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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Hicks hits puts Twins on top

GCL Twins 3 at GCL Pirates 2

W: J. Testa (2-0, 1.54); L: F. Ortiz (1-1, 2.33); SV: K. Mota (9)
HR: TWI: A. Hicks (3).

A two-run home run by Aaron Hicks, his third of his professional career, helped propel the Twins to a 3-2 win over the GCL Pirates Sunday at Pirate City.

Herbert Lara doubled his way onto base before Hicks towering fly ball went over the right field fence to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.

Jean Mirajes took the start for the Twins, allowing only 2 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 3 over 4 innings. He'd give way to Michael Tonkin in the fifth.

The newcomer would get Alex Vargas to fly out before allowing a walk to Kyle Saukko. Adenson Chourio took a single off of him, but Saukko would be caught trying to steal second and Edwin Roman would strike out.

Tyler Cox worked four for the Pirates, allowing a pair of hits and a pair of walks while fanning 4. Ivan Herrera-Rusova would be on the mound when Hicks went yard. Francisco Ortiz replaced Herrera-Rusova in the top of the sixth and got Danny Ortiz, Tyler Ladendorf and Michael Gonzales to ground out, bringing the Pirates up to bat.

Joe Testa would be selected to head out to the mound, and he'd allow a line drive single to Jose Tabata. After getting Ronny Paulino to line out and Jarek Cunningham out on strikes, Edward Garcia would triple to drive in Tabata. A throwing error by Henry Sanchez at first would allowed Garcia over the plate as well, tying up the score.

Henry would not redeem himself in the seventh, going down on strikes. Pinto doubled and moved to 3rd on Juan Sanchez's ground out, but Lara went down on strikes, stranding the runner. Testa worked a quick bottom of the inning, going three up, and three down.

Aaron Hicks would triple in the top of the 8th. Anderson Hidalgo's line drive to left plated him for the game winning run. Ortiz would line into a double play and Ladendorf would ground out, stranding Hidalgo. The bottom half of the inning would be equally as quick as Testa put the next three batters to rest.

Gary Amato replaced Frank Ortiz for the top of the 9th, and got Gonzales and Henry Sanchez to strike out and Pinto to fly out to bring the Pirates up to bat. The Twins turned to closer Kelvin Mota. Jarek Cunningham would single, but Garcia ground into a force out. He'd then steal 2nd and advance to 3rd on a throwing error by Pinto. Andury Acevedo drew a walk, but Mota picked him off at 1st. Alex Vargas then flew out to end the contest.

Hicks went 2-for-2 at the plate with a pair of walks, a pair of runs and a pair of runs scored. Lara would finish up 2-for-3 with a double and a run. Hidalgo, Ortiz and Pinto were each 1-for-4, Hidalgo with a run, Pinto with a double.

With the win, the GCL Twins regain the South Division lead, 1 game in front of the GCL Pirates. Their 23-14 record (.622) is currently the best in the Gulf Coast League.

The Twins are on the road Monday against the Orioles and return home on Tuesday to face the Reds. Both games are at noon.

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Sandlot Swashbucklers

Tabata Was acquired by the Pirates in a trade with the Yankees. He entered the 2007 season ranked as the Yankee's second-best prospect by Baseball America and was named to the 2007 FSL Post-Season All-Star. He was a Future's Game Selection in 2006 and was named to the Sally All-stars in 2006 and the GCL Post-Season All-star team in 2005. Tabata has been a head case for a while and has been taken out of games in the Eastern League twice this season for disciplinary reasons. He was suspended for 3 games in May after fleeing the ballpark without permission after striking out in the seventh inning.

The Yankees received Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte and sent Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Dan McCutchen and Jeff Karstens to the Pirates in exchange.

GCL Twins BBQ GCL Pirates, 17-3

GCL Twins 17 at GCL Pirates 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nice fireworks kids! Keep it up!

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

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

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



DSL Cubs1 1 at DSL Twins 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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