Miracle overcome error to Rally past Threshers

Johnny Woodard

Clearwater 5 at Fort Myers 8

Record: 6 - 6

W: D. Vais (2-0, 0.00); L: A. Cruse (0-3, 10.29); SV: A. Slama (2)
HR: FTM: J. Woodard (3).

Botched fielding in the 3rd inning allowed the Clearwater Threshers to take a 2 run lead which they carried through most of the game. But a four run 7th inning saw Fort Myers tie up the game and take the lead back on a chilly night in Southwest Florida.

With game time temperatures dipping to 65, Jeff Manship took to the mound, making short work of the first three batters he faced. Brian Dinkelman would walk to start the bottom of the inning. Following a fly out to Juan Portes, Rene Tosoni drew a walk off Clearwater starter Darren Byrd. The Pensacola native was probably no more used to the cool weather than the crowd in the stands. He next surrendered a ground ball single to Johnny Woodard, which allowed Dinkelman to score. An Edward Ovalle single drove in Tosoni, and Woodard came in on Danny Santiesteban's line drive to left. Catcher Allan de San Miguel would hit into a force out though to end the inning.

The three run lead though did not last past the 3rd inning. Fidel Hernandez singled his way onto base, and following a pop up to Quintin Berry, moved to second on a Carlos Leon line drive. Adrian Cardenas lined out, but Gus Miller singled out to right to bring in Hernandez. Matthew Spencer spanked a ball into right field to bring in Leon. It looked the Miracle would protect their lead however, when Tuffy Gosewisch hit a pop up that Manship should have caught, except that Woodard came barreling in from first base, only to move Manship off the catch and then miss the ball. Milner scored with the 3rd out lying on the field. John Urick hit a fly ball to right that brought in Spencer and Gosewisch before Welinson Baez was called out on strikes.

It was 2-for-Tuesday and I thought perhaps we could both Whit and Woodard in together at first. "That wasn't a really good play," Tyler said in somewhat of an understatement. "It sometimes happens."

Manship lasted only one more inning, his final total being 5 runs (2 earned) on six hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. Danny Vais would take over for the next three, as temps continued to drop in the face of the 17 mph wind from left. (And the gift shop is out of sweatshirts and blankets.)

Fort Myers lead off the bottom of the 5th with singles from Portes, Tosoni and Valencia to give the Miracle one more run.

Clearwater would bring reliever Andy Cruse in for the sixth inning, but his trouble would come in the seventh, when Woodard homered out to right to tie up the game with 2 outs on the board. Edward Ovalle then drew a walk before Daniel Brauer came in to replace Cruse. Santiesteban greeted him with walk. Wilson Ramos replaced de San Miguel in the line up, drawing a walk to load the bases. Clearwater then tried Samuel Walls on the mound, who allowed a walk to Ortiz to force in the go ahead run. Dinkelman's double drove in two for the insurance runs before Portes would strike out swinging to end a nightmare inning for the defensing FSL Championship Threshers.

Anthony Slama would work 2 inning, picking up his 2nd save of the season.

Ovalle was 3-for-4 at the plate with a walk, a run, and an RBI. Woodard, who is hitting .243 on the season, was 2-for-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI's.

While Toby Gardenhire does lead the Miracle in batting average, among the regular players Rene Tosoni (10 games) and Brian Dinkelman (11 games) lead the Miracle, both batting over the .300 mark.

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Scoreboard for April 15, 2008

Syracuse 4 at Rochester 9

Record 4 - 7

W: B. Duensing (1-2, 3.12); L: J. Banks (0-2, 4.32); SV: B. Korecky (2)
HR: SYR: R. Adams (2). ROC: B. Buscher (3).

From Redwingsbaseball.com: Brian Buscher had two hits, two runs scored and two RBI, and Tommy Watkins scored three times to spark the slumping Rochester offense, helping the Red Wings to a 9-4 win over the Syracuse Chiefs Monday night at Frontier Field.

Rochester starter Brian Duensing brought a hard-luck 0-2 record into the game, despite a fine 2.31 ERA in his first two starts. Syracuse's Josh Banks saw a lot of the Wings in 2007, and liked what he saw: he posted a 3-2 record and a 2.67 ERA over five starts against the Red Wings last season. Syracuse entered Monday's game with a league best 2.94 staff earned run average. Add in the fact that the clubs had the second- and third-lowest team batting averages in the league, and the game was set up to be a pitcher's duel.

Duensing got three fast groundball outs in the first inning; Banks retired the first two Rochester hitters he faced, then allowed a single to Buscher. But Banks struck out Garrett Jones to end the first.

The Chiefs reached Duensing for a pair of runs in the second, when Chip Cannon stroked a two-out, two-run single to make it 2-0 Syracuse. The Wings got a run back in the third, after Watkins led off with a single. Jason Pridie delivered an RBI hit to bring the Wings to within a run at 2-1; the run ended a 10-inning scoreless streak for Rochester.

Russ Adams clubbed his second home run of the season off Duensing to lead off the Syracuse fourth, a shot that glanced off the foul pole in right field.

The Wings put together a rally in the fifth, after Watkins led off with a walk. Chris Basak followed with an infield hit, on a ball that third baseman Sergio Santos couldn't come up with. Alexi Casilla flew out, and Jason Pridie worked Banks for a walk to load the bases for Buscher. Banks got ahead of Buscher, who then fouled off four pitches before Banks hit Buscher with a pitch on the back. Watkins came home to make it 3-2 to bring up Jones, fighting an 0-for-18 slump. Jones scorched the first pitch from Banks, and second baseman Pedro Lopez couldn't come up with the ball for an error. Basak scored, Pridie hustled to score from second, and Jones reached second base safely with a slide. When the smoke cleared, the Wings led 4-3. Howie Clark tripled to the gap in right-center on an 0-2 Banks pitch, plating both Buscher and Jones. Matt Macri's double drove in Clark to cap a six-run outburst, resulting in a 7-3 Rochester lead.

Duensing worked into the sixth, getting a pair of outs before walking Adams. Julio DePaula entered and quickly retired Santos on the first pitch.

The Chiefs picked up a run off DePaula in the seventh, when Chip Cannon scored on a fielder's choice by Wayne Lydon. The Wings quickly recovered on a home run by Buscher into the Wings bullpen to lead off the seventh inning.

Carmen Cali came in to pitch for Rochester in the eighth and ran into trouble, loading the bases with one out. Closer Bobby Korecky relieved Cali, and induced an inning-ending double play to escape the jam. A quick ninth earned Korecky his first save of the season.

NOTES: The Wings played errorless ball after struggling defensively this season. Watkins and Pridie made outstanding defensive efforts on flyballs late in the game. Pridie travelled from shallow straightaway centerfield to the wall in leftcenter to get his glove on a ball hit by Chip Cannon in the seventh. Watkins cradled a looper down the line in foul territory toward left, but could not hang onto the ball when he hit the ground...

Outfielder Darnell McDonald will be activated from the disabled list and available for Tuesday's doubleheader against Richmond at Frontier Field. McDonald has been on the disabled list since Opening Day with a strained lower back. Last season McDonald batted .307 with four home runs and 54 RBI between Columbus and Rochester. Rochester has a roster spot and will not need to make room for McDonald....

RHP Danny Graves was activated from the Red Wings disabled list Saturday and optioned to Class A Ft. Myers. Graves made his first appearance for Ft. Myers yesterday, allowing three runs on four hits in 2.0 innings of work. Graves was 4-5 with a 3.90 ERA and 33 saves for the independent Long Island Ducks in 2007; he has recorded 182 big league saves, including 41 for the Reds in 2004...

In the first inning, a hard hit foul ball off the bat of Alexi Casilla struck first base coach Randy Ruiz in the leg. Ruiz limped off the field and was replaced in the coaching box by Jon Knott; Ruiz returned to coach later in the game.

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New Britain 7 at New Hampshire 2

Record 5 - 4

W: J. Miller (1-0, 5.14); L: M. MacDonald (0-2, 6.23)
HR: NBR: D. Winfree (2). NHM: E. Kratz (2).

From rockcats.com: Rock Cats outfielder David Winfree’s three-run homer in the ninth inning capped off a 7-2 win over New Hampshire on Monday night.

Winfree finished the night 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Luke Hughes added two hits, three walks, and scored two runs for the Rock Cats.

The Rock Cats took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on Jeff Christy’s double to right field. Hughes added an RBI double in the top of the fifth. The Fisher Cats retaliated in the bottom of the inning. Erik Kratz hit a solo homer and Aaron Matthews added an RBI single to tie the game, 2-2.

In the seventh, Hughes and Brock Peterson delivered back-to-back singles. Matt Moses then knocked in Hughes with a double to left field for a 3-2 lead. Peterson added an RBI single in the ninth.

Rock Cats’ starter Yohan Pino tossed four shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out three, but came away with the no-decision. Jason Miller picked up the win with four solid innings in relief. Miller (1-0) allowed two runs (1 ER) on two hits. He retired the last ten-straight batters he faced. Armando Gabino added a perfect ninth, striking out two.

New Hampshire’s A.J. Wideman allowed just two hits through five innings, but struggled with control as he walked six batters. Mikel MacDonlad (0-2) suffered the loss in relief.

Luke Hughes was 2-for-2 with 3 walks, 2 runs and 1 RBI. Brock Peterson was 2-for-5 with 1 run and 1 RBI, he's batting .147 on the season. Erik Lis, who's been playing as an outfielder in New Britain, was 1-for-5, he's batting .107 on the season.

The Herald is running a nice article on Dustin Martin, BTW. Click on the link to "Notebook" below to read it.

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Dayton 10 at Beloit 4

Record: 4 - 8

W: T. Young (1-2, 3.86); L: C. Nolte (0-1, 0.00)
HR: BEL: G. Yersich (1).

E: Dolenc (2, fielding), Santana, R (5, fielding), Yersich (1, throw), Parmelee (1, fielding).

From snappersbaseball.com: A five-run eighth helped propel the Dayton Dragons past the Snappers Monday night, as they cruised to a 10-4 victory. Reliever Charles Nolte picked up the loss allowing five runs in the eighth (all unearned) on three hits and three Snapper errors.

Greg Yersich put Beloit ahead in the bottom of the second inning with his first home run of the season. Yersich’s blast put the Snappers ahead 2-0 after two innings.

After the Dragons tied it up in the top of the fourth, the Snappers scored single runs in both the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings to jump back ahead 4-2.

Dayton struck back in the top of the seventh with two runs of their own to tie the game at 4-4. Then the flood gates opened up on Beloit.

The Dragons scored five runs, all with two outs, in the top of the eighth inning to put themselves in control.

The Snappers were never able to recover as they went on to lose to the Dragons by a final of 10-4.

Beloit’s Steve Singleton extended his team-high hitting streak to ten games with a 1 for 3 night.

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Dunedin's four run 8th, crushes Miracle

Dunedin 9 at Fort Myers 3

Record: 5 - 6

The Dunedin Blue Jays pounded out 13 hits resulting in 9 runs to take a commanding win the final game of the series Sunday during Mascot Mania Day at Hammond Stadium.

Sean Shoffit greeted Miracle starter Cole Devries with a line drive single to left. Chris Emanuele and Travis Snider followed that up with singles of their own. J.P. Arencibia ground into a double play, but Shoffit got the run in to give Dunedin an early lead.

The home town team took it back though in bottom of the inning, despite a strong looking lead off by lefty Brett Cecil, who was making a rehab start. Rene Tosoni doubled with 1 out and Danny Valencia put one over the right center field wall to give the Miracle a lead. That would be about all they would get out of Cecil however who only gave up one hit over the next two innings.

Devries kept the Jays off the board for the next two innings despite giving up back-to-back walks in the top of the 2nd. The top of the fourth would be a different story, with Paul Franko getting hit a pitch to start off the stanza and Jonathan Diaz going yard over the right field wall to give the lead back to Dunedin.

Snider would single in the top of the 5th, and following a fly out to J.P. Arencibia, Cory Patton would single to put Snider on 3rd. Franko's line drive to right would score Snider, making it 4-2 Jays.

Even so the game was still within reach, with Juan Portes and Danny Santiesteban smacking back-to-back singles and Yancarlos Ortiz bunting to fill up the bases. A sac-fly by Rene Tosoni brought in Portes, but Valencia's ground out ended the scoring threat one shy of the tying run.

The Jays would take the run back with Shoffit taking a walk in the top of the 6th. Danny Graves, a minor league free agent signee, would come into relieve Devries, surrendering a single to Emanuele which allowed Shoffit past the plate.

Fort Myers looked for, but could find, no offense in the bottom of the sixth and seventh.

The top of the eighth turned nasty however. Following a ground out to Jonathan Diaz, Luis Sanchez singled then sold 2nd. Shoffit's ground out pushed him to 3rd, and an Emanuele ground ball single would push him over the plate. Snider would single to put runners at the corners, which prompted Miracle field manager Jeff Smith to bring in Matt Fox. Arencibia took one of Foxy's pitches over the right field wall though, the wind which had been a help in the past couple of games suddenly becoming an enemy.

With nine on the board for the visitors, it looked bad for the home town boys, who went three up, three down in the bottom of the 8th. The Jays would then turn to Chad Blackwell to finish off the game, which he did quickly, sending the Fort Myers fans home unhappy.

Devries would finish up allowing 5 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6. Graves would be charged for the inherited runs, giving up 3 on 4 hits and 1 walk in 2 innings.

Ortiz was the only Miracle batter with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 at the bottom of the order.

The Miracle rest on Monday and start a 3-game series against the Clearwater Threshers on Tuesday. Jeff Manship will take to the mound against the defending FSL champions. The Threshers are 4-7 on the young season, last in the West Division, while the Miracle are in a three-way tie for 3rd place.

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Notes: Graves was added to the roster Saturday. The 34-year old notched a career-high 41 saves with Cincinnati in 2004, when he was picked for his second All-Star appearance. Graves holds the Cincinnati club record with 172 career saves.

The Minnesota Twins signed the former University of Miami product to a Minor League deal on March 30. Graves pitched last season for the Long Island Ducks, leading the independent Atlantic League with 33 saves.

The former fourth-round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in 1994, was born in Saigon, Vietnam. He is the first and only Vietnam-born player in the history of the Major Leagues.

Miracle reliever Rob Delaney has been named Twins Minor League Player of the week.

Delaney, 23, pitched six scoreless innings last week and went 3-for-3 in his save opportunities. The St. John’s University graduate is 0-1 with a 0.00 ERA. He has not allowed an earned run or walked a batter in eight innings this season. Opponents are hitting .179 against him. Delaney compiled 35 saves in 53 games last year, playing for Fort Myers and low Class A Beloit, Wis.

Graphs: Since I was looking for Adrian Martin, who is evidenlty on Dunedin's disabled list, I somehow managed to overlook the fact that Blackwell was on the roster and missed getting is autograph yet again. It's becoming a habit.

I also missed Matt Fox who was up at the autograph table on the concourse on Friday. I actually had pulled the 8 x 10 I needed to have him sign on Thursday night, and managed to forget to take it to the park with me on Friday. Back to remedial autographing 101 for me...

Dunedin does not return until June 2nd. T.J. reports that Travis Snider is very nice and gives a good graph, so if you missed him this time around be sure to get him then, as he's unlikely to stay in the FSL after the All-Star game.

Blue Jays slide by Miracle

News Press blogger Ed Pelegrino with his son, Owen.

Dunedin 5 at Fort Myers 4

W: E. Rodriguez (1-0, 0.00); L: R. Delaney (0-1, 0.00); SV: Z. Dials (4)
HR: FTM: J. Woodard (2).

The Miracle managed to take a 4-1 lead going into the sixth inning, but Dunedin was able to whittle it away, eventually finding the game winning run in the 9th helped in part on a wild pitch by Miracle closer Rob Delaney.

Alex Burnett took the start for the home town team, allowing a triple to Chris Emanuele in the first which give Dunedin the early lead when Emanuele came home on a Travis Snider ground out.

Dunedin's Gustavo Chacin would hold Fort Myers scoreless in the first, but a triple by Danny Santiesteban and a walk by Allan de San Miguel set the stage for a run. Toby Gardenhire singled at the bottom of the order to bring in the speedy Santiesteban. A Brian Dinkelman double saw de San Miguel across the plate, but a questional call by the umpire saw Gardenhire out at home on the throw to the plate.

Still it gave the lead to the Miracle, who would extended it in the third. With two outs, a slimmed down Johnny Woodard singled and stole 2nd base. Wilson Ramos' double brought Woodard in, but in what seemed like a repeat of the prior inning, Ramos was called out at home when he tried to reach on a Rene Tosoni single.

After a scoreless fourth inning, Woodard would hit his second home run of the season into the wind over the right field wall.

That would be it for the Miracle though, as Armando Benitez replace Chacin on the mound and then Benitz left almost immediately with an injured leg. Submariner Conner Falkenbach came into the game and would hold the Miracle to only 1 hit through 2.1 innings.

Burnett started the sixth but a double to Travis Snider and a walk to Brian Dopirak saw Jose Lugo come into the game. After striking out Cory Patton, Lugo allowed a single at J.P. Arencibia to bring in Snider, cutting the Miracle lead in half.

The 7th inning was scoreless, but Dunedin opened with a pair of singles and a run in the eighth which saw Fort Myers turn to ace closer Robert Dalaney. However, Dopirak greeted Delaney with a double, to bring in Snider, tying up the game.

The Miracle could find no offense though in the bottom of the stanza against the Blue Jay's Edward Rodriguez, recording a ground out and a pair of fly outs.

Luis Sanchez got on base for the Jays on a fielding error by Toby Gardenhire. He moved to 2nd on Sean Shoffit's ground out, and to 3rd on Delaney's wild pitch. A single by Chris Emanuele gave the Jays the go ahead run.

With 2 outs in the ninth, hopes were briefly raised when Edward Ovalle singled, but Valencia ground into a force out and the game was finished with the Jays on top.

Woodard and Tosoni were both 2-for-4 in the game, Woodard with 2 runs. Dinkelman and Valencia were both 2-for-5.

Lugo would be charged with 2 runs on 3 hits while striking out 2 in 1.2 innings, jumping his ERA up to 10.13. Delaney still has not give up an earned run this year, despite being hit with the blown save and the loss.

The series concludes on Sunday on Mascot Mania Day as Fort Myers mascot Miss A-Miracle celebrates her 4th birthday. Cole Devries will be making the start for the Miracle.

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Miracle open home stand with win

Dunedin 2 at Fort Myers 3

Record 5 - 4

The Miracle opened their 3 game home series against the Dunedin Blue Jays strong, watching both Brian Dinkelman and Johnny Woodard take advantage of strong winds to put balls over the right field fence.

Tyler Robertson's first appearance against the home town crowd seemed to start out strong as well, as he struck out Chris Emanuele to start out, then retiring Sean Shoffit on a fly out and 2006 1st rounder Travis Snider on a ground out.

But Robertson started to struggle in the 2nd. Brian Dopirak opened with a double out to left. After two consecutive strike outs, Bradley Emaus took a walk. Jesus Gonzalez singled to load the bases and a Jonathan Diaz single saw Dopirak across the plate for the first Dunedin run. With the bases still loaded, Robertson was able to entice Emanuele to his second strike out of the game.

Kenny Rodriguez took the start for the Jays and worked six innings, keeping the Miracle to only 3 hits during that time, two of which were the first inning home runs. He issued only one walk and struck out 5.

After a 3-up, 3-down bottom of the second for the Miracle, Shoffit walked to start out the top of the 3rd. While Snider struck out swinging, Shoffit would steal second on catcher Wilson Ramos. A line drive by Dopirak saw Shoffit across the plate as the Jays tied the game.

While Robertson's seven strike outs were impressive, the six hits and 2 walks marred the performance. He also threw a lot of pitches, giving way after the 4th inning to Danny Vias, who would hold the Jays to only one hit, while striking out 3 over the next four.

Edward Ovalle came into the game in the 7th to pinch hit for Whit Robbins, drawing a walk to get on base with one out. A wild pitch by reliever B.J. Ryan saw Ovalle to 2nd and a balk by Ryan got him to 3rd. After Juan Portes struck out swinging, Danny Santiesteban took the first pitch he faced deep for a double bringing in Ovalle for the game winner.

With Dinkleman on 3rd base in the top of the 9th, both Danny Valencia and Johnny Woodard had a chance to add an insurance marker, but both struck out, ending the winning.

Emaus singled out to right in the 9th and stole 2nd, but three strike outs by Anthony Slama shut the door on a Jays rally, letting the Miracle take game one of the series.

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