Guerra soggy in Miracle loss

Dunedin 7 at Fort Myers 2

W: G. Chacin (1-6, 7.78); L: D. Guerra (6-2, 4.89); SV: R. Gonzalez (1)
HR: DUN: J. Arencibia (11). FTM: Y. Solarte (2).

To use a horse racing term, Deolis Guerra is not a mudder.

After a start delayed by rain, Guerra got on the mound to allow 7 runs (5 earned) on five hits and 3 walks in 1.2 innings.

Guerra opened up the game by issuing back-to-back walks to Chris Emanuele and John McDonald. J.P. Arencibia then took him yard, putting his 11th home run of the year over the left field wall. After Brian Dopirak popped out, Bradley Emaus would triple. Jesus Gonzalez also hit a pop out before Adam Calderone's line drive plated Emaus. Calderone would be caught stealing for the 3rd out.

Gustavo Chacin made short work of the Miracle in the bottom of the inning, allowing a single to Danny Valencia.

Kevin Nelson would get plunked by a Guerra pitch to open the 2nd inning. Sean Shoffit doubled out to center, and Emanuele walked to load the bags. Following a fly out to McDonald, Arencibia reached on a fielding error by Valenica, driving in Nelson and Shoffit. Dopirak would fly out to left and Emaus would single to score Emanuele before field manager Jeff Smith had seen enough and called Matt Fox from the mound. Fox would get Gonzalez to fly out to end the inning.

For a man who's not seen much work on a 12-man pitching staff, Fox threw well through the next three innings, allowing only 3 hits and fanning 2.

Yangervis Solarte would hit a solo shot home run, his second of the season, off Chacin in the bottom of the 3rd.

The rains would start again in the and the game was halted in the bottom of the 5th. The Miracle had been held to 3 hits through five, with Ovalle collecting a single in the bottom of the 3rd.

TRe conclusion of the game would see the Miracle rally back. Ovalle tripled to lead off the bottom of the sixth and came home, one out later on a Wilson Ramos line drive.

Ovalle and Rocky Palacios were the only two Miracle with multi-hit games, both went 2-for-4, Ovalle with a run.

The Miracle head out on the road and will play tomorrow in Spacecoast Stadium, home of the Brevard County Manatees. Alex Burnett (4-2, 3.07) will handle the Miracle pitching chores. For the Manatees, lefty Zach Braddock (2-2, 3.46) will toss out the first pitch at 7:00 PM.

Box
Log
Miracle
Breeze
News Press
NDN

Quad Cities 11 at Beloit 6

W: W. Daman (2-1, 3.00); L: M. Tarsi (3-7, 5.62)
HR: QC: M. Arburr (8).

The Quad Cities River Bandits annihilated the Beloit Snappers 11-6 on Wednesday. Southpaw Mike Tarsi would get roughed up for 6 runs, 3 earned on 8 hits while striking out 3 over five innings.

Tarsi and Ramon Santana each had a pair of errors in the game, and Ben Revere was also tagged for missing a catch for his 5th error of the season.

Revere would go 1-for-4 at the plate with a walk, a pair of runs and 2 runs scored. Chris Cates was 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Ozzie Lewis, Joe Benson and Santana were the one hit wonders of the night, with Lewis collecting 3 strike outs, and Benson 4.

Danny Lehmann also collected a single on 3 at bats, and picked up a walks and a pair of runs as well.

Reliever Luke Van Mil gave up a pair of runs on 3 hits and 1 walk while fanning 3 over 3 innings; Charles Nolte allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk striking out only 1 in an inning's worth of work.

Beloit now heads out on the road to face the Kane County Cougars for a four game series.

Box
Log
R-Bandits
Snappers
Tuesday:
QC Times
BDN

New Britain 7 at Altoona 10

W: J. Sues (2-0, 3.27); L: Z. Ward (2-1, 2.29)
HR: None.

The Miracle weren't the only soggy team on the diamond Wednesday night. The New Britain Rock Cats and the Altoona Curve got off the a late start after a rain delay. And the Red Wings weren't the only team to suffer a bullpen collapse, as Zach Ward gave up 5 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk in .2 innings to let the Curve rally past the Cats for a win.

Starter Anthony Swarzak kept the Cats in the game through six, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks whiles striking out 2.

Meanwhile the Cats got their bats working early, with Dustin Martin singling out to center and Trevor Plouffe drawing a walk with one out on the board. A passed ball by Altoona Catcher Ryan Doumit moved the pair, and a Felix Molina single would score Martin. Following a fly out to Drew Butera, Steve Tolleson doubled in Plouffe for the early Rock Cats lead.

Plouffe would double in the top of the 4th. Following a Felix Molina fly out, Drew Butera would single to plate him, giving the Cats yet another run.

Molina would reach on a fielding error and Butera would double. Following a fly out to Tolleson, Matt Moses singled to score the pair.

After the damaging 7-run eighth inning, Brock Peterson, Erik Lis and David Winfree all hit doubles to put another run on the board. Dustin Martin would sacrifice in Lis, but the attempt to tie the game fell short.

Peterson and Lis were both 3-for-5 with a run, Lis also had the 1 RBI. Tolleson was 2-for-5 with an RBI, and Butera was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

The teams rematch tomorrow with Jay Rainville (5-5, 6.02) on the mound for New Britain. Yoslan Herrera (3-6, 4.14) is expected to make the start for the Curve.

Box
Log
Curve
Courant
Altoona Mirror
Sandlot Swashbucklers Blog

Rochester 7 at Buffalo 8

W: E. Buzachero (2-2, 3.29); L: M. Gomez (1-1, 2.41)
HR: ROC: D. McDonald (8), G. Jones (6), R. Ruiz (5), J. Pridie (4).

Brian Duensing worked 8 innings for the Rochester Red Wings, allowing 4 hits and fanning 3. It was a pity he couldn't go for nine. The Red Wings bullpen suffered a major breakdown, allowing 6 runs in the 9th inning to allow the Bisons to tie up the game. The would go on to win 8-7 in 10.

Bobby Korecky gave up 4 runs on 3 hits and a walk, and former Miracle closer Tim Lahey gave up 2 more on 3 runs. He would eventually strike out 3 to get out of the inning.

Mariano Gomez took the loss, allowing 2 runs - 1 earned - on a run and a walk.

Garrett Jones was 2-for-4 in the game with a walk, a pair of runs including a solo shot home run, and a run scored. Howie Clark was 3-for-5 with a run and a RBI, Randy Ruiz was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run in the designated hitter role, driving in 3, including 2 on his 5th home run of the season.

Jason Pridie and Darnell McDonald also when yard for the suddenly mighty Red Wings and were each 1-for-5 at the plate.

The series continues with a 1:05 afternoon game with southpaw Francisco Liriano (0-2, 4.18) on the mound for the Red Wings and looking for his first win of the season.

Box
Log
Red Wings
Bison
D&C
B-News

DSL Twins 0 at DSL Rockies 7

W: E. Cabrera (1-0, 0.00); L: O. Villaroel (0-1, 0.00)
HR: None.

Orlando Villaroel was the hard luck looser for the DSL Twins, allowing only one unearned run on 2 hits and a walk while fanning three over five innings. He got virtually no run support from the DSL Twins, who were held to just 2 hits in the contest.

The Rockies' Dewar Cabrera fanned 10 over 7 innings, sat down 7 on ground outs and 4 on fly outs to leave the Twins offense in shambles.

Manuel Soliman and Jairo Rodriguez were the two one-hit wonders for the DSL boys, although Soliman did draw 2 walks. Eliei Sierra also had a pair of walks for the Twins who got runners to 3rd in the 4th inning and 6th innings, but who could progress no further.

The DSL Twins host the DSL Diamondbacks on Thursday for a 10:30 AM (Dominican Time) game.

Box
Log

"Big Country" rocks Tampa

Fort Myers 6 at Tampa 1

W: T. Robertson (4-2, 2.76); L: C. Garcia (2-2, 4.12)
HR: TAM: J. Calzado (4).

One of the best pitchers currently in the Florida State League didn't make it to the FSL All-star game. Southpaw Tyler Robertson worked all nine innings against the Tampa Yankees, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5.

Brian Dinkelman and Edward Ovalle opened up the game with back-to-back singles. Danny Valencia drew a walk to load the bases. Whit Robbins would sacrifice in Dinkelman before Wilson Ramos hit a double that brought in Ovalle and Valencia. Following a ground out to Eli Tintor, Danny Santiesteban doubled to plate Ramos, giving the Miracle an early 4 run lead.

Ramos, Tintor and Santiesteban all took singles off Tampa starter Chris Garcia to add another run to the total. A wild pitch moved the pair left on base, and Rocky Palacios took a walk to load the bags. Yancarlos Ortiz ground into a force out that scored Tintor, to make it 6-0 Miracle.

Josue Calzado homered - his fourth of the season - off Robinson in the bottom of the fifth for the lone Yankees run.

Santiesteban was 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, Ramos was 2-for-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs, and Dinkelman and Ovalle were both 2-for-5 with a run each.

The Miracle return home for a 3-game set against the Dunedin Blue Jays on Monday. Cole Devries (4-4, 3.70) will handle the pitching chores for the Miracle, while Dunedin is expected to counter with Rob Ray (4-2, 4.66).

Box
Log
Miracle
News-Press
Breeze
NDN
Pending Pinstripes Blog

Trenton 9 at New Britain 3

W: J. Jones (8-1, 2.28); L: O. Sosa (2-5, 6.88)
HR: NBR: T. Plouffe (3).

It was a different story at New Britain Stadium as Oswaldo Sosa allowed 6 runs on 5 hits and 7 walks while striking out 5 over 5 innings. The lefty got little run support form the Cats, who only manged 3 runs on 9 hits and 5 walks.

Dustin Martin took a walk in the 5th. Trevor Plouffe followed that up with a double. Following a Jeff Christy ground out, Luke Hughes would also hit into a ground out but managed to plate Martin in the process.

The Cats picked up two more in the 7th - one on a solo shot home run by Plouffe and the other coming off back-to-back walks to Christy and Hughes. A Steve Tolleson single would bring in Christy for the 3rd Rock Cats run.

Matt Moses and David Winfree were both 2-for-4 but did not factor into the scoring. Plouffe was 2-for-3 with a run and a run scored.

Box
Log
Rock Cats
Q & A with Erik Lis
Thunder
Thunder Thoughts Blog
Herald
NBH - Brock Peterson
NJ.Com



Scranton/WB 7 at Rochester 8

W: P. Humber (3-5, 5.53); L: S. White (4-3, 4.55); SV: B. Korecky (6)
HR: SWB: E. Duncan (6). ROC: C. Basak (4).

The 3-way battle of the farm systems concluded with the Rochester Red Wings picking up a 8-7 win from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

Phillip Humber allowed 5 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 over six inning for his 3rd win of the season. While those numbers are not great, for once, the Red Wings bats were up to the task.

Rochester started out a six-run third inning with Chris Basek homering, his fourth of the year, over the left field wall. Ryan Jorgenson would get plunked by a pitch. Tommy Watkins singled and Jason Pridie walked to load the bags. Darnell McDonald would sacrifice in Jorgenson and Garrett Jones would single to again fill up the bases. Brian Buscher then walked to force in a run. Sergio Santos doubled in three more before the Yankees could find the third out.

Jogensen would single in the bottom of the 4th, move to second on a Watkins Sac-bunt, and to 3rd on a fielding error by Ben Broussard. Darrell McDonald's ground out served to plate him, adding another run to the Red Wings total.

Buscher and Randy Ruiz would hit singles in the bottom of the fifth. Two outs later, they paid dividends when Jorgensen singled in Buscher.

Jorgenson was an unlikely hero, going 2-for-3 with 2 runs a run scored. Watkins was 2-for-4 with a run. Buscher was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, 2 runs and a RBI.

The Wings are the only team not quite done with the Yankees farm, as they play one more against Scranton Monday at 7:05 PM.

Box
Log
Red Wings
D&C

Beloit Snappers (Midwest League, Single-A) lefthanded pitcher Michael Tarsi is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week for May 24-May 30. The 21-year-old allowed just one run on eight hits in two starts. He went 2-0 and struck out 15 batters in 12.0 innings while walking just one.

Tarsi was the Twins 12th round selection in the 2007 First-Year Player draft out of University of Connecticut. He made his professional debut last season going 5-2 with a 2.22 ERA for Elizabethton.

Roger's Minor League Report is now online and he names Juan Portes as his player of the week.

Miracle blank Sara-Reds

Sarasota 0 at Fort Myers 5

W: C. Devries (4-4, 3.70); L: S. Carroll (0-1, 7.94)
HR: None.

If it was hits you were looking for, Hammond Stadium was not the place to be on Tuesday night. Cole Devries pitched brilliantly at times, allowing only 4 hits and 1 walk over six innings as the Fort Myers Miracle blanked the Sarasota Reds 5-0.

Brian Dinkelman would take a walk off Sarasota starter Scott Carroll to lead off for the Miracle, he would then steal 2nd. Danny Valencia and Whit Robbins hit back-to-back singles one out later which would bring him in for an early home team lead.

With one out on the board in the 3rd. Edward Ovalle and Valencia hit back-to-back doubles to give the Miracle another run.

Sarasota would get runners in the corners in the fourth when Todd Frazier and Juan Francisco singled with one out on the board. Drew Stubbs would fly out to Danny Santiesteban and Chris Heisey ground into a force out to finish off the inning.

Juan Portes doubled to lead off the bottom of the 4th. Two outs later, Yancarlos Ortiz would hit a line drive to left to bring in Portes. Ortiz would steal 2nd, and Dinkelman would take another walk, but Ovalle would fly out to right to end the inning, stranding the runners.

In the top of the sixth, Frazier would reach when Devries, not expecting the ball, dropped it when Frazier hit it straight to him. Francisco - a dangerous player who has hurt the Miracle before - singled. But Devries got Stubbs to hit into a long fly out to center that Santieseban caught on the warning track to end the inning.

Juan Portes would single, then steal 2nd in the bottom of the sixth. With 2 outs on the board, Ortiz would single to plate him. Ruben Madina would replace Carroll on the mound, being greeted with a Dinkelman double which brought in Ortiz. Dinkelman would try to go for three, but would be taken out on the throw.

Danny Vais and Frank Matta worked the next two innings for the Miracle. Sean Watson replaced Medina for the bottom of the 8th inning. After Portes had reached on a throwing error, Eli Tinter for hit an shallow infield single that drilled Watson, then rolled to 3rd. Santiesteban would ground into a force out, in part because Michael DeJesus at second seemed unsure if he should throw to 3rd or first and as a result hung on to the ball too long to turn a double play. Ortiz would walk to load the bases before Dinkelman would fly out to left to end the inning.

Closer Rob Delaney would make things interesting in the top of the 9th, allowing singles to Stubbs and Heisey with two outs on the board before getting Jason Lousma to strike out swinging to end the game.

The two teams rematch tomorrow with Jeff Manship (5-2, 3.49) trying to live up the to performance of his three predecessors, while former Miracle Alex Smit (4-3, 3.75) will pitch for the Reds.

Boxscore
Log
Miracle
News Press
NDN
Breeze

The good, the bad, the ugly: To reiterate the roster changes, Danny Hernandez was sent to the Beloit Snappers while Blair Erickson was promoted to the Miracle. Erickson was the player I liked best during 2007 Fall Instructional League and has put up some good numbers with the Snappers. Eli Tintor finished off his suspension and returned to the Miracle line up, taking Johnny Woodard's place on the roster. Woodard has been moved to the Disabled List with a broken Hamate bone.

With the win, the Miracle move to 15 games above the .500 mark. At this time last season, the were 9 games under, dead last in the standings and 12 games behind the division leading Sarasota Reds.

The scoreboard went from bad to worse last night as the Miracle had either no outs or two outs, but never one out, during the course of the evening. Missy got a new set of dark blue duds so she could match the players on the field. She came out later with a white jersey over a navy short sleeved shirt with navy pants and looked quite stylish while she was doing the chicken dance.

Connecticut 6 at New Britain 4

W: A. Cowart (4-2, 2.98); L: O. Sosa (2-4, 6.46); SV: O. Matos (5)
HR: None.

When we checked in with the Rock Cats last night, they were trailing the Defenders by one in the top of the 7th. They never recovered, with Ozzie Sosa taking his 4th loss of the season after giving up 4 runs on six hits and 3 walks while fanning 5 over five innings.

Matt Moses and Dustin Martin were both 2-for-4 for New Britain, Moses with a run and Martin with 2 runs scored. Trevor Plouffe and Luke Hughes both a hit and a run for the Cats. David Winfree was 1-for-4 with 1 RBI. Erik Lis was 0-for-4 with a run scored.

Boxscore
Log
Rock Cats
Defenders
Courant
Bulletin

Charlotte 0 at Rochester 12

W: P. Humber (2-5, 5.19); L: J. Egbert (0-4, 7.55)
HR: None.

The Rochester Red Wings suddenly looked like the team to beat as Phil Humber and two relievers blanked the visiting Charlotte Knights. Humber would allow 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 5 over six innings.

The Wings broke out their bats as well, with Brian Buscher going 3-for-5 at the plate with 3 runs, Randy Ruiz was 4-for-5 also with 3 runs and with 1 runs scored as well, Sergio Santos was 2-for-5 with 2 runs and 3 RBIs, Darnell McDonald was 2-for-6 with 1 RBI and former Miracle Tommy Watkins was 2-for-4 with a pair of walks and 2 RBIs.

Garrett Jones and Jose Morales - two Miracle alumni - also had a hit a piece, Morales drew 2 walks and had 3 runs as well, while Jones recorded a walk, a run and a RBI.

Morales stroked an 0-2 pitch to right field in the eighth inning, extending his hitting streak to 11 games.

The Red Wings are now 16-8 record when the Wings score four runs or more in a game, but only a 5-24 record when scoring three or fewer runs.

Boxscore
Log
Red wings
R&D
R&D - Notebook
Extra Bases
R News

Beloit, Rochester win; Rock Cats fall to Sea Dogs

Burlington 4 at Beloit 7

W: D. Bromberg (3-2, 4.70); L: S. Runion (0-2, 3.86); SV: S. Steedley (4)
HR: BUR: D. Lough (3). BEL: O. Lewis (3), B. Revere (1).

The Beloit Snappers topped the Burlington Bees 7-4 at home with light hitting Ozzie Lewis cranking his third ball of the year over the fence. Ben Revere also went yard for the Snappers.

David Lough would take David Bromberg deep in the first inning, putting ball over the left field wall to put the Bees on the board.

It was short lived lead however. Ben Revere would ground out to start, but Danny Lehmann reached on a fielding error. Garrett Olson singed out to right and Chris Parmelee took a walk to load the bags. Jair Fernandez's ground ball single would rive in two. Steve Singleton's line drive saw Parmelee across the plate. Ozzie Lewis would sent a ball out to left to score Fernandez. Singleton was taken out at 3rd on the play, and Greg Yersich would fly out to end the inning.

Beloit added to their lead in the bottom of the second, when Revere singled, then moved to 2nd on a throwing error by Bees 2nd baseman Alwin Perez. Olson would then double Revere in.

David Lough would be hit by a pitch to start the top of the 3rd. Mike Moustakas then double to put two men on. Jason Taylor's ground out plated Lough, while Moustakas would score on Jamar Waltons' sac-fly.

Lewis would go yard in the sixth and Revere's first home run in Snappers uniform made it 7-3.

Reliever Matt Williams would allow another Bees run in the top of the 8th, when Moustakas tripled then came home on Wilson Tucker's sacrifice.

Revere, Olson and Lewis were all 2-for-4 on the evening, Revere with 2 runs and 2 RBIs, Olson with 1 run and 1 RBI, and Lewis with a run and 2 RBIs.

The two teams rematch Saturday for double-header starting at 5:00 PM. Michael Tarsi (1-6, 6.84) should be on the mound for the Snappers in the first game. It's also cowgirl night and Fireworks Night #3.

Boxscore
Log
Snappers
Bees
The Hawk Eye
BDN
Thursday:
Herald
BDN

New Britain 6 at Portland 7

W: M. James (1-1, 2.33); L: R. Mullins (4-3, 3.81); SV: B. Vaughan (5)
HR: NBR: M. Moses (3). POR: B. Bell (6), J. Corsaletti 2 (5), M. Wagner (4), A. Pinckney (3).

Ryan Mullins gave up six runs, all earned, on 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3 over 4 innings. He gave up 4 home runs to the Portland Sea Dogs, who were quite sorry to see Armando Gabino replace him on the mound.

Steve Tolleson was 2-for-4 on the evening with a walk, a run and 2 RBIs. Walks also aided Matt Moses, who went 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk, 2 runs and 1 RBI. Dustin Martin would be hit by a pitch, going 1-for-3 at the plate, but gaining 2 runs.

Martin would get plunked at the top of the 5th inning, Drew Butera singled to follow him on base and Tolleson pushed Martin over the plate with a line drive single to ceter. Trevor Plouffe would reach on a failed force attempt that drove in Butera. Erik Lis would take a walk, but David Winfree ground into a double play that brought in Tolleson, for a 3-run inning.

The two teams rematch Saturday for a 1 PM game. Anthony Swarzak (2-1, 4.06) should be the starting pitcher for the Cats.

Boxscore
Log
Sea Dogs
NB Herald
Courant
Portland Press Herald

Rochester 6 at Pawtucket 4

W: D. Graves (1-0, 2.40); L: D. Hansack (2-5, 5.55); SV: T. Lahey (6)
HR: ROC: B. Buscher (7).

Danny Graves got a quality start for Rochester, allowing 3 runs, all earned, on 4 hits and 2 walks over 6 innings.

Rochester would by 1 run until the 6th inning. Brian Buscher would take a walk, and Ryan Ruiz would follow that up with a single. A missed catch on a pick off attempt moved the pair. Garrett Jones would ground out, but brought in Buscher. A Jose Morales single then scored Ruiz. Sergio Santos singled his way onto base, and Ryan Joregenson would get plunked by a pitch to load the bags. Tommy Watkins single to center brought in 2 to give the Wings the lead.

Buscher hit his 7th home run of the season in the 4th inning. It was the only hit he'd have for the evening, but he also had 2 walks which lead to a pair of runs. Santos was 3-for-4 with 2 runs, Ruiz was 2-for-4 with 1 run, and Watkins was 2-for-5 in the leadoff spot with 3 RBIs.

The PawSox send David Pauley (5-2, 3.32 ERA) to the hill Saturday against the Red Wings’ Kevin Mulvey (2-6, 4.36). The game starts at 6:05 Eastern Time.

Boxscore
Log
Red wings
PawSox
D&C
ProJo

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.

Boxscore
Log
Miracle
News Press
Breeze
NDN

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.

Boxscore
Log
Snappers
Lumber Kings
Wednesday:
BDN
Herald

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.

Boxscore
Log
PawSox
D&C
R-News
Extra Bases

Robertson 3-hits Jupiter

Fort Myers 5 at Jupiter 0

W: T. Robertson (2-2, 3.04); L: J. Allison (2-5, 3.08)
HR: None.

Tyler Robertson owned the Jupiter Hammerheads tonight, allowing only 3 hits and 3 walks over 7 innings while striking out 4. This time Jose Lugo also got the memo about the shut out, as the Fort Myers Miracle blanked the Jupiter Hammerheads, 5-0.

(Nice work Mr. Robertson. Please keep it up! I would like to see you graduated to the Rock Cats sometime in the not too distant future.)

Danny Valencia returned to the Miracle line up as well, lacing a line drive double into left field in the first inning to bring in Brian Dinkelman, who had lead off the game with a walk.

An Eward Ovalle triple in the top of the 2nd, turned into another run on Wilson Ramos' ground out.

Whit Robbins and Ovalle hit back-to-back singles off Hammerhead's starter Jeff Allison in the top of the 4th. The Boston native would get Ramos to ground into a double play however, putting Robbins on 3rd and 2 outs on the board. He's then give up walk to Danny Berg. Rookie Yangervis Solarte's line drive brought in Robbins, and moved Berg over to 2nd. Yancarlos Ortis then hit his own line drive out to left to score Berg. Dinkelman would be called out on strikes to end the inning.

Portes would walk in the top of the 5th, then move to second when Allison unleashed a wild pitch. Valencia's single moved him to 3rd, followed by a walk to Robbins that loaded the bags. Ovalle would ground into a double play that plated Portes. Ramos' fly out would end the inning.

A walk to Berg in the 6th would be all the Miracle would get off Allison, and Brad Stone was as stingy as a reliever could get setting three down quick in the top of the 7th. Ovalle would get a single in the 8th, but could go no where with it, as Adam Campbell got Ramos to fly out and Berg to ground out to strand him. Solarte would double off Campbell in the 9th, but Ortiz and Dinkelmen when down on ground outs and Portes flew out to finish off the Miracle offense.

Lugo allowed back-to-back singles with one out on the board in the 8th, and a fielding error by Ortiz put Agustin Septimo on 3rd. Lugo would get Spike McDougall to strike out before issuing a walk to Jake Blackwood that loaded the bases. A John Purdom ground out got him out of the jam however, preserving the goose eggs on the Jupiter side of the board. Anthony Slama continued to be lights-out for the Miracle, striking out 3 in the 9th, allowing only a walk to Gregory Burns before sending Jupiter off to bed.

Solarte went 2-for-4 in the contest with a run scored, making a case for staying with the Miracle past this next weekend. Ovalle was 3-for-4 with a run, while Valencia was 2-for-4 with a RBI. Berg was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run in the designed hitter role.

The two teams finish up the series tomorrow with Cole Devries (2-4, 4.56) taking a morning start against Marlins prospect Jarrett Santos (4-1, 2.73). First pitch is due for 10:35 a.m.

The Miracle return home Thursday for Indiana Jones night, marking the release of fourth movie, 19-years after the last one was made. It is also Thirsty Thursday at the ball park with half priced beer. So don't forget your bull whip as you raid the Kingdom of the Crystal Keg!

Boxscore
Log
Miracle
Jupiter
News Press
Breeze
NDN
Future Fish

Kelly Thesier reported on www.twinsbaseball.com that former Miracle pitcher Scott Baker felt discomfort during his bullpen session and will not progress on to the next stage of his rehab. Instead he will stay at the Lee County Sportsplex to rehab until he can pitch without discomfort.

Twins great Tony Oliva will once again represent the Twins at the 2008 Draft, which will be held in Orlando at Disney's Wide World of Sports on June 5-6.

Beloit 2 at Clinton 4

W: D. Holland (4-0, 2.45); L: D. Berlind (3-4, 3.99); SV: R. Tatusko (1)
HR: None.

Danny Berlind suffered his fourth loss of the season as the Beloit Snappers only managed to put a pair of runs on the board against the Clinton Lumber Kings.

Ramon Santana tripled in Greg Yersich for a run in the top of the fifth inning with 2 outs on the board. Venice native Chris Cates doubled in the top of the 6th, moved to 3rd on a passed ball and was plated by Jair Fernandez's fly ball single.

Ben Revere was 0-for-4 in the contest, a turn about for the young slugger that is batting .412 on the season. Steve Singleton also went without a hit, falling to .336 on the season. Joe Benson had the fifth Snappers hit but it did not factor into the scoring.

Berlind would finish the game giving up 4 runs, earned, on six hits and 4 walks while striking out 4 over six innings.

The series continues tomorrow at 7:00 PM central time with Brian Kirwan (3-1, 3.68) on the mound for the Snappers.

Boxscore
Log
Snappers
L-Kings
Monday:
Herald
BDN

Harrisburg at New Britain - Postponed

Tuesday's Eastern League game between the Harrisburg Senators and the New Britain Rock Cats was postponed by rain Monday night. The teams will play a pair Wednesday, May 21, starting at 5:05 PM eastern time.

Rochester 2 at Syracuse 3

W: J. De Jong (3-1, 3.60); L: T. Lahey (2-4, 3.93)
HR: None.

The Rochester Red Wings fell in extra innings to the Syracuse Chiefs, with former Miracle Tim Lahey taking the loss on the mound. Syracuse had lead 2-0 up until the ninth inning when two Fort Myers alumni - Garrett Jones and Jose Morales - hit back-to-back doubles to lead off. Jason Pridie would replace Morales as a pinch runner and would come home on a Chris Basak single one out later to tie up the game.

Naples native Carmen Cali replaced Lahey on the mound with one runner on in the 10th inning. He'd allowed Buck Coats to reach on a throwing error. After getting Adam Lind to pop out, Matt Watson's ground out moved Wyane Lydon to 3rd, and he'd score as an inherited runner on an Adam Russ single.

Tommy Watkins was 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of walks but did not factor into the scoring for Rochester. Morales was 2-for-4 with a RBI and a pair of strike outs. Matt Macri was 2-for-5, also with a pair of strike outs. Rochester would record 10 hits on the night - and 10 strike outs as well.

Denard Span broke a finger in the game while attempting a bunt in the 9th inning, and is expected to miss 3-to-4 weeks.

Span was honored as the International League Batter of the Week on Monday. Span had 13 hits during the week and lead the league with a .619 average. 3 of his 13 hits were for home runs, and five of his six games were multi-hit efforts. Span also lead the International League in on-base percentage (.704), Slugging percentage (1.190) and was second in the league in runs (9) and hits (13). (Press Release)

Red Wings manager Stan Cliburn will throw out the first pitch for the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats Wednesday night. Cliburn was selected as the manager on the New Britain 25th Anniversary All-Time Team in the fall. The Wings rest on Wednesday so Cliburn will not be missing a game. They then head on the road for a 4-game series against Pawtucket starting on Thursday at 7:05 PM

Boxscore
Log
Red wings
R News
Post Standard
D&C

Miracle fall to Hammerheads

Fort Myers 2 at Jupiter 4

Record: 28 - 16

W: G. Taylor (5-3, 3.96); L: A. Burnett (3-2, 3.18); SV: R. Wolf (1)
HR: None.

The rally monkeys, and bats,were not evident Monday night as the Fort Myers Miracle allowed Jupiter to double them up, 4-2.

Florida Marlins prospect Graham Taylor held Fort Myers to only 5 hits and 1 walk over 7 innings, allowing 2 runs in the that span, and striking out 4. Ross Wolf would baffled them for the final two stanzas.

As noted after the last time he pitched, Alex Burnett needs to start watching the number of hits he gives up. Smelin Perez would take the first hit off him with one out in the first inning. Burnett would get Logan Morrison out on strikes, before Perez got impatient and stole 2nd base. Kevin Randel's line drive brought him in, and Randel took an extra base on a fielding error by Eddie Ovalle. Spike McDougall then hit a grounder to Juan Portes that scored Ranel. McDougall would try to make it to second, but was taken out before he got there to end the inning.

The Miracle would take one back in the top of the 3rd. Yancarlos Ortiz and Yangeris Solarte both singled with one out on the board. Ortiz would come home on a Whit Robbins' force out and Portes would strike out to end the inning.

Back-to-back singles by James Guerrero and Christopher Dunn turned into two more Hammerheads runs when Agustin Septimo doubled off Burnett to plate the pair in the bottom of the fourth.

The Miracle would not answer back until the top of the 7th when Edward Ovalle tripled and came home on a Danny Berg single. Sadly it was all the answer the Miracle could muster, leading to the loss in game two of the four game series.

With Brian Dinkelman, Danny Valencia and Rene Tosoni out of the line up, the Miracle were short most of their big bats. Ovalle was 2-for-4 with 1 run, the only Miracle with a multi-hit game. Portes, Wilson Ramos and Danny Santiesteban were all 0-for-4 with a pair of strike outs each.

Dinkelman was given the night off after an early exit from Monday's game, while the voice of the Miracle, Sean Fox, reports that Valencia's thumb is still banged up, but that he will try to play on Tuesday.

Big lefty Tyler Robertson (1-2, 3.53) will get the start Tuesday night for the Miracle. Jeff Allison (2-4, 2.47) will throw out the first pitch for the Hammerheads at 6:35 P.M.

Boxscore
Log
Miracle
Hammerheads
News Press
Breeze
NDN
Future Fish

Minnesota sports writer Joe Christensen noted in his blog that Scott Baker was flown to Florida on Friday. He's scheduled to throw 2 bullpen sessions at the Sportsplex and will "likely pitch in an extended spring training game next Thursday. He has been on the DL with a strained right groin."

The GCL Twins are playing the O's in Sara next Thursday, and while it's entirely possible that Baker will hop in a little white SUV and drive over to Twin Lakes Park, it seems somehow unlikely.

If he needs to pitch Thursday, well...the Miracle are at home that night. Otherwise, he could pitch Friday at Extended depending upon which the Twins would prefer.



Harrisbug 1 at New Britain 5

Record: 22 - 21

W: J. Rainville (3-5, 7.53); L: T. Crawford (1-1, 4.81)
HR: None.

Jay Rainville got just his third win of the season, but held the Harrisburg Senators to only 1 run -unearned - on three hits while striking out 8 over 7 innings for a quality start that should do wonders for his confidence.

Trevor Plouffe was 3-for-4 in the contest with a run and an RBI. Steve Tolleson, Luke Hughes, David Winfree, Felix Molina and Drew Butera all had hits for the Cats with Butera driving in 3 runs on his sixth inning double.

The Cats faced several former teammates/Miracle on the Senators squad in starter Tristan Crawford, who surrendered 5 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3 over 5.1 innings and reliever Levale Speigner, who worked one inning of hitless baseball. Garrett Guzman served as the Senators designed hitter, going 0-for-3 at the plate, while Luis Jimenez worked 1st base for the Washington Farm.

Ofilio Castro would reach in the top of the 3rd on a throwing error by Trever Plouffe. He took 2nd base when the ball bounced into the bullpen. One out later, Mike Daniel's ground ball single would plate him for the only Senators run.

Boxscore
Log
Rock cats
Senators
Patriot News
Lip Service

Rochester 0 at Syracuse 5

W: M. MacDonald (1-0, 3.81); L: K. Mulvey (2-6, 4.36)
HR: None.

The Rochester Red Wings were shut out in the conclusion of the Cooperstown Classic on Monday night. Kevin Mulvey suffered the loss for the Wings, his 6th of the season.

Former Miracle Jose Morales was 2-for-3 at the plate while Matt Macri returned to the line up, going 2-for-4. Brian Buscher was 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

Dunedin Blue Jays almuni Ricky Romero had taken the start for Syracuse but lasted only 2 innings before the rains came down on Sunday.

Boxscore
Log
MiLB.com

Rochester 7 at Syracuse 6

W: T. Lahey (2-3, 4.08); L: M. Gallo (0-1, 13.50); SV: C. Cali (1)
HR: ROC: R. Ruiz (3). SYR: C. Cannon (3).

The Wings bounced back in game two however, taking an early lead 5-2 lead and holding off a late inning Chiefs rally.

Denard Span would reach on a fielding error by Erik Kratz to get things started. Two outs later, Brian Buscher would be hit by a pitch. Randy Ruiz then put his 3rd home run of the season over the left field wall to give the Wings 3.

The Chiefs took two back in the bottom of the inning, but a double by Ryan Jorgensen in the top of the 2nd helped the Wings get the runs back.

Chris Basak went 3-for-4 at the plate with a run, Randy Ruiz was 2-for-4 with 2 runs and 4 RBIs. Aside from the home run, he also hit a double in the top of the 5th.

Brian Duensing would give up 3 runs, earned on six hits and 1 walk while striking out 2. Julio Depaula gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk in .1 inning, while Tim Lahey earned both a blown save and the win, giving up 1 run on 1 hit and walk in 1.2 innings. Naples resident Carmen Cali earned his first save for the Wings.

Boxscore
Log
Red Wings
D&C
Extra Bases
R News
Post Standard

Beloit 6 at Clinton 5

W: M. McCardell (1-1, 2.70); L: H. Nelo (1-2, 4.32); SV: S. Steedley (3)
HR: CLI: M. Moreland (4), R. Osuna (3).

Beloit used a 3-run ninth inning to rally past the Division leading Clinton Lumber Kings to take game one of the four game series. Mike McCardell, recently returned off the disabled list, picked up the win, working 2 innings of relief and allowing 1 run on 1 hit and 2 walks while striking out 5.

Ben Revere returned to the line up, going 3-for-4 at the plate with 2 runs scored. Garrett Olson was also 3-for-4 with a pair of runs. Ozzie Lewis, Sean Singleton, Joe Benson, Greg Yersich, and Ramon Santana also recorded hits.

Trailing 3 runs at the top of the 8th, Santana doubled his way onto base, then came home on Revere's ground ball single.

Chris Cates would ground out to start the top of the 9th, but Olson and Lewis hit back-to-back singles. Mark Dolenc would replace Lewis as a pinch runner, and Singleton's ground ball to right would rive in Olson and advance Dolenc to 3rd. Joe Benson would draw walk. A fielding error by Clinton's Jonathan Greene allowed Dolenc and Singleton across the plate to give the Snappers the lead.

Spencer Steedly would allow 2 singles and a walk to load the bases for the Lumber Kings in the ninth, but he got Engel Beltre to strike out and Renny Osuna to line out to end the inning and the game.

Game two of the series is Tuesday with a 7:00 PM central time first pitch. Danny Berlind (3-3, 3.62) will start for the Twins farm team. Beloit (23-20) trails Clinton by 7.5 games in the Midwest League standings.

Boxscore
Log
Snappers

Fort Myers blows lead, wins late

Tampa 5 at Fort Myers 6 (10 innings)

W: F. Mata (1-0, 0.00); L: J. Valdez (5-2, 2.14)
HR: TAM: T. Battle (5).

Southpaw Tyler Robertson made a quality start, working through seven - yes count 'em! seven! - innings and allowing three runs on six hits while striking out 9 and looking like the top prospect that he is. It was by far Robertson's best start of the season, and with the Miracle leading into the top of the 9th and ace closer Rob Delaney on the mound, the game looked to be a win for the Sacrament, California native.

Whit Robbins threw off the 1st base bag past Danny Berg to allowed Andres Perez to get on board with a bunt single. Seth Fortenberry then hit a line drive out to center. Delaney got the next two batters out, but a wild pitch by Delaney moved the runners. Luis Nunez hit a fly ball to right that dropped, bringing in the pair to tie up the game and put the Yankees on top.

Juan Portes, Yancarlos Ortiz and Brian Dinkelman all found singles in the 9th, but even as Rene Tosoni ground into a double play, Portes scored to tie up the game and send the contest into extra innings.

Frant Mata would work the top of the 10th, going 3-up, 3-down. Danny Berg singled his way onto base and was plated by Johnny Woodard with a follow-up triple, good for a Chicken Ranch with Cheese and Bacon AND a Ham sandwich.

The teams would remain scoreless until the bottom of the 3rd inning when Brian Dinkelman walked with 2-outs on the board. He then stole second, scoring on a Rene Tosoni grounder to left. Tosoni would move to 2nd base as Tim Battle threw the ball to plate trying to save the run, and would come home on his own run when Valencia singled out to right.

Danny Valencia was taken out of the line up at the top of the fifth - I assume so they could get Danny Berg some playing time and perhaps rest Valencia. There was no evidence of any injury.

Kyle Anson doubled to lead off in the left. A Luis Nunez line drive to right scored Anson. Tim Battle then went yard over the left center wall to bring in Nunez. Despite that, Robertson struck out Chris Kunda and got the next two players to ground out, showing a good deal of poise on the mound.

He would also take the next three batters he faced in the sixth out as well, right through the heart of the order.

Berg would single and Woodard would double. with two men on, Edward Ovalle would fly out and Wilson Ramos would strike out. A pitcher change brought Winklins Arias to the mound for the Yankees, and Whit Robbins single to center brought in the pair and restore the Miracle lead. Robbins would move to 2nd on a wild pitch before Portes would be taken out on strikes to end the inning.

Jose Lugo would work one inning of relief, strike out all three batters he faced, before Delaney came in, which lead us to the wild ending to what was, in the end a very long game.

Berg would finish up 2-for-3 with 2 runs, while Woodard was 2-for-4 with 1 run and 1 RBI. Robbins was also 2-for-4, scoring 2 runs as well.

By contrast, the Ovalle/Ramos pairing, which was so lethal just a few games ago, went 0-for-4 with a pair of strike outs each at the plate.

The two teams rematch for a morning game with Cole Devries (2-4, 5.13) throwing out the first pitch at 10:35 AM. Hoards of Southwest Florida school children will get to see Tampa ace Eric Hacker (2-1, .086) on the mound for the Yankees.

Boxscore
Log
Miracle
News Press
NP - Dog Daze
Breeze
Breeze Photo Gallery
Pending Pinstripes

Clinton 4 at Beloit 2

W: D. Holland (3-0, 2.61); L: D. Berlind (3-3, 3.62); SV: D. Sattler (3)
HR: None.

Ben Revere doubled to lead off the bottom of the first inning, moved to 3rd on a Ramon Santana sac-bunt, then came home when Garrett Olson reached on a fielding error by Clinton's Renny Osuna.

In the 2nd, Joe Benson doubled, then came home on a Ben Petsch single.

Beloit seemed to be off to a really good start. Unfortunately a 3-run 5th by Danny Berlind gave Clinton the lead and they'd never relinquish it.

Berlind lasted only 4.1 innings, with 2 of the 3 runs being earned on 5 hits and 1 walks. He was unable to record a strike out.

Petsch was 2-for-3 with 1 RBI; Revere was 2-for-5 with 1 run.

The Snappers drop to 19-20 on the year. Next up, they face the Peoria Chiefs for a 3-game series starting at 6:30 PM central time at Pohlman Field.

Boxscore
Score
Snappers
Wednesday:
Herald
BDN

New Britain 6 at Binghamton 7 (Extra Innings)

W: E. Camacho (2-2, 2.05); L: B. Julianel (0-2, 3.05)
HR: NBR: L. Hughes (10). BIN: S. Paniagua (1).

Read my game recap and commentary on Rookie Whites

Luke Hughes returned to the New Britain line up and extended his Eastern League-best hitting streak to 17 games with a lead-off home run in the first.

Rock Cats
Courant
Press Connect

Columbus 3 at Rochester 1

W: S. Shell (2-1, 2.75); L: F. Liriano (0-2, 4.28); SV: C. Booker (4)
HR: None.

Francisco Liriano gave up 3 runs, earned, on 7 hits and one walk while striking out 4 over 8 innings for a quality start. Sadly, he also suffered the loss as the Red Wings could not solve Nationals farm hand Steven Shell.

After Denard Span was caught stealing, Jason Pridie took a walk in th first inning, then stole 2nd. A Brian Buscher single brought him home.

Span would finish up 2-for-3 on the night, boosting his average to .369; Pridie was 0-for-2 with a pair of walks. Buscher, Rany Ruiz, and former Miracle catcher Jose Morales had the other hits for Rochester who only had a total of six on the evening.

Darnell McDonald was placed on the DL Thursday with a strained hamstring. The Wings activated INF Matt Macri before the game.

Boxscore
Log
Red Wings/OSC
D&C

---

Putter about with the Miracle tonight at Castle Golf!

Miracle hold off Sarasota, ready for Yankees

Sarasota 3 at Fort Myers 5

W: A. Burnett (3-1, 2.97); L: L. Ondrusek (0-1, 4.01); SV: R. Delaney (9)
HR: SAR: D. Stubbs (2). FTM: D. Valencia (5).

Despite giving up 10 hits to a good Sarasota team, the Fort Myers Miracle managed to keep the Reds off the run board for the most part, picking up a 2 run lead in the first, and hanging on to it to win, 5-3.

Rene Tosoni would draw a walk in the first with one out on the board. Danny Valencia then put his 5th home run of the season over the left field fence to further his case for a trip to Brevard County in June for the Florida State League All-star game.

Alex Burnett worked two quick innings for the Miracle, but found a bit of a problem in the third. With one out, Eddy Rodriguez would single a fly ball to Portes. Michael DeJesus did the same thing, but this time Portes was not really paying attention and missed it, allowing a double to DeJesus and a run to Rodriguez. Jose Castro hit a single, then stole 2nd base, but Burnett would get the next two batters to fly out to end the inning.

The Miracle took the run back though in the bottom of the inning, when Tosoni tripled, then scored on Valencia's ground out.

Consistently throwing between 88 and 92, Burnett allowed some hits, but it was hard to string them together for the runs. Justin Tondi singled in the top of the fifth, but a 72-MPH change up got Michael DeJesus to ground into a force out. Jose Castro would double out to center to bring in DeJesus, but Burnett got Todd Frazier to ground out to end the inning.

Brian Dinkelman singled in the bottom of the 5th and Tosoni drew another walk, but the potential was wasted when Valencia ground out and Johnny Woodard and Edward Ovalle were both taken out on strikes by Sarasota starter Daniel Guerrero.

Drew Stubbs would go yard over the left field fence to give the Reds their third run of the game.

Logan Ondrusek replaced Guerrero on the mound for the Reds in the sixth, allowing a single to Portes and a double to Robbins that brought in the speedy Bostonian. Allan de San Miguel and Yancarlos Ortiz would both be taken out on strikes before Brian Dinkelman took a walk. Tosoni smacked a single out to left that brought in Robbins, but Dinkelman decided to try to two bases on the play and got caught in between 2nd and 3rd, getting tagged out before he could get back to second. It's the probably the first time I've seen a judgment error on the basepaths from Dinkelman. However, the Miracle had their two run lead again.

Jose Lugo would replace Burnett for the seventh, and into the 8th, but with a runner on base in the 8th, field manager Jeff Smith turned to ace closer Rob Delaney to put the game to bed. Delaney got Heisey to pop out to end the inning, then got the bottom of the Reds order out on strikes in the ninth to close out the proceedings.

Tosoni played a good game, going 2-for-2 at the plate with a pair of walks, two runs and 1 RBI. Robbins was 2-for-4 with a run and one RBI. Ovalle would also go 2-for-4 but did not get in on the scoring, hitting a single in the first that struck Guerrero, causing a momentary break in play while the visitor's hurler was checked. He also singled in the bottom of the third, but the effort was wasted when Portes ground into a force out.

Woodard and de San Miguel were both 1-for-4 with a pair of strike outs. Ortiz also had a pair of strike outs in the contest.

A bunch of dogs move into the park tomorrow, and I'm not talking about your four footed friend. The Yankees show up for the first of a three game series against the Miracle with a 7:05 start time.

Southpaw Tyler Robertson (1-2, 3.47) will begin the game on the mound for the Miracle, while Ivan Nova (2-5, 4.31) will throw for Tampa.

The Yankees are without pitcher Mark Melancon (1-0, 2.84), who was promoted to Double-A Trenton. In turn, they received Kevin Whelan down from the Thunder. There is no updated on Yankees ace Eric Hacker, who was placed on the DL a week ago with a blister.

Boxscore
Log
Miracle
News Press
NP - Denton
Breeze*
RedsMinorLeagues.com

* Breeze photographer Vandy Major was at the game last night, so be sure to check out the print edition of the Breeze for some of her wonderful pictures!

Clinton 3 at Beloit 11

W: M. Tarsi (1-6, 6.85); L: J. Quintero (2-1, 7.23)
HR: BEL: C. Parmelee (7).

Chris Parmelee may have belted his 7th home run of the season, but it was Jair Fernandez and Steve Singleton who were the big story in this game. The pair were 4-for-5 in the middle of the line up, Fernandez with 3 runs and 2 RBIs, while Singleton had only 1 run and 2 RBIs.

Ben Revere continued to be impressive - going 3-for-5 with 1 run and 1 RBI, while Parmelee finished up 2-for-4 with a walk, 3 runs and 2 RBIs.

Clinton's Jorge Quintero was victimized for 11 Snappers runs on 13 hits and 2 walks in 3.1 innings. His only strike out was to Mark Dolenc in the second. Mike Tarsi went six innings for Beloit, allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7, for his first win of the season.

Boxscore
Log
Snappers
Tuesday:
Herald
BDN

New Britain 2 to Binghamton 5

W: S. Aguilar (3-0, 3.58); L: O. Sosa (1-3, 7.20); SV: E. Kunz (8)
HR: NBR: D. Winfree (9). BIN: D. Murphy (5).

Former Miracle Erik Lis was 2-for-4 with a run and David Winfree cracked his 9th ball out of the park, but the Rock Cats could not over come the B-Mets.

Lis opened up the top of the second by doubling his way onto base. Winfree followed that up by putting one over the left field fence. That would be all the Cats would see off B-Mets starter Salvador Aguilar.

Oswaldo Sosa gave up 5 runs on 9 hits and 4 walks while striking out 3 for his third loss of the season.

The Cats should be happy to see the Sea Dogs at home on Friday as they have struggled on the road this season. They have one more game against the B-Mets however, Thursday at 10:35 AM, before returning to the New Britain Stadium for a weekend series.

Boxscore
Log
Rock Cats
B-Mets
Press Connect
Courant

Rochester played an early game on Wednesday, defeating the Columbus Clippers 10-7. Click HERE to read the game recap.

---

Tonight! Bark at the Park with the Miracle!

Miracle get back in Win Column

Fort Myers 10 at Sarasota 6

W: D. Guerra (4-1, 4.93); L: R. Gonzalez (2-2, 6.35)
HR: FTM: D. Valencia (4), E. Ovalle (3), R. Tosoni (1). SAR: J. Francisco 2 (7).

The Fort Myers Miracle out slugged the Sarasota Reds during a slug fest at Ed Smith Stadium Tuesday night. The teams had 22 combined hits.

With two outs on the board in the first inning, Danny Valencia drew a walk. Johnny Woodard then hit a line drive double to drive in Valencia, earning himself a ham sandwich in the process.

The Miracle would add three more runs in the third inning, when Brian Dinkelman and Rene Tosoni walked and Valencia tripled them in. After a Woodard strike out, Eddie Ovalle's sac fly brought in Valencia. Sadly Wilson Ramos beautiful double was wasted as Whit Robbins flew out to end the inning.

Ortiz would single in the top of the 4th and, with two outs on the board Rene Tosoni and Valencia would hit back-to-back homers, using the wind to take the ball over the center field wall. Valencia is making a strong case to find himself in the FSL All-Star game this June.

The Reds finally got to Deolis Guerra in the bottom of the 4th inning. Todd Frazier drew a walk and Juan Francisco hit his first home run of the game, his sixth of the season over the center field fence. Following a pop out to Heisey, Danny Dorn doubled out to Right, then came home on a Chris Denove single. Tosoni would try to relay the ball the first, but found the Red's dugout instead of Whit Robbins, allowing Denove to move to 2nd base. That would make the score 7-3 Miracle, but the Reds were not done.

Misael DeJesus replaced Rafael Gonzalez on the Reds mound for the top of the 5th. He would keep the Miracle largely quiet in that inning, allowing a walk to Robbins, hitting Danny Berg with a pitch, and then walking Yancarlos Ortiz to load the bags. Dinkelman would strike out though, leaving the ducks stranded.

Todd Frazier doubled in the bottom of the 5th and Francisco - who looks like he will be joining Mr. Valencia at the All-star game - hit his second home run of the game, his 7th of the season, over the right field fence. That made the score 7-5 and the Reds were again very much in the contest.

Tosoni would single in the top of the sixth, but would get caught stealing second. Woodard took a walk and Edward Ovalle homered over the left field wall, his 3rd yarder of the year, to make it 9-5 Miracle.

The top of the 7th would do it for the Miracle. With Ruben Medina on the mound, Robbins would get plunked by a pitch. Danny Berg ground into a force out that took down Whit, while Yancarlos Ortiz followed that up with a single, moving Berg to second. Dinkelman's line drive out to left scored Berg to make it 10-5.

Danny Vais replaced Guerra on the mound in the bottom of the sixth and allowed a pair of walks before retiring the side. He'd stay there for the seventh, getting Justin Turner to fly out and striking out Frazier and Drew Stubbs.

Slama came on it the 8th inning, allowing only a walk to Chris Denove to placate the Reds. A throwing error by Whit Robbins in the 9th allowed Michael DeJesus to reach, and progress to second. Slama would allow a single to Frazier that would plate DeJesus to give the Reds six, but he'd strike out Francisco and Stubbs to end the game.

Valencia, Tosoni, Ovalle and Ortiz were all 2-for-4 on the night; Valencia with 3 runs and 3 RBIs, Tonsoni with 2 runs and 2 runs scored, Ovalle with 1 run and 3 RBIs, and Ortiz with 1 run. Catcher Wilson Ramos was 2-for-5 at the plate.

The Miracle return home on the victory bus to Hammond Stadium to conclude the series. It's also Sanibel and Captiva Island Night at the ballpark with the Island Night parade starting at 6:00.

Normally we'd make the Reds walk over to Fort Myers, but because they won game one of the series, we'll let them ride on a bus too. But just for this one game.

Alex Burnett (2-1, 2.70) will be on the mound for a 7:05 first pitch, taking on Sarasota's Daniel Guerro (2-2, 5:68).

Boxscore
Log
Miracle
News Press
Breeze
NDN

Special Note: Dan Covey, the Director of Group Sales for the Brevard County Manatee lost his home recently to a wild fire. 71 home in total were destroyed by the fire in the Palm Bay area. The Manatees are asking for donations of furniture and other household items, but as it is a bit far to get those items to Melbourne from Fort Myers, you might want to help out with a cash donation. Contact Kyle Smith at the Manatees by calling 321-633-9200 for additional information.

Anything not used by Covey and his family will be donated to the other 70 families who lost their homes in the fire.

Clinton 5 at Beloit 7

W: S. Steedley (2-1, 1.54); L: H. Nelo (0-1, 3.86)
HR: CLI: M. Moreland (2).

The Snappers claimed game two of their four-game series with the LumberKings by a final of 7-5 with the help of Clinton reliever Adalberto Flores and his back-to-back balks in the bottom of the eighth inning. Flores and his LumberKings pitching staff allowed six of their seven runs in the last two innings to fall to the Snappers.

Ben Revere and Garrett Olson were both 2-for-4, Revere with 3 RBIs, Olson with a run. Joe Benson was 1-for-3 with 2 runs and a walk; Chris Parmelee was 0-for-2 with 2 strike outs, but with a pair of walks as well.

David Bromberg allowed 3 runs - earned - on seven hits and 2 walks while striking out 9 over 6 innings. Brad Tippett gave up 2 more runs on 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 1 in 1.1 inning of relief.

Spencer Steedley picked up his 2nd win of the season, working 1.2 innings in relief, and striking out 2 to close the game.

Parmalee would draw a walk in the bottom of the 8th and be replaced by pinch runner Mark Dolenc. Danny Lehmann singled to bring in Garrett Olson who had doubled his way onto base, to tie up the game. A wild pitch by Flores put Dolenc on 3rd. After Steve Singleton lined into a double play, Joe Benson walked his way onto base. A balk by Flores allowed Dolenc to score to give Beloit the winning run. A wild pitch followed by another Flores balk saw Benson cross the plate for the insurance marker.

Game three of the series is Wednesday, starting at 6:30 PM Central Time.

Boxscore
Log
Snappers
From Monday:
Herald
BDN

New Britain 2 at Binghamton 4

W: R. Parnell (3-2, 5.27); L: J. Rainville (2-5, 9.00); SV: E. Kunz (7)
HR: BIN: C. Stewart (3).

Jay Rainville allowed 4 runs, 3 earned on 7 runs and 1 walks while striking out 2 over 6.1 innings to suffer his fifth loss of the season.

Back-to-back doubles in the 4th by Steve Tolleson and Dustin Martin put the Rock Cats on the board. In the fifth Felix Molina and Drew Butera hit back-to-back singles. Tolleson' ground out moved the pair and a wild pitch by the B-Met's Robert Parnell allowed Molina to score.

Six different New Britain batters had one hit each, with Brock Peterson, Erik Lis and Trevor Plouffe (who struck out twice) going without.

Boxscore
Log
Rock Cats
B-Mets
Courant
Press Connect

Columbus 7 at Rochester 5

W: C. Balester (4-2, 3.79); L: K. Mulvey (2-5, 3.89); SV: C. Manning (5)
HR: ROC: B. Buscher (5), D. Span (2).

Home runs by Brian Buscher and Denard Span did not help much, nor did out-hitting the Columbus Clippers as the Rochester Red Wings still fell, 7-5 at home.

New Britain managed 14 hits to Columbus' eleven, but the game was pretty much won by Columbus in the first inning. A fielding error by Howie Clark, a balk by Kevin Mulvey and doubles by Ryan Langerhans and Javi Herrera helped the Clippers to a 5 run lead. the Wings got 2 back in the bottom of the inning, one of Spans single shot homer. Buscher's fifth of the year gave them another run in the third, and they drew to within one run in the bottom of the 4th, when Howie Clark singled and was driven in by Chris Basak's double.

Ricky Barrett allowed walk to Herrera in top of the 6th. A sac bunt and a single saw him across the plate for what would prove to be the game winning run.

Span was 2-for-3 with 2 runs and 1 RBI in the slugfest, Darnell McDonald was 2-for-4 with a run, Buscher was 4-for-5 with a run and 3 RBIs, Clark was 2-for-4 with 1 run and Chris Basak was 3-for-4 with 1 run scored.

The two teams rematch Wednesday at 11:05 for a businessman's special.

Boxscore
Log
Red Wings
D&C

Infielder Sergio Santos has been claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Twins and sent to Rochester. Santos was batting .183 with four RBI in 26 games for Syracuse. Santos was Arizona's top pick in the 2002 draft, and was traded to Toronto in the Troy Glaus deal 12/27/2005. Santos was an Eastern League All-Star in 2007, hitting 20 homers in 113 games for the Jays' Double-A New Hampshire club. He will be in uniform for the Wednesday morning game.

The Red Wings and Syracuse Chiefs play in the Cooperstown Classic this Sunday May 18; a limited number of tickets remain for the game and the special VIP reception after the game, featuring Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk.

---

Homestand Happenings



The brief home stand concludes on Saturday, May 17 with an event so great you will want to stay late! The “Great All-Nighter” takes place following the 7:05 p.m. contest.

Scouts, families and church groups are encouraged to bring their pop up tents and gear for an overnight camp out on the field. Movies will be shown on the big screen for campers and all pre-registered scout troops of 20 or more will receive a commemorative scout night pin.