Cats and Dogs; Gardy's performance highlights doubleheader

The New Britain Rock Cats lost both sides of a double header Saturday night to the Portland Sea Dogs, but redeemed themselves on Sunday by topping the Dogs, 5-4, to even up the series. They will play the rubber match on Monday, July 14th at 12:05 PM before heading into the All-star break.

Saturday: Portland 8 at New Britain 6

W: C. Rhoades (3-3, 4.91); L: Z. Ward (2-6, 3.76); SV: B. Vaughan (13)
HR: NBR: D. Martin (6), D. Butera (4).

Zach Ward pitched four good innings but didn't make it through the 5th, allowing 5 runs, 4 earned on 9 hits and a walk while striking out 4.

New Britain had taken the early lead on Dustin Martin's homer in the bottom of the first, his sixth of the season over the right field wall.

They'd add to it in the bottom of the 3rd with Drew Butera hitting his fourth home run of the year over the left field wall. Following a ground out to Brock Peterson, Erik Lis singled. Danny Valencia would go down on strikes before Matt Moses and David Winfree both drew walks off Portland's Kyle Jackson. With the bases loaded, Jackson would hit Toby Gardenhire with a pitch to force in a run and would walk Rocky Palacios for yet another one before getting Martin out on strikes.

Needless to say, he was not invited to take the mound the following inning, and was replaced by Chad Rhodes.

Mickey Hall singled in the top of the fourth and Bubba Bell, who will be in the Eastern League All-star Derby, doubled him in. Tony Granadillo walked and Jeff Corsaletti doubled to bring in Bell and put runners on second and third. Aaron Bates reached on a throwing error by Gardenhire at short which served to score Granadillo, and Zach Daeges sacrificed in Corsaletti. Rock Cats field manager Bobby Cuellar then walked out to the mound to take the ball away from Ward. Jason Miller came in and Jorge Jimenez would hit a sac-fly off of him to plate Bates before he could get Iggy Suarez to pop out.

Much like an oldie's station, the hits kept coming for Portland. Hall and Bell both took walks of J-Mill and Granadillo doubled to bring in Hall. Corsaletti sacrificed in Bell. Bates double would plate Granadillo. A wild pitch saw Bates move to 3rd, but Miller would finally get Daeges out on strikes and induce Mark Wagner to hit into a ground out to retire the side.

Suddenly, it was the bottom of the 7th and the Cats needed to double up their run total. Lis and Valencia both singled of reliever T.J. Large before Moses flew out. Winfree then took a walk to load up the bags. Portland then got Beau Vaughan out of the bull pen to close out the game. Gardenhire would single to drive in Lis and Valencia but Palacios would ground into a double play, destroying the Rock Cat's chances.

Lis and Valencia were both 2-for-4 a the plate, Lis with a pair of run and Valencia with one run. Moses was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run. Gardenhire finished up 1-for-3 but with 3 RBIs.

On to the nightcap...

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Saturday: Portland 2 at New Britain 1

W: D. Richardson (6-5, 5.62); L: K. Aselton (4-3, 4.23); SV: R. Lentz (1)
HR: POR: Z. Daeges (2). NBR: T. Gardenhire (1).

I'm not sure how to say this, but Toby Gardenhire hit a home run over the left field wall. It was the first of his professional career, the last one coming when he was with the University of Illinois in 2005, the year he was drafted. How amazing is that?

It was probably the high light of the night, but it didn't last long. Aaron Bates took a walk off Rock Cat's starter Kyle Aselton, and Zach Daeges went yard over the right field wall to to give the Dogs a pair of runs.

Portland's Dustin Richardson allowed the Cats only 2 hits and walk while striking out 4 to pick up the win. Richard Lentz earned the save, allowing only a double to Valencia in the bottom of the 7th.

Matt Moses took a pitch to his hand in the bottom of the fifth and would be replaced in the line up by Felix Molina. There is no indication as to how badly or how long he will be out with the injury.

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Rock Cats/OSC
Rock Cats/OSC: Attendance
Sea Dogs
NB Herald
P-Press
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Sox and Dawgs Blog

Sunday: Portland 4 at New Britain 5

W: Y. Pino (3-3, 4.00); L: A. Mills (0-2, 6.75); SV: B. Julianel (20)
HR: POR: J. Corsaletti (12), M. Wagner (9), Z. Daeges (3). NBR: E. Lis (10).

Portland opened up the scoring on this one, with Jeff Corsaletti homering in the top of the 4th. Aaron Bates would single and Zach Daeges would go down on strikes before Mark Wagener took another yard ball off New Britain starter Yohan Pino, going over the left field fence to give the Portland a 3 run lead.

The Cats answered back in the bottom of the inning however, with Erik Lis, Danny Valencia and David Winfree all singling to load the bags. Following a strike out to Brock Peterson, Felix Molina singled to plate Lis and Valencia, making it 3-2 dogs.

Drew Butera walked and Brian Dinkelman singled before Lis' bat went BOOM and sent a ball over the right field fence to make it 5-3 Cats.

Armando Gabino replaced Pino in the top of the six and would allow a homer to Daeges, this third of the year, which sent over the right field fence. The Cats then hung on for the remainder of the game, protecting their slim lead.

Bubba Bell would single in the ninth of Ben Julianel, move to 2nd on Kristopher Negron's sac bunt and to 3rd on a Jeff Corsaletti single before Julianel got down to business and struck out Bates and Daeges to end the contest.

Pino worked five innings, allowing 3 runs on six hits and walk while striking out six. Gabino gave up 5 hits, but only one run over the next 3 while striking out 4.

Dinkelman, Lis and Valencia were all 2-for-4 at the plate, Lis with a pair of runs and 3 RBIs, the other two with a run each. Molina was 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs while Winfree (1-for-4) and Gardenhire (1-for-3) shared the one hit wonder award. Martin was also 1-for-3, but added a walk to his performance.

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Rock Cats/OSC
Rock cats/OSC: Attendance
Sea Dogs

Snappers and Dragons suspended until Sunday

Beloit 6 at Dayton 5

Pitching: M. Allen (BEL); Batting: D. Mesoraco (DAY)
HR: DAY: Z. Cozart (10), N. Soto (1).

The game is shown as being suspended as the Snappers broke a tie in the top of the 7th and the Dragons did not get to complete the bottom of the inning.

The game in progress: Mark Dolenc and Greg Yersich hit back-to-back singles off Jeremy Horst in the bottom of the second to get things going. Andrew Schmeising and Estarlin De Los Santos both struck out before Jeanfred Brito singled to bring in Dolenc.

The Dragons answered back in the bottom of the inning with Devin Mesoraco doubling of Snappers starter Henry Reyes. Logan Parker would go down on strikes before Kevyn Feiner (yup, Korey's little brother) singled a line drive to right. Mesoraco would try to go home but would be taken down at the plate, meanwhile Feiner went to 2nd base. Justin Reed's grounder would get the job down for the Dragons however, as it brought Feiner home to tie up the game.

Zach Cozart hit a home run over the left field wall in the bottom of the 3rd to put Dayton on top. It would be a short lived lead however.

Dolenc would reach on a fielding error. Yersich would fly out before Schmiesing singled to move Dolenc to 2nd. De Lo Santos then tripled to bring in the runners, making it 3-2 Snappers. De Lo would try to come home on Brito's ground out, but the Dragons opted to make the play at the plate, taking De Lo out and allowing Brito to reach.

Tyler Rhoden would take over the mound at the top of the 5th, and got Ben Revere to fly out before allowing a double to Ozzie Lewis. Rene Leveret took a walk, and Dolenc would single to score Lewis. The lumbering Leveret would be taken down at 3rd, and Dolenc would end up at 2nd on the throw. Dolenc then stole 3rd base and scored on Yersich follow up single. Curtis Partch replaced Rhoden, getting Schmiesing to ground out to retire the side.

Chris Anderson replaced Reyes at the top of the fifth and allowed a triple to Brandon Menchaca. Cozart's ground out would plate Menchaca. Neftali Soto then hit a solo home run, his first of the season, over the left field fence for Dayton.

The bottom of the sixth would see the Dragons tie the game again, with Logan Parker doubling, then moving to 3rd on a wild pitch by Anderson. Following a ground out bunt to Justin Reed, Mike Allen would be called out of the bullpen to replace Anderson. Menchaca sacrificed in Parker to tie up the game.

Rene Leveret singled in the top of the 7th and moved to 2nd on Dolenc's sac bunt. Jeff Jeffords then came in to replace Partch and allowed a single to Yersich that plated Leveret.

Dayton had a runner courtesy of a walk and two outs on the board when the game was suspended.

The game will be played through nine innings, being resumed at 6:00 PM on Sunday. Sunday's regularly scheduled game will be a seven inning affair that will begin approximately 30-minutes after the conclusion of the suspended game.

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Snappers
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Dayton Daily: Revere
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Elizabethton 3 at Johnson City 13

W: R. Santos (1-1, 3.38); L: D. Osterbrock (2-1, 3.29)
HR: ELI: A. Morales (6). JCY: E. Lara (2).

Dan Osterbrock, the reining Appalachian pitcher of the week, would get lit up for 8 runs, 6 earned, on 8 hits and 2 walks over 4.1 innings as the Johnson City Cardinals when on a hit blitz to finish off the Elizabethton Twins, 13-3. Steve Blevins, called up from the GCL Twins, would allow 5 more runs on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out over 1 inning.

Jeff Lanning took a walk for the E-Twins in the top of the second, but would be taken down at 2nd one out later on Nathan Hanson's force out. James Beresford singled to score Hanson and then would come home on a pair of errors, one by center fielder Travis Mitchell and the other on catcher Jack Cawley to give the E-Twins 2.

Adam Veres, a Palm Beach, Florida, native, took the start for the Cards and limited the Twins to only 4 hits and 4 walks over 4 innings while striking out 4. Randy Santos would pick up win, allowing only a pair of hit and 3 walks over the next four while fanning seven.

Angel Morales would homer off Veres in the top of the 4th, but that would be all the Twins could find before the Cards went on the their tear.

Jon Waltenbury was 2-for-5 a the plate, the only Twin with a multi-hit game. Dominic De La Osa, and Beresford each had a single, Beresford with a walk and a run as well, while Alex Soto and Lanning each had doubles and a walk each as well.

The Twins will look for revenge Sunday at 6:00 PM as the two teams rematch in Johnson City. The Twins return home Monday to take on the Greeneville Astros.

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Rain Delay

As of 12:30, the projected start time was 2:00 PM, however weatherunderground.com is showing rain for the remainder of the day. There's been some suggestion that if they have to wait until 9:00 PM at night to get a game in, they'll do it. This strikes me as being totally absurd. (And need I say, I don't recall us ever having to put up with this non-sense when Dave Burke was in charge.)

In any case, it may become moot as the field may end up being unplayable, which is what happened last night.


The Daily Tarp pulling competition. A featured event, ever summer, at Hammond Stadium.


The Miracle tarp crew will pull tarp, anytime, anywhere...


Rain douses fans as they flock up the mall the gates. Or not.


No baseball over here!


No baseball over here either!

While you're waiting out the rain delay, you might want to check out Roger's weekly Minor League report at Twinkie Town.

GCL Red Sox edge GCL Twins, 3-2

GCL Red Sox 3 at GCL Twins 2

W: P. Ruiz (1-1, 8.68); L: M. Garcia (0-1, 4.44); SV: P. Perez (1)
HR: None.e

The GCL Red Sox edged out the GCL Twins Saturday during a morning game at the Lee County Sportsplex, picking up 2 runs in the six inning for a 3-2 win.

Kyle Snyder took the start on the mound for the Red Sox on a rehab assignment working 3 innings. Juan Sanchez singled off Snyder to lead off the bottom of the third, and moved to second on Bert Lara's ground out. Jon Goncalves flew out before a wild pitch by Snyder put Sanchez on 3rd. Aaron Hick's line drive to right drove in Sanchez to put the Twins on the board. T.J. was just mentioning earlier how Hicks never uses his speed to steal. Well, guess what T.J.? That's right, Hicks stole 2nd. Too bad you missed it. Sadly it would do the Twins little good as Danny Ortiz ground out, to end the inning.

Martire Garcia, who I've now decided to call Marty because I can't pronounce his name right otherwise, took the start for the Twins, working 5.1 innings. He'd walk Jeff Natale in the top of the 5th, and Natale would advance on a balk. Moko Moanaroa would ground out on what appeared to be a full count, although Red Sox fielding manager Dave Tomlin had some other ideas on the matter after the Umpire seemed to lose track of the balls and strikes. After some fussing about, Chih-Hsiang Huang would reach on a fielding error by Sanchez that allowed Natale to score, tying up the game.

Wilfred Pichardo singled on a ground bunt to get on board in the top of the sixth, but would be caught stealing 2nd. Andrew Frezza and Michael Almanzar then took singles off Garcia, and Roberto Feliz would be hit by a pitch. That would end it for Garcia, as Joe Testa came into the game to replace him. A wild pitch by Testa scored Frezza, and a sac-fly by Jeff Natale drove in Almanzar to put the Sox on top.

Garcia finished up allowing the 3 runs, 2 earned, on 4 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 2.

Peter Ruiz relieved Snyder, starting at the top of the 4th. He'd get Tyler Ladendorf out on strikes before Mike Gonzales smacked a line drive out to center. Josmil Pinto would reach on force attempt that failed due to a fielding error by Kenneth Roque. A wild pitch by Ruiz moved the pair and Javier Brown - who finally got to play after getting hit the face with a ball in the first game while sitting on the bench - ground out to score Gonzales. Sanchez would ground out however to end the inning leaving the tying run on base.

Testa would work 1.2 innings before giving way to Bruce Pugh who finished off the contest.

Gonzales and Brown were both 2-for-4, Gonzales with a run and Brown with a run scored. Hicks, Ortiz and Sachez all had singles, Hicks with a walk and a run scored, and Sanchez with a run, leaving Ortiz to become the one hit wonder of the game.

The boys take Sunday off. They will travel up to Bradenton on Monday for a visit to Pirate City. Game time is Noon.

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DSL Twins 1 at DSL Yankees2 6

W: W. Eusebio (3-4, 6.92); L: C. Carrillo (0-2, 8.66)
HR: DSL TWI: J. Mercedes (2).

The DSL Twins fell on the road to the DSL Yankees2, getting only 1 run on 2 hits.

Orlando Villaroel worked the first 4 innings for the Twins, allowing only 1 hit and a pair of walks to the Yankees while striking out 3 before giving way to Carlos Carrillo. The Venezuelan righty would allow six runs on 8 hits and walk while striking out 3 in the fifth and sixth innings.

The Twins would not get onto the board until the top of the 7th when Jean Carlos Mercedes hit his second home run of the season over the center field fence.

Jhonatan Arias had the only other hit for the Twins, a single making his the one hit wonder of the game. Five different Twins players walked with Xavier Gonzalez getting a pair of free passes, but the walks didn't help much without some hits to go along with it.

Much like the GCL counterparts, the DSL Twins will rest on Sunday. They host the DSL Diamondback/Reds for a game on Monday at 10:30 AM Dominican time.

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Seen around the ball park:



Wang-Yi Lin with his Twin brother Wang-Wei Lin



6'9" Swen Huijer with fellow Dutchman Tom Stuifbergen

GCL Twins romp over Reds, 8-2

GCL Twins 8 at GCL Reds 2

W: M. Munoz (3-1, 3.32); L: J. Rafael (1-2, 1.59)
HR: None.

The GCL Twins took a big lead early and kept the GCL Reds in check through the entire game to pick a up a win at the City of Sarasota complex.

This would be a rematch of the Juan Rafael vs Miguel Munoz contest we saw last Sunday that the Twins came out on top of as well. This time though, Rafael was not dealing the way he did earlier in the week.

Bert Lara and Aaron Hicks took back-to-back singles off Rafael to lead off in the top of the first. Danny Ortiz reached on a throwing error which plated Lara. Tyler Ladendorf then doubled to bring in Hicks. Andres Diaz ground out and Reggie Williams struck out before Anderson Hidalgo took a walk to load the bags. Jae-Hyung Jang singled out to center to drive in a pair, with Hidalgo advancing to 3rd on a fielding error by Samuel Vasquez at center. Juan Sanchez would strike out however, leaving him stranded.

With one out on the board in the bottom half of the stanza, Cody Puckett singled. Frank Pfister hit into a force out that took down Puckett and Humberto Sosa followed that up with a line drive single. Efrain Contreras doubled in Pfister to make the score 4-1, but Vasquez would go down on strikes before the Reds could do any further damage.

Rafael would give way to Canadian hurler Michael Henry in the top of the 5th. Reggie Williams reached on a fielding error and Hidalgo Anderson walked. A wild pitch by Henry advanced the pair before J.J. would strike out. Sanchez reached on a fielder's choice that took Williams out at home, but Lara's line drive would plate Hidalgo for an additional Twins run.

Ortiz and Ladendorf took back-to-back walks in the top of the sixth and the pair advanced on Andres Diaz ground out. Williams would also ground out before Hidalgo doubled to drive in the pair of runners, making the score 7-1.

Lara walked in the 7th off Henry and moved to 2nd on Hicks ground out. Ortiz singled on a line drive out to right to bring in Lara, finishing up the Twins scoring.

Andreys and Nick Lobanov would work the next 3 innings with Andreys going two and Nick going one. Ian Mopas took over in the 9th and promply allowed a triple to Vasquez. He'd put two outs on the board before issuing a walk to Mariekson Gregorius. Theodis Bowe's ground ball single would finally bring Vasquez in, but Puckett would fly out before the Reds could get any closer.

Lara finished up 3-for-4 with a pair of walks, a pair of runs and a RBI. Ortiz and Ladendorf were both 2-for-4, Ortiz with a pair of walks, a pair of runs and a run scored and Ladendorf with a double, a walk, a pair of runs, and a RBI. Hicks was 2-for-6 with a run, J.J. and Sanchez each had a single and Hidalgo a double, a run and a pair of RBIs. J.J. also had a pair of RBIs, leaving the one hit wonder title to Sanchez, who added a pair of strike outs.

The Twins return home for a morning game on Saturday against the GCL Red Sox. First pitch is due out at 10:00 AM.

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DSL Indians 1 at DSL Twins 7

W: L. Parra (3-0, 0.84); L: F. Valera (4-2, 4.06)
HR: None.

I wonder what some of the Latin American kids make of the MLB logos, especially - for example - the Indians. In any case, DSL Twins pitching limited the DSL Indians to only 2 hits and the offense went on to collect 7 runs on 8 hits at home on Friday.

The Tribe out find their lone run in the top of the 3rd, with Jesus Brito taking a walk off Cesar Ciurcina then stealing 2nd. A fly out by Rolando Petit moved him to 3rd and he'd score on Kelvin Diaz sac-fly.

The DSL Twins answered back in the bottom of the inning. Rafael Sanchez singled with one out on the board and Wilfy Gil walked. A wild pitch by Tribe pitcher Francisco Valera advanced the pair. A follow up single by Yancarlo Franco plated Sanchez, and Danny Santana sacrificed in Gil, to make it 2-1.

Leonardo Parra worked the next four innings for the Twins, allowing only a walk while striking out 3.

Yancarlo Franco singled in the bottom of the sixth and would come home on Santana's triple. Santana scored one out later on Oswaldo Arcia's ground ball single. The run would signal the end of Francisco Valera's time on the mound, as Oswell Munoz came in to replace him. Jairo Rodriguez reached on a fielding error by Diaz at third, scoring Arcia to make it 5-1.

Sanchez singled in the bottom of the seventh, and Gil would be hit by a pitch. Franco would pop out and Santana strike out before Francisco Jimenez came out of the bullpen to replace Munoz. Manuel Soliman's ground ball single plated the two runners, making it 7-1, Twins.

Lesmir Vargas finished off the last two innings for the Twins.

Sanchez finished up 2-for-3 with a pair of runs, while Franco and Arcia were both 2-for-4 at the plate with a run and a run scored each. Santana finished up up 1-for-3 with a triple, a run and a pair of runs scored.

The DSL Twins finish up the week on the road for a 10:30 AM Dominican time contest against the DSL Yankees 2.

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