Twins instruct Red Sox on shut out, 6-0

Caleb Moore

Caleb Moore throws funny. It's like a half-side arm thing at about shoulder height. Video is uploading, but...style not withstanding, he was pretty effective for his two innings on the mound has he started of Saturday morning's blanking of the Boston Red Sox in Fall Instructional League play.

Greg Yersich hit a pair of doubles to lead the offense with 1 run and 2 RBIs in rout to the 6-0 victory.

Moore allowed a single to the first batter he faced, but Yersich took the man out when he tried to steal second. Moore then struck out the next batter before hitting the 3rd man he faced. He would then strike out the fourth batter to retire the side. Brian Dinkelman got on base on the single in the bottom of the inning, but Estarlin De Los Santos and Rene Tosoni posted strike outs on either side of him, and Dink was taken down when he tried to steal 2nd with Deibinson Romero at the plate for a quick first inning.

The Red Sox saw three-up and three-down from Moore in the top of the second. Romero struck out to start the bottom of the second, but Joe Benson singled his way onto base. Juan Richardson hit an outfield fly that moved Benz over to 2nd, before Yersich smacked the first of his pair of double to drive Benson in. Greg Olson fouled out to end the inning.

Rob Delaney would take over for the 3rd in the 4th inning. He walked one man in the top of the 3rd, getting the other 3 on a pair of ground outs and a fly out. Designed hitter Danny Lehmann would crack a pop up that would be caught in foul territory before Mark Dolnec singled his way onto base. Dolnec would be left stranded though as De Los Santos lined out and Dinkelman flew out to end the inning.

Delaney felled the next batter he faced, hitting him the side of the helmet. It's a good thing Delaney doesn't throw hard though, as the man was not seriously hurt. I'm sure he'll still have quite a headache tomorrow. Delaney, sans mustache, then induced the following batter to hit into a double play, and struck the last man he faced to redeem himself. The Twins offense followed that up with 3 strike outs.

Blair Erikson was an interesting fellow up on the mound and he worked quickly too, taking out 3 men on damage control, before the Twins offense got another chance. There is video and film of Erikson, it's worth a look in both cases. Richardson singled, and Yersich followed that up with another double. Richardson would then try to come home on a wild pitch with Olson at the plate, but he'd be taken out at home. Olson would strike out, but Lehmann singled his way onto the bags. Dolenc then smacked a nice double that went under the fence and became unplayable. After a brief argument from the visiting bench, the umpire awarded the Twins with an extra base, which put Lehmann over the plate as well. De Los Santos stuck out to end the inning.

Usually I don't have a problem with De Lo, but he wasn't hitting the ball today, and we got into some problems fielding wise in the next two innings. There was high school "Perfect Game" tournament going on and there were a lot of people around as we were on field 4 and they were using field 3. I ran into them yesterday when I went to the game, so today I parked on the side and came in the "Players Only" entrance - no one pays attention to those signs anyway - to avoid the admission booth for the tournment. So there was certainly a lot of possiblity for distraction.

Distracted is what De Lo looked like when a ball just to the left of second surprised him and when into left-center field for a single, the only one that Erikson would allow in the sixth inning. The Twins 10th round pick in the 2007 draft would use a pair of ground outs and a strike out to retire the side without an ill side effects from the single. Dinkelman struck out to the start the bottom of the sixth, but a Rene Tosoni double got the twins rolling. That would be followed up by a Romero single and a Benson triple to tack two more runs onto the Twins lead. That also finished off Hunter Strickland's stint on the mound for the Red Sox. Richardson would take a ground out off the incoming reliever before Rodolfo "Rocky" Palacios, who was inserted into the game for Yersich, smacked a single to bring in Benson. Reggie Williams would replace Olson in the line up, and he would strike out to end the inning.

Danny Berlind took the mound for the 8th. He stuck out the first man he faced, but the second Red Sox batter hit one to left that De Los Santos ran after but couldn't get under, allowing yet another single for the Red Sox. I think Benson, who was playing left field today, could have handled that, but he pulled up with De Lo running hell fire after the thing. In the end, it wouldn't matter as Rocky took the runner out trying to steal second and Berlind ground out the last batter. Dolnec would take a walk in the bottom of the inning and Dinkelman would hit a single, but there would be no additions to the 6 run lead as Lehmann struck out, De Lo flied out and Tosoni ground out to strand the runners.

Berlind's 8th inning would be be three quick fly outs. Romero would single to start off the twins, but Benson struck out, Richadson flew out and Rocky ground out to end the inning.

It would then fall to Alex Burnett to end the game, which he did in short order, striking out 2 and taking the last man down on a ground out.

The boys had an interesting time with the tournament as they found the balls the kids were using to have overly large seams and to be heavier than the Apply League balls the Twins have been using for Fall Instructional League. The tournment kids on the other hand found the Twins camp endless facinating because "That guy throws his off speed stuff harder than my best pitch!"

Fall Instructional League - Schedule - Roster - FAQs - Video

Alumni News: Miracle alumni Luis Rodriguez was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres. Rodriguez was one of four players the Twins the removed from their 40-Man roster on Thursday. Riverdale grad Tommy Walkins along with former Miracle outfielders Lew Ford and Josh Rabe were all outrighted to Rochester, effectively becoming free agents. Watson will likely be invited back to Twins Spring Training as a minor league player in March.

Right-hander Eduardo Morlan was added to the list of players that would be participating in the Arizona Fall League, replacing former Miracle Brian Duensing on the roster. Duensing will be pitching for Team USA in the IBAF World Cup in November instead of going to AzFL. Miracle alumni David Winfree will not be participating in the Arizona Fall League either due to a strained left shoulder. He is being replaced by Matt Macri, who the Twins acquired from the Rockies in exchange for Ramon Ortiz earlier this year.

Former Miracle outfield Eli Tintor was given a 50-game suspension for violating MLB's drug of abuse rule. He is the 3rd Minnesota player and the 2nd former Miracle to be suspended for recreational drug use. Anthony Swarzak was suspended earlier in the season for violating the same policy.

Minnesota prospects pick up 9-5 FIL Win

The fourth game of the 2007 Minnesota Twins Fall Instructional League was played Saturday at the Lee County Sportsplex, with the Twins taking a 9-5 victory over the cross-city rivals the Boston Red Sox.

One of the most notable things for those fans who turned up for the game was the new pavilions that are being put up in the Twins training area to offer shade to spectators. Unlike the Boston Complex, these are not canvas structures, but more solid aluminum structures going up. Additional bleacher seating is also being installed, especially behind the plate which was being utilized by the scouts as well as the team charters.

The game featured a look at what is most certain to be a good chunk of the Miracle starting pitching rotation next season, with Beloit ace Alex Burnett making the start. He allowed 2 runs in the second inning off a Boston triple, but was otherwise solid, posting 4 strike outs during 2 innings. He was relieved by Henry Reyes, who went three-up and three-down for two innings. Reyes pitched largely with Elizabethton last season, posting a 7-2 record with a 2.7 ERA in 53.1 innings worth of work. He struggled through 4 inning at Low A Beloit and is expected to begin the 2008 season with the Snappers.

He was relieved by Mike Allen another Elizabethton pitcher who'll likely be joining the Snappers for the start of the 2008 season. Aside from a couple of walks in the fifth inning, Allen looked good on the mound with 3 strike outs in 2 innings.

Meanwhile the Minnesota offense had gone into work. Rene Tosoni singled his way onto base and was doubled in by Jon Waltenbury in the 2nd to put the Twins on the board.

Nick Papasan got on base on a throwing error in the 3rd inning, taking 2nd base when the ball went into the visitors dugout. Esterlin De Los Santos singled to score the runner to tie the game.

A pair of walks to Waltenbury and Joe Benson, and singles by designated hitter Ben Petsch and De Los Santos helped the Twins nab 3 points in the 5th for a good lead. Greg Yersich relieved Danny Rams behind the plate in the sixth and promptly put one over the wall for his first at bat.

The four run lead quickly evaporated through when Cole Devries was brought onto the mound for the Twins. Devries struggled, allowing 3 runs on five hits. Devries 9-5 record and 3.41 ERA will probably land him a spot in the Miracle starting rotation last year, but the Miracle faithful's preview look at the former Golden Gopher was not particularly promising.

The Twins then turned to 6'5" lefty Tyler Robertson for the final two innings. Robertson was tops on the Snappers last season in strike outs with 123, despite joining the team mid season. His 2.29 ERA was second only to Miracle Jeff Manship among Twins starters at the low A level. The 19-year-old Simi Valley native really showed off his stuff, striking out 5 of the 7 batters he faced, allowing only one single in the 8th inning.

The 8th would be good for the Twins offensively as well, as Benson lead off with a double, followed by a Juan Richardson single. Yersich would be hit by a pitch to load the bases, and then Waltenbury would crush the ball for his second double of the game, scoring the three runners to give the Twins back their 4 run lead.

Aside from Burnett, Devries and Robertson, Matt Fox, who is not in camp, is a possibility for another of the Miracle starting jobs.

Benson will likely join the Miracle in the outfield, while Tosoni, De Los Santos, and Yersich will likely start the season in Beloit, but if they may all make it to Fort Myers before next season is out if they continue to hit well.

Richardson and Waltenbury were both part of the GCL squad this season and will like begin next season, most likely in Elizabethton, but a strong camp and a good spring training could see them make the jump to Beloit.

Brian Dinkelman and Ozzie Lewis were also in the game, but Lewis was 0-for-4 in the contest. I have Dinkleman down as 0-for-3 but I missed one of his at bats so I'm not sure what the final was.

Minnesota plays at home Wednesday Friday and Saturday this week and take on Boston at the City of Palms Complex on Monday and Thursday. Game times are 1:00 pm for all games except the Saturday game, which starts at 10:00 AM.

West Michigan crown MWL Champs

West Michigan 11 at Beloit 5

W: L. Marte (1-0, 0.90); L: D. Leatherman (0-1, 0.00)
HR: None.

E: Parmelee 2 (2, fielding, fielding), Romero (2, fielding), Benson (1, missed catch), Singleton (1, throw), Santiesteban (1, fielding).

Had the Snappers gone into the playoffs confident in all 5 starters in their pitching rotation, it might have been a different story. But after Brian Kirwan posted a 2-8 record and a 5.30 earned run average in the 2nd half of the regular season, Beloit manager Jeff Smith opted not to give the ball to Kirwan and instead went with Alex Burnett on short rest.

West Michigan took advantage of that situation in the first inning putting Scott Sizemore and Brennan Boesch on the bags on a pair of singles and with Sizemore scoring on an error by right fielder Chris Parmelee. A wild pitch by Burnett saw Boesch to 3rd, and a Jordan Newton single plated him, giving the Whitecaps a 2 run lead in the first inning.

Michael Bertram tripled in the 2nd and came home on a Gorkys Hernandez sac-fly to extend the lead. Burnett would only last 3 innings, allowing 5 hits while striking out 2.

The Snappers bats woke up in the bottom of the 3rd. A Joe Benson triple got the team fired up. Steve Singleton was plunked by a pitch and Deibinson Romero singled out to left to bring Benson in. Chris Parmelee drew a walk to load the bases. Greg Yersich tripled them in before the Whitecaps put Luis Marte on the mound. Danny Santiesteban hit a line drive to center to plate Yersich, and moved to second on a fielding error before by stranded when Garrett Olson struck out.

Beloit gave the ball to Dan Leatherman in the 4th inning, who went three-up, three-down. The fifth however did not go as planned.

Audy Ciriaco reached on Romero fielding error, then stole second and advanced to 3rd on a missed catch by Benson. James Skelton walked, and then Sizemore singled to bring Ciriaco home before Leatherman would be replaced by Jose Lugo.

Boesch drew a walk and Lugo got Laster to strike out swinging. Jordan Newton singled, our to second and Steve Singleton took Boesch out at 2nd. A Ryan Strieby single scored Skelton and Sizemore, aided by Singleton's throwing error. Michael Bertram singled in another pair and Gorkys Hernandez hit a ground ball out to right before Danny Vais was brought in.

The bleeding didn't stop however, as singles to Ciriaco and Skelton and fielding errors by Parmelee and Santiesteban saw the Whitecaps tack on 3 more runs to give them a six run advantage in the game.

After that, the Snappers never even threatened in the game.

Leatherman would be tagged with the lose, giving up 3 runs - all inherited runners and none of them earned. Lugo was charged with 4 runs (3 earned) on 4 hits and 1 walks in .2 innings.

Marte would work 5 innings for the Whitecaps, picking up the win and striking out 9.

This is the 2nd straight Midwest League title for the Tiger's farm team. While the Snappers lost, they fought a good battle, coming back from 2 games down to force the 5th game in the series.

Most of the Snappers will head home, but a few will be flying straight to Fort Myers for the start of Fall Instructional League. Burnett, Cole Devries, Brian Kirwan, Henry Reyes, Tyler Robertson and Anthony Slama will all be on the mound for Instructional League, while Greg Yersich will be in to handle some of the work behind the plate.

Last year's first round pick Chris Parmelee and second rounder Joe Benson will also be in for instructs, as well as Deibinson Romero to provide some batting power.

Www.miraclefans.com will carry limited coverage of instructional league, plus we'll see how some of the Miracle of seasons past are doing the Arizona Fall League which starts on Tuesday, October 9th.

Also check back for a look at the players that will make of your 2008 Fort Myers Miracle.

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The Richmond Braves won its first International League title since 1994 with a 7-2 victory over Durham on Saturday as Doug Clark hit an early three-run homer. The Braves swept a double header at The Diamond to come back from a 2-1 deficit to win the Governers' Cup. MiLB.com

In Akron, the corks popped in the visitors' locker room as the Trenton Thunder won their first Eastern League title in the franchise 14-year history. Matt Carson and Cody Ehlers were both 4-for-5 at the plate for the thunders with Carson getting 3 runs and Ehlers 2 and the pair accounting for 4 runs in the Thunder's 10-5 win over the Aeros.

Daniel McCutchen picked up the win for the Yankees farm. The former Tampa pitcher had an 11-2, 2.50 era record in the FSL earlier this season, and was 3-2 with a 2.41 era record upon his promotion to the Eastern League. MiLB.com

Congratulations to all the teams that have won Championships this season:

AZL: AZL Mariners
GCL: GCL Yankees
Appy League: Elizabethton Twins
Pioneer League: Orem Owlz
NY-Penn League: Auburn Doubledays
NWLeague: Salem-Keizer Volcanos
MWL: West Michigan Whitecaps
Sally League: Columbus Catfish
FSL Champions: Clearwater Threshers
Carolina League: Freedrick Keys
EL: Trenton Thunder
Texas League: San Antonio Missions
PCL Champions: Sacrament River Cats
IL: Richmond Braves

The Southern League Championship will be determined on Sunday, after the Huntsville Stars topped the Montgomery Biscuits 4-1 Saturday night to force a fifth game.

The San Jose Giants blanked the Lake Elsinore Storm 2-3 to avoid being sweep in the California League playoffs.

Snappers tie up MWL series

Joe Benson

West Michigan 0 at Beloit 5

W: M. Fox (1-0, 0.00); L: J. Gerbe (1-1, 3.07)
HR: BEL: J. Benson (2), D. Romero (1).

For Matt Fox, shoulder sugery became a learning process. Robbed of a fastball in the mid-90's, Fox had to learn to pitch. It's been a long struggle for the former first round sandwhich pick since joining the Twins organization, but it all came to head on Friday night when Fox pitched for a career-high 10 strike outs and blanked the West Michigan Whitecaps. The Snappers tied up the best-of-5 series with a 5-0 blanking and it will call come down to a decisive game 5 tonight at Pohlman Field.

Fox struck out 3 in the first inning, then got some help from his batting staff starting with a Joe Benson walk and a Steve Singleton line drive. Deibinson Romero hit his first home run in a Snappers uniform to drive the pair in, and giving Belot a big 3-0 lead.

A Greg Yersich double helped Chris Parmelee to a run in the 4th, while Joe Benson clobbered one over the right center field wall in the 5th.

The Whitecaps were only able to get 3 hits and walk off Fox in his 6 inning on the mound. We was replaced by Australian reliever Matt Williams for 1 inning, and fireballer Aaron Craig for 2. The pair only allowed 1 hit each during their time on the mound.

Only Santo De Leon had some success against the Beloit pitching staff, going 2-for-4 at the plate.

Jeff Gerbe absorbed the loss for the Whitecaps, allowing all 5 Snappers runs on 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 9 over 7 innings.

Beloit ace Alex Burnett will face off against West Michigan's Charlie Furbush for the MWL crown.

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On the brink of elimination and facing Eastern League Pitcher of the Year Alan Horne, the Akron Aeros came up with an ace of their own Friday night. Jeremy Sowers tossed six scoreless innings and Rodney Choy Foo drove in three runs as the Aeros stayed alive with an 8-2 victory over visiting Trenton in Game 3 of the Eastern League Finals.

Noah Hall knocked in both runs for the Thunder, while former Tampa Yankee Matt Carson was 2-for-4 at the plate for New York farm team. MiLB.com

The International League Championship Series Game between the Durham Bulls and the Richmond Braves was postponed due to rain. The Bulls lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is slated for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. MiLB.com

Snappers Snap West Michigan win streak

West Michigan 5 at Beloit 8

W: D. Vais (1-0, 2.25); L: M. O'Brien (1-1, 10.80); SV: A. Slama (3)
HR: BEL: G. Olson (2).

The Beloit Snappers got back into the Midwest League playoff series, storming out to a 7 run lead in the first 2 innings and then hangning on to win 8-5. West Michigan leads the best-of-5 series, 2-game-to-1.

Joe Benson doubleed out to left field to start the game, and moved to 3rd on a fielding error by Jeramy Laster. Steve Singleton knocked him in. Deibinson Romero hit into a force out that nabbed Singleton a 2nd, but Chris Parmelee's line drive over the Snapper's 3rd baseman over to third. Greg Yersich plated Romero. After Rene Tosoni was taken out on strikes, Danny Santiesteban brought Parms in with a line drive to center. Garrett Olson would ground out to end the inning, stranding 2 but with the Snappers leading 3-0.

Danny Berg doubled to get things started in the 2nd, followed by a Benson bunt and a Singelton grounder to bring him home. Romero's line drive saw Benson across the plate for the 2nd time in the game, and Parmelee's sac-fly brought Singlton in. Tosoni doubled to bring in Romero before the Whitecaps brought in Lauren Gagnier to end the inning.

A pair of walks, a single by Gorkys Hernandez and a double by Laster saw West Michigan pick up 3 runs in the top of the 3rd. Undaunted, Olson homered for Beloit in botttom of the inning, before the scoring frenzy began to die down.

Jordan Newton hit a ground ball to left to get on base in the 4th followed a Michael Bertram single, but Joe Tucker would ground into a force out, which took Bertram out at second. Hernandez would plate Newton with a grounder to left before James Skelton struck out and Scott Sizemore popped out to end the inning.

The Whitecaps continued to chip away at the Beloit lead in the 5th when Brennan Boesch walked. Danny Vais was brought into the game to replace starter Cole Devries. Ryan Strieby greeted him with a ground ball single. Boesch would score on a Bertram single with 2 outs before Tucker would ground out to retire the West Michigan.

Newton would hit a double off reliever Dan Leatherman in the top of the 8th, and the Snappers threatened briefly in the bottom of the inning, but the big lead was too much for the Whitecaps to overcome.

Cole Devries would be tagged for 5 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks while striking out 4 in 4.1 innings of the no-decision. Vais picked up the win on 2 hits while striking out 2 in 2.2 innings.

Matt O'Brien suffered the Whitecaps loss, giving up 7 runs on 10 hits while striking out only 1 in 1.2 innings.

The two teams rematch tonight at 6:30 central, 7:30 eastern, at Pohlman Field. Matt Fox will make the start for the Snappers, West Michigan will counter with right-hander Jeff Gerbe.

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The Eastern League series had the night off for travel. In Richmond, the Braves fell to the Durham Bulls, 3-2. Francisley Bueno threw a no hitter for the Braves through 6 innings. He was replaced in the top of the 7th by Buddy Hernandez after throwing 99 pitches, and Hernandez would start out by hitting Jason Pridie with a pitch. After that the Durham bats got to work, with the Bulls picking up 3 runs in the inning, to rally past Richmond.

Wes Timmons had both runs for the Braves. The Bulls now lead the series, 2-game-to-1 and clinch tonight with a victory in Richmond at The Diamond.

Pridie had been taken by the Twins in 2006 in the Rule-5 draft, but Minnesota decided not to keep him, sending him back to the Devil Rays at the end of spring training. Pridie's brother Jon was a former Miracle and pitched in the Twins minor league system for a number of years. MiLB

Ryan resigns: Twins general manager Terry Ryan resigned after 13 years in the Minnesota hot seat to focus on scouting. Assistant General Manager Bill Smith takes over the reins from him. Ryan will remain with the organization as a special advisor to Smith.

"I felt a lot of elation when we won, and sorrow when we lost," Ryan said in his resignation speach as it was reported on TwinsBaseball.com. "Now, all of a sudden, the defeats are getting a little harder to take, and the wins aren't as much fun. That's not a good thing to experience as a general manager."

The change becomes effective at the end of the 2007 season.