Sara-Reds slip past Miracle

Fort Myers 1 at Sarasota 2

Record: 9 - 7

W: J. Smith (3-1, 1.42); L: C. Devries (1-2, 6.00); SV: S. Watson (3)
HR: None.

The Sarasota Reds took a slim lead in the bottom of the second inning and hung onto it through nine to pick up a win over the Fort Myers Miracle.

Despite pounding out ten hit, the Miracle could only convert for one run with Brian Dinkelman, Rene Tosoni and Juan Portes all singling in the top of the 3rd. Portes fly to left field would score Dinkelman.

Justin Turner singled on a line drive in the first and came home on a Chris Valaika double. Valaika would be taken out at 3rd on the play as he tried to stretch it for a triple.

Drew Stubbs double in the bottom of the second and Justin Laowsma would be hit by a pitch to put runners on base. The pair then worked a double steal with Anthony Gressick at the plate. Gressick would then hit a sac-fly to bring in Stubbs for what would prove to be the game winning run.

Cole Devries suffered the loss, allowing both runs on six hits and 1 walk while striking out 6 over 5 innings worth of work. Tim Lahey, newly added to the roster, and Danny Graves finished off the contest.

Dinkleman and Portes were both 3-for-4 in the contest.

The Miracle return home to take on the Lakeland Flying Tigers Sunday for a special 5:05 PM start. Jeff Manship (2-0, 4.50) will make the start for Fort Myers. The Tigers are expected to counter with lefty Duane Below (1-1, 4.92).

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Danny Berg was placed on the seven-day DL retroactive to last Thursday with an undisclosed injury. Lahey was required by the Twins after he was taken in December in the Rule 5 draft by the Phillies. He was designated for assignment and the Twins purchased his contract back. He was added to the Miracle roster from extended spring training.

In Single-A low, four runs in the last three innings helped the Timber Rattlers claim game two of the three-game series, 5-3. Beloit's Spencer Steedley picked up the loss allowing two runs off three hits. Joe Benson was 2-for-3 for the Snappers with 2 walk and 2 runs. Sean Singleton and Garrett Olsen were both 2-for-4, Singleton with a run and 2 RBIs and Olson with 1 RBI. Catcher Danny Lehmann was 3-for-3 with a double.

In Double-A play, Trenton downed the Rock Cats 5-3 in New Britain. Luke Hughes hit his 2nd home run of the season for the Cats, going 3-for-5 at the plate with 2 runs and 1 RBI. Brock Peterson was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run. Dustin Martin and David Winfree each had a hit a piece in the game.

Yohan Pino allowed 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5 in five innings worth of work, but took a no-decision in the game. Ben Julianel suffered the loss in the 11th inning with 2-unearned runs on 2 hits and 4 walks while striking out one over 2 innings.

The Rochester Red Wings also lost to a Yankees' farm team, being shut out by the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees 1-0. Rochester managed only 3 hits and 1 wlak in the contest. Brian Duensing suffered the loss, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5 over 5.2 innings.

Check out the Rock Cats report on RedWingsBaseball.com for a look former Miracle Anthony Swarzak, plus stroll through of the Miracle roster, which speculates that Deolis Guerra will be called up to New Britain once the Twins deem Swarzak ready for Triple A play.

Miracle extend streak to four

Fort Myers 5 at Sarasota 3

Record 9 - 6

W: D. Vais (3-0, 0.75); L: T. Wood (1-1, 1.23); SV: R. Delaney (5)
HR: SAR: J. Francisco (4).

Your Fort Myers Miracle stayed on the winning track Friday as they took game one of the back pair of the home-and-home series that started out on opening night.

Alex Burnett took the start on the mound, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and two walks while striking out 2 over 4.2 innings. The run came in the bottom of the second when a fielding error by Danny Valencia allowed Chris Heisey to get on base. Carson Kainer then ground into a force out that took down Heisey at second, but a runner still remained on first. A second fielding error, this one by Brian Dinkelman allowed Jason Louwsma to reach and moved Kainer to 3rd. A sac-fly by Eddy Rodriguez brought Kainer in to put the home team on the board first.

The run would be unearned.

The Miracle did not answer back until the top of the fourth, when Edward Ovalle singled, then moved to 2nd on a wild pitch by Travis Wood. Reserve catcher Rocky Palacios then singled a line drive out to left that allowed Ovalle to score. Palacios would try for a double, but was thrown out on second, ending the inning.

After Johnny Woodard drew a walk off Wood, the Reds would pull their starter and put in Logan Ondrusek. A triple by Ovalle out to center brought in Woodard. Wilson Ramos then doubled in Ovalle. Juan Portes would hit into a ground out, but Palacios followed up with a double out to left to bring in Ramos. Yancarlos Ortiz would strike out and Dinkelman would ground out to end the inning, but the three points would prove huge for Fort Myers squad.

With reliever Danny Vais on the mound on the bottom of the sixth stanza, Juan Francisco homered out to right. Sarasota will be back at The Bill for a game on May 14th, and you'll probably want to get Francisco's autograph if you've not already done so. Vais would then get Drew Stubbs and Heisey to fly out, and Kainer to ground out to end the inning.

There would a defensive change in the bottom of the 8th for the visitors, with Edward Ovalle moving to left field to replace Juan Portes and Danny Santiesteban taking over the center field post. Jose Lugo also replaced Vais on the mound for the Miracle, and allowed a single to Justin Turner to start off. Chris Valaika then doubled, to move Turner to 3rd. A sac-fly by Francisco brought the runner in, to cut the Miracle lead to just 1 run. Rob Delaney then took over the mound for Fort Myers, and the Sandman retired the next two batters on strikes to preserve the lead.

The Miracle would get an insurance point in the top of the 9th with Ortiz singling, stealing 2nd, and then coming home on a Rene Tosoni single.

Louwsma would draw a walk off Delaney in the bottom of the 9th, but the Reds never got a runner to 2nd base, as Delaney shut down Michael DeJesus on strikes to end the game.

The two teams meet up tonight for the final game of the series, a special 6:00 start. Cole Devries (1-1, 6.92) will get the start for the Miracle. The Reds will counter with Jordan Smith (2-1, 1.40) With the win, the Miracle move into a tie for first place with Dunedin, who lost again, this time to Clearwater.

The Miracle return home Sunday to face the Flying Tigers on Family Fun Day. Twin's pitcher Kevin Slowey will make a rehab start for the Miracle on Monday as he recovers from a strained right biceps muscle. He threw off a mound last Monday for the first time and reported feeling no discomfort from the injury.

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Joe Benson and Steve Singleton delivered back-to-back home runs for the Beloit Snappers which claimed a rain shortened game from the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Greg Yersich added a solo yarder at the bottom of the fourth, which gave the Snappers a 5-0 lead. Starter Brian Kirwan would surrender three runs the following inning however, and be replaced by Steve Hirschfield, who got the final out of the fifth inning before rain claimed the contest.

The Rock Cats rally attempt failed against the Trenton Thunder as the visitors went on to win 8-4 in Double A Action. Luke Hughes was 3-for-4 with 1 run and 1 RBI for the Cats. Hughes drove in Erik Lis, who'd tripled down near the bottom of the order. Oswaldo Sosa labored through four innings, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks.

Jason Pridie knocked in Chris Basak for the only run in a Triple-A game that saw four Rochester pitchers combine to shut out the Richmond Braves. Naples native Carmen Cali picked up the win in relief, allowing 1 hits and walk while striking out 1 in 1.1 innings.

Miracle sweep Threshers

Clearwater 2 at Fort Myers 3

Record 8 - 6

W: A. Slama (1-0, 0.00); L: B. Schlitter (0-1, 3.18)
HR: None.

Rene Tosoni doubled in the bottom of the 9th, brining in Danny Valencia to give the Miracle the run they would needed to end Thursday night's pitching duel and win the game, and the series, against the Clearwater Threshers.

Starters Tyler Robertson for the Miracle and Antonio Bastardo for Clearwater worked four scoreless innings to start off the contest. Robertson would surrender the first run, in the fifth inning, with Carlos Leon doubling out to right. A catching error on Robertson - with an assist to first baseman Johnny Woodard - allowed Matthew Spencer to reach and Leon to score.

Leon's run would be considered unearned, given up on 6 hits and two walks while striking out 5 over 5.

The bottom of the sixth would see the Miracle take the run back, with Woodard taking a walk, and Rene Tosoni getting hit by a pitch. Following a fly out to Wilson Ramon, Danny Santiesteban singled to drive in Woodard.

The teams then exchanged runs in the 8th inning. Matthew Spencer would single off pitcher Matt Fox and move to 2nd on a sac bunt by Gus Milner. P.J.Antonio's line drive moved Spenser to 3rd. Following a walk to John Urick that loaded the bases, Welinson Baez hit into a force out that allowed Spencer to cross the plate. Alan Robbins would strike out swinging ot end the inning with men stranded at the corners.

Woodard singled in the eighth, and Rene Tosoni and Wilson Ramos both drew walks to load the bases. Danny Santiesteban would ground into a force out that would see Woodard out at home, with the bases loaded. A pitching change to Brian Schlitter saw pinch hitter Brian Dinkelman draw a walk that forced in a run, tying up the game again and setting up the stage for the Miracle win in the ninth.

Woodard was 3-for-4 with a run and a walk to lead the offense, while Juan Portes was 2-for-5 but did not figure into the scoring.

The win puts the Miracle in second place in the West Division standings, 1 game behind Dunedin who lost their last 2 to the Tampa Yankees. 14 games in, Clearwater is posting a 4 - 10 record which is NOT the league worst. That dubious honor belongs to the St. Lucie Mets, who have only won two games thus far in the new season.

The Miracle now travel to Sarasota for a brief 2 game series against the Reds. Friday's game begins at 7:00 and Saturday's at 6:00 at Ed Smith Stadium. The Miracle return home Sunday for a 5:05 contest against the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

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Up in New Britain, Dustin Martin continues to lead the Rock Cats offensively, posting a .395 average over 11 games with 9 runs and 8 RBI's. Steve Tolleson is batting .161 over 9 games, while Erik Lis, playing in the outfield, is hitting only .154, having only 6 hits in 39 at bats over 10 games. Former Miracle first baseman Brock Peterson is hitting only .196 in 12 games, but has 3 home runs to his credit.

The Rock Cats hold a 6-6 record, good for forth place in the six team Northern Division of the Eastern League.

Down in Beloit, short stop Steve Singleton leads the team in batting, hitting .395 (17 hits, 43 at bats) in 12 games. Outfielders Chris Parmelee and Garrett Olson are in second and third, hitting .351 and .283 respectively.

The Snappers are 5 - 9 on the season, dead last in the 8 team Western Division of the Mid West League.

Miracle fight off Threshers, 4-1

Clearwater 1 at Fort Myers 4

W: D. Guerra (1-0, 0.60); L: C. Monasterios (1-2, 3.72); SV: R. Delaney (4)
HR: FTM: D. Santiesteban (1).

The Miracle stayed on the winning track Wednesday night at Hammond Stadium, downing the Threshers 4-1 in front of a chilly crowd of 905.

Deolis Guerra took the start for the Miracle, holding the Threshers to only 4 hits and 1 walk over 5 innings while striking out 4.

The Miracle on the other hand wasted no time getting on the board, with lead off hitter Brian Dinkelman tripling, then crossing the plate on Rene Tosoni's ground out to put the Miracle up by 1.

Wilson Ramos and Whit Robbins hit back-to-back singles in the second which paid big dividends when Danny Santiesteban went yard over the left field wall to give the Miracle a four-run lead.

Carlos Monasterios pitched well for the visitors, limiting Fort Myers to only 5 hits and 3 walks over 6 innings, but he'd already given up all the runs the home town team would need.

The only action Clearwater would see would come from Danny Graves, who worked 2 innings. Gus Milner hit a triple off Graves to lead off the sixth inning. He'd come home on John Urick's ground out. Graves would retire the next five batters he faced, getting two to strike out.

Jose Lugo and Rob Delaney handled the mop up chores for the Miracle, each working an inning and striking out 3.

Robbins was 2-for-3 at the plate the only Miracle with multiple hits. Toby Gardenhire was 0-for-3 at the bottom of the order. Danny Valencia, Johnny Woodard and Edward Ovalle were all 0-for-3 as well.

The series finishes off on Thursday Thursday, with big lefty Tyler Robertson (0-1, 4.00) handling the pitching in front of a beer night crowd. Clearwater will counter with their own lefty, Antonio Bastardo (1-0, 0.90). The game begins at 7:05 PM.

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Crupper says on his myspace page: "Jeff Crupper should be running the Clearwater Threshers website, but they won't hire me...is it because my site is better than theirs and it is free?"

At least he covers game when they team is out of town.

Twins Minor League Scoreboard for April 15, 2008

Richmond 3 at Rochester 4 (8 innings)

Record 5 - 7

W: B. Korecky (2-0, 0.00); L: M. DeSalvo (1-1, 3.60)
HR: RIC: J. Anderson (1).

From redwingsbaseball.com: Howie Clark hit a bases-loaded single in the eighth inning to give the Red Wings a 4-3 win over the Richmond Braves in the first game of a doubleheader that was scheduled for seven innings on Tuesday night.

In the opener, the Wings started fast right out of the gates.

After a scoreless inning by Red Wings starter Phil Humber, the Red Wings took very little time to get him the lead. Alexi Casilla started with a lead-off double after battling for multiple pitches with Braves starter Jon Rouwenhorst. Jason Pridie followed with a triple to score Casilla and put himself in position for Buscher to score him in the next at-bat with a looping double to right-center field.

Buscher scored two batters later when Macri hit a single into left field, making the score 3-0 after the first inning.

The Braves scored their first run of the game in the third inning when lead-off hitter Josh Anderson hit an inside-the-park home run to right field. It was the first time an opponent has hit an inside-the-parker since Ottawa Lynx outfielder Brad Wilkerson did it on Aug. 28, 2000 in Ottawa.

The Braves' second run came when Lillibridge scored after stealing second and advancing on a fielding error, making the score 3-2.

The tying run came in for Richmond in the fourth when J.C. Holt came in on a fielder's choice by Lillibridge. After Holt scored, Mariano Gomez relieved Humber and struck out Brandon Jones. Humber finished with 3 2/3 innings allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits and striking out four.

Gomez and Braves reliever Phil Stockman battled until extra innings were needed. Gomez retired all 10 batters he faced and struck out three of them. Stockman's line was nearly identical to Gomez. The only difference was that he struck out one more batter.

After Gomez left, Red Wings closer Bobby Korecky came into the game to start pitching the eighth.

Richmond almost took the lead in the top of the eighth. DH Barbaro Canizares hit a lead-off double and was replaced on the basepaths by pinch-runner Reggie Taylor. The next batter, Joe Borchard, hit a single to left and Taylor was rounding third base.

Enter Tommy Watkins.

Watkins nailed Taylor at the plate to keep the 3-3 tie intact. Despite only having one out after that play, the Braves couldn't get another runner across.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Wings loaded the bases after Pridie singled, Buscher walked, and Jones singled. Next at the plate was Clark. Clark worked reliever Matt DeSalvo (1-1) to a 3-1 count and laced a single over Holt's head to scored Pridie for the Wings' first run since the first inning.

Korecky (2-0) earned the win, allowing two hits and walking one.

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Rochester 3 at Richmond 4 (7 innings)

Record 5 - 8

W: C. Morton (1-0, 1.69); L: C. Daigle (0-2, 4.91); SV: Z. Schreiber (3)
HR: ROC: D. McDonald (1).

From redwingsbaseball.com: In the nightcap, Richmond's Charlie Morton and Zach Schreiber held off the Wings in a 4-2 R-Braves win. Matt Macri knocked in two Rochester runs, and Darnell McDonald homered for the Wings.

Morton, Richmond's rookie game two starter, brought an 0.87 ERA into the game after his first two Triple-A starts. Red Wings relievers Casey Daigle was making a spot start for Rochester. The combination of game two's late starting time (9:21 pm) and temperature (44°) almost insured a quickly played contest; but the game slowed down at Daigle's expense in the second inning. Richmond strung together four singles and a sacrifice fly to go ahead 2-0. By the third inning, Daigle had thrown 48 pitches and gave way to Ricky Barrett.

Morton worked around Rochester hits in the first and third, and a second inning walk. In the fourth, Brian Buscher and Clark hit back-to-back singles to put the tying runs on base, but Morton got a flyout from Randy Ruiz. Jose Morales stung a shot to short that Brent Lillibridge couldn't handle for an error; but Macri followed with a first pitch swing that resulted in a flyball to right to end the threat.

Barrett pitched one inning, with Heath Totten bailing out Barrett and the Wings in the fourth. Totten came in with two runners on and struck out Lillibridge to end a Richmond threat. The Braves added a run off Totten in the fifth on Scott Thorman's double.

Rochester had shot in the sixth. Braves left fielder Brandon Jones made a great catch to take a home run away from Buscher to start the inning, and hits by Clark and Morales put two runners on with two outs. Macri lofted a double to the deepest part of the ballpark in left-center, bringing in Clark and Morales to make it a 4-2 contest. Morton exited in favor of Schreiber, who struck out Chris Basak to end the rally.

Carmen Cali pitched one inning of relief, fanning one. With two outs in the seventh, McDonald homered to left and Buscher singled to right. But Schreiber got Clark to line out, ending the game.

NOTES: Garrett Jones left the first game with a bruised knee, after colliding with the outfield wall on Anderson's homer. Jones did not play in the second game...

Inductees into the International League's Hall of Fame will be presented with a special memento to honor their designation among the League’s immortals. The International League’s 125th Anniversary Committee has commissioned the creation of a statue -- "The Curtain Call" -- which will be presented to members of the IL Hall of Fame upon their formal induction. Red Wings inductees, including Joe Altobelli, Morrie Silver and Russ Derry, will be honored here on June 28....

Watkins and Darnell McDonald wore uniform number 42 Tuesday in celebration of the 2008 Jackie Robinson Day. On April 15, 1947 Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color line when he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers....

More than 330 players and on-field staff members from the 30 Major League Clubs planned to wear number 42 Tuesday; the Minnesota Twins players and staff members who participated: Matt Guerrier, Livan Hernandez, Craig Monroe, Denard Span, Jerry White and Delmon Young...

From TwinsBaseball.com: Twins RHP Kevin Slowey reported feeling no discomfort in his strained right biceps muscle on Tuesday, one day after testing it by throwing off a mound for the first time since sustaining the injury. Slowey has been on the DL since Friday...

Twins SS Adam Everett's sore right shoulder has become enough of a concern that he will have it evaluated by team doctors when the club returns home on Wednesday.

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New Britain 2 at New Hampshire 4

Record 5 - 5

W: S. Richmond (1-2, 4.32); L: R. Mullins (1-1, 1.59); SV: M. Gallo (1)
HR: NBR: B. Peterson (2), L. Hughes (1). NHM: J. Butler (1).

From rockcats.com: New Hampshire's Scott Richmond pitched a gem, limiting the Rock Cats to one run on four hits in seven innings, as the Fisher Cats topped the Rock Cats, 4-2.

Richmond (1-2, 4.32) struck out seven and walked none. He topped the performance of Rock Cats' starter Ryan Mullins.

Mullins (1-1, 1.59) turned in a solid start of his own, allowing two runs on five hits through six innings. Kyle Aselton added a scoreless inning in relief, stretching his total appearances without a run to three.

The Fisher Cats took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a solo shot by Jacob Butler. In the third, Ryan Klosterman doubled, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored on a single by Chris Gutieirrez to widen the gap.

Brock Peterson's solo home run in the seventh cut the lead in half, 2-1. In the eighth, though, New Hampshire's Erik Kratz delivered a two-run single in the eighth to put away the Rock Cats.

Luke Hughes homered for the Rock Cats in the top of the ninth, but that was all the Rock Cats could muster off Mike Gallo. Seth Overbey tossed a scoreless eighth before Gallo finished the game off and picked up his first save.

Erik Lis was 0-for-3 and is now batting .097. Iris asked after Steve Tolleson. He's played in 8 games, has 4 run on 5 hits in 27 at bats for a .185 average. While rumors continue to swirl about Trevor Plouffe taking up pitching, his .235 average is good for 5th among Rock Cat batters.

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Dayton 6 at Beloit 8 (11 innings)

Record 5 - 8

W: M. Williams (1-0, 2.38); L: E. Del Rosario (1-1, 2.57)
HR: DAY: T. Frazier (5), K. Jones (1), D. Phipps (1). BEL: C. Parmelee (4).

From snappersbaseball.com: Chris Parmelee has had some good games in his short career in the minors, but this one might take the cake. The Minnesota Twins' 2006 first round draft pick had a career-high seven RBIs and hit a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the eleventh inning to give the Snappers a 8-6 victory Tuesday night.

The game started off in the Snappers favor when the defending Western Division Champs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Back-to-back sacrifice flies from Garrett Olson and Chris Parmelee put the Snaps ahead after the first inning.

Dayton then jumped in front with one run in the top of the second and two more in the top of the third to take a 3-2 lead.

Beloit followed the Dragons outburst with two runs of their own in the bottom of the third inning to take back the lead, 4-3. Parmelee delivered a two-run single to left, scoring Steve Singleton and Garrett Olson and putting the Snappers back on top.

Parmelee struck again for the Snappers in bottom of the fifth inning with a two-run double to center, scoring Joe Benson and Garrett Olson and putting them up 6-3. Chris' double was his fourth of the season.

After the Dragons scored one in the top of the eighth, the game got heated in the top half of the ninth inning. Dayton tied the game up at 6-6 on a wild pitch from Beloit's Matt Williams. Williams' wild pitch not only allowed Dayton to tie the game, but it also led to a disputed call by the base umpire that, in turn, led to three Beloit ejections. Snappers manager Nelson Prada, shortstop Garrett Olson and reserve catcher Greg Yersich all got ejected from the game for arguing an interference error by Olson. Williams got out of the inning one batter later by striking out Dayton's Todd Frazier.

Both teams were held scoreless in the tenth and entered the eleventh inning tied at 6-6.

Matt Williams sent the Dragons down in order in the top of the eleventh and the Snappers entered the bottom half ready to send the fans home happy.

Steve Singleton reached first on a base hit with one out, and after a Chris Cates fly out to right, the man of the night stepped to the plate. Chris Parmelee took Dayton's Enerio Del Rosario deep over the right field wall to give the Snappers the win and improve their record to 5-8.

Beloit starter Michael McCardell went seven innings and struck out a season-high nine batters while picking up a no-decision.

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Reds extend affiliation w/Dragons