the Sarasota Reds, this time 2-0. The 3-game home-and-home series concludes tonight in Sarasota at 7:00.

Jeff Manship allowed only 3 hits and 3 walks over 7 innings. Uncharacteristically, he only struck out 2, and seemed to throw more balls then unusual, but got through the game unscathed. It probably wasn't the best outing I've seen from him, but it was far from being the worst on as well.

In the bottom of the second, Juan Portes and Eli Tintor hit back-to-back singles. Allan de San Miguel walked to load the bases. A Yancarlos Ortiz sac-fly to center brought in Portes to put one run on the board.

Former Miracle Alex Smit pitched well for the Reds. That would be the only run he'd give up, on 7 hits and 2 walks while fanning 4 over six innings. It was as good of a classic pitcher's duel as we've seen in the stadium in a while.

Philippe-Alexandre Valiquette replace Smit on the Reds mound in the bottom of the 7th. Ortiz would single his way onto base, and move over to 2nd on a sac-bunt by Brian Dinkelman. A balk saw Ortiz advance to 3rd before Ovalle hit a ground ball single to center to bring in the Miracle short stop for the second Fort Myers run.

Anthony Slama came in to pitch the last two innings, allowing a line drive single to Juan Francisco in the top of the 9th, but otherwise mowing through the competition to pick up his 9th save of the season.

Portes finished up the game 3-for-4 with a run. Tintor was 2-for-4, both legitimate hits, not flukes like last night's hit was. He also struck out twice as did Ovalle up near the top of the order.

Danny Valencia hit a beautiful fly down the first base line that Chris Heisey could not quite get a glove on in the bottom of the 5th for a triple, but with 2 outs already on the board, Smit was able to get Whit Robbins out on strikes to end the inning.

Deolis Guerra (5-1, 4.56) will get the start tonight on Dollar Days at Ed Smith Stadium. Sarasota counters with a 70-million dollar proposal to lure the Red Sox away from Lee County. Or perhaps Rafael Gonzalez (2-3, 8.65), who is actually more in their price range.

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The oft injured Danny Berg is experiencing some issues with his hamstring and is day-to-day.

Scott Baker will pitch for the Miracle Friday in Tampa at the newly renamed Case de Steinbrener. With the GCL Twins on the road this weekend, one could stop by Bradenton to pick up the noon game there, then progress on to Tampa to see Scotty pitch against the T-Yanks. Then spend the night at Sarasota and stop off at Twins Lakes for the Noon game there on the way back for a nice baseball road trip.

One could, but as my car has never quite recovered from the last Bradenton trip, this one is not.

Where is Jose Mijares? Section 108, Row 12, Seat 4 or there abouts the last time I checked. The lefty reliever is rehabbing back at the Lee County Sportsplex, and has been attending Miracle games quite a bit.

Tampa at Fort Myers, Game of May 17th

I had decided that I was retaking photos of Jeff Manship because I did like the ones I had to date for 2008 and did not like the layouts I'd done. However, this was the last game Tampa was in town and I'd gone over to the Tampa dugout to get Autographs from Eric Hacker and Seth Fortenberry. Hacker, of course, was the last one out. I don't get that. Our pitchers come out right away, it's usually the relievers that take their sweet old time about getting out there.

In any case, once I'd accomplished my mission, I started cutting through the sections to get to Iris' seats and ran into Ed who invited me to stop and chat, which I did. So by the time I got to Iris, the light was starting to go. You'll notice that in the second half of this album.

I figured Manny would notice me over by the Yankees dugout and give me grief about it - he gives me grief about everything - but no. Since he was pitching, he wasn't paying attention to what was going on around him.

When he didn't say anything, I went over to him, at this last homestand and said "You know, I'm really miffed because you didn't give me a hard time about being down by the Yankees dugout collecting autographs."

"When was this?"

"The last game they where here for, the one you pitched."

"I didn't notice."

"I guess not, but I figured if anyone would, it would be you. I did get lots of nasty looks last year when I was collecting Tigers autographs."

I wasn't really getting a response, so I went on with "I wanted to get Hacker's autograph before he got promoted."

"He's doing really well this year," Manny says. "He has nothing special, but he really knows how to pitch."

"He's enjoyable to watch," I agree.

"That guy I pitched against, Garcia, he's really good too." Tampa has a good pitching staff. As of last Saturday, May 24, they lead the Florida State League in team pitching with a 2.73 ERA. Fort Myers, you usually ranks up there was fifth, with a 3.52 ERA.

"I like to think our autographs have more meaning for you," he says, "because of the sentimental value."

"You know I love all you guys," I tell him.

He was really good, I did four different layouts and he signed them all for me in one fell swoop.

Anyway, click on the image above to go the album.

Cards take game one from Miracle

Palm Beach 4 at Fort Myers 3

W: E. Hernandez (2-0, 6.00); L: J. Manship (5-2, 3.38); SV: F. Samuel (5)
HR: FTM: D. Santiesteban (3).

Prior to the game, Johnny Woodard was placed on the disabled list with a broken hamate bone. He will be out 5 weeks to 2 months, depending upon who you talk to. The standing joke is that he and Danny Valencia where arm wrestling for a ham sandwich when it occurred. Evidently he broke it during batting practice.

The Palm Beach Cardinals defeated the Miracle 4-3 Thursday night, as the rally fell short. Despite what the box score says, Jeff Manship did not pitch nine innings, only 7. Danny Vais pitched the last two.

He did pitch very, very well however through five before getting into some trouble during the sixth.

Andrew Brown doubled off him in the second inning. He's move to 3rd on a Tony Cruz ground out. Daryl Jones then pretended he was hit by a pitch. At least, it was argued as catcher Allan de San Miguel, who was much closer to the incident than I was, claimed the ball never touched the guy. However, the umpires ruling stood. Luke Gorsett then ground out which scored Brown.

In the bottom of the 4th, Juan Portes walked his way onto base. Whit Robbins hit a good solid double out to left and field manager Jeff Smith waved Portes past 3rd. Unfortunately, the ball got to the plate first, and Portes was taken out at home.

So the Miracle would not get on the board until the bottom of the 5th when Danny Santiesteban went yard over the center field fence.

This is where it gets weird. In the top of the 6th James Rapoport and Donovan Solano hit back-to-back singles. It then looked like Brian Carlie hit into a double play, but the umpire would rule him safe. Meanwhile Rapoport scored. Andrew Brown's single brought in Solano. Following Tony Cruz's pop out, Jones got hit by a pitch (again?) Luke Gorsett would line out and Daniel Descatso singled to score Carlie. Brown would try to go home, but this time the Miracle made the play at the plate, taking the runner out.

Brian Dinkelman drew a walk in the bottom of the 6th. Following a fly out to Yangervis Solarte, Portes hit a line drive to move Dinkelman to 2nd. A pitching change was in order for the Cards, and Whit Robbins greeted Justin Fiske with a fly ball single that scored Dinkelman. Edward Ovalle would reach on a fielding error by Carlie, and Portes would score, to make make it 4-3 Palm Beach.

Manship would get three quick outs in the 7th before giving way to Vais, however aside from a single to Ovalle in the bottom of the 9th, the Miracle could get no offense going to change the final score.

Robbins and Ovalle were both 2-for-4 in the contest. Wilson Ramos was 0-for-4 in the designated hitter role with 3 strike outs.

Deolis Guerra (4-1, 4.67) tosses out the first pitch tomorrow at 7:05 in game two of the four game series. Brandon Dickson (2-4, 3.64) will get the nod on the mound for Palm Beach.

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Note: Roger, please e-mail me. I'd send you the injury updates, but I have no way of reaching you short of posting on Twinkie Town.

There are no immediate plans to replace Woodard on the Miracle roster, it will stand at 24.

Terry Ryan arrived into town, just in time for my annual Me-Mauer-ial Day game with him on Monday. The GCL Twins will take on the GCL Pirates at 10:00 AM on Monday, May 26th.



Beloit 5 at Clinton 1

W: S. Arias (2-1, 2.83); L: K. Gomez (7-1, 2.52)
HR: None.

Santos Arias limited the Beloit Snappers to 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks while fanning 7 over 7 innings. Loek Van Mil worked the final two innings, allowing only 2 hits while striking out 4.

Danny Lehmann tripled in the top of the 3rd then came home on a Chris Cates ground out. In the top of the 4th, Chris Parmelee tripled to score Garrett Olson, who'd reached on a fielding error. Ramon Santana would be hit by a pitch. Steve Singleton's line dive plated Parmelee, while Santana scored on a sac-bunt and a ground out.

Santana would single in the top of the 6th, move to 3rd on a Singleton sac-bunt, and come home when Mark Dolenc ground into a double play.

Ben Revere would go 2-for-5 at the plate, but did not factor into the scoring.

The teams split the series 2-games each; Beloit starts a 4 game homestand against Burlington on Friday with the first pitch coming at 6:30 PM central time.

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Rochester 3 at Pawtucket 11

W: M. Tejera (3-3, 4.15); L: P. Humber (1-5, 5.89)
HR: PAW: J. Bailey 2 (12), C. Carter (5).

Phil Humber lasted just 3.2 innings as he allowed 7 runs, six earned, on 5 hits and 4 walks while striking out 2. A change of pitching did little to stem the bleeding through, as the Rochester Red Wings were thoroughly whipped by the Pawtucket Pawsox.

The Wings would go scoreless until the top of the 7th, when Randy Ruiz singled, then moved to 3rd on a fielding error by Chris Carter that also allowed Garrett Jones to reach. He'd be plated by a Jose Morales ground out, to save the visitors from being blanked.

In the top of the 8th, Tommy Watkins walked, and Darrell McDonald reached on a Brandon Moss fielding error. Brian Buscher then doubled the pair in.

Ruiz was 2-for-4 in the contest, the only wing with a multi-hit game.

Matt Macri was called up to the Twins to replace Adam Everett who was placed on the disabled list. Darnell McDonald was activated from the disabled list to replace him on the Rochester roster (D&C). Infielder Felix Molina was also promoted from AA to Rochester.

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