Written by Travis Aune
| 04 June 2010
Rochester Wrap
Rochester 9 (21-33), Norfolk 0
- The Redwings won their second consecutive game with a great performance by Wings starter Jeff Manship and a nice performance by the offense. Yesterday was the kind of performance that you would expect from a guy like Manship as he has way too much talent to be struggling in the minor leagues. I fully expect him to be battling Kyle Gibson for the 5th starter job out of spring training next spring and I would probably make him the favorite to win that job just because he has a little more experience under his belt. Yesterday, Manship had his best performance of the season, which is hopefully a precurser of things to come for the righty. Manship went all 9 innings and did not give up a run on only four hits along with six strikeouts. He only needed 92 pitches to pitch the complete game which makes it all the more impressive. With the win Manship improved his record on the year to 3-2 and lowered his ERA to 3.64. It was a big outing for Manship and hopefully he can keep it up because the Twins will need him in the second half of this year.
- Not only did the Red Wings get a big performance by Jeff Manship, but they got a great performance by the Red Wings' offense in this game. The Red Wings scored nine runs on a whopping 16 hits and three walks. The game would have been way more lopsided if it were not for the 11 guys left on base. As the Red Wings go forward if they want to get back into playoff contention they need to cash in on some of these chances they put together. Matt Macri committed his first error of the year, while Toby Gardenhire committed his fourth. The Red Wings were led offensively by Wilson Ramos, who went 5-5 at the plate with his fifth and sixth doubles of the year, along with two RBI to bring his season total up to 12. With the five hits Ramos is now over the Mendoza line and is hitting a still-dismal .205 on the season. Wilson Ramos has been an enigma so far this season. As you know, he can be a monster but just has not done it so far this season. I don't know if he thinks he should be in the big leagues, or what, but the quickest way to get back with the Twins is to smash the ball like he is capable so the Twins won't have a choice but to call you up. Jacque Jones went 2-4 at the plate along with his second stolen base of the year to bring his average up to .314. Brock Peterson went 2-5 with his seventh double of the year along with his 24th RBI to bring his average up to .250. Toby Gardenhire went 2-4 at the plate with his second RBI of the year to bring his average up to .250. Trevor Plouffe went 2-5 to bring his average up to .281 on the year. Matt Macri went 1-4 at the plate with his first stolen base of the year. Brian Dinkelman and Dustin Martin each contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Red Wings.
- Tonight, the Red Wings begin a series with Toledo as Ryan Mullins returns from a spout of arm trouble to make his way back in the rotation and get the start tonight. Gametime is at 6:05 p.m. at Frontier Field in Rochester as the Red Wings try to extend their winning streak to three games.
New Britain Business
Altoona 5, New Britain 4 (14-39) - 10 innings
- The Rockcats saw their miserable season continue yesterday with the latest in a long line of heartbreaking losses. They fell to first-place Altoona by a score of 5-4 in 10 innings. The Rockcats had a chance to tie it in the 10th inning, but Yangervis Solarte flew out to left with the tying run at second base to lose the game. Mike McCardell got the start for the Rockcats and was very good in this one for New Britain. McCardell went eight strong innings and gave up only one earned run on six hits along with a walk and three strikeouts to lower his ERA to 4.13. McCardell had probably his best start of the season for the Rockcats and heres hoping he can build on that as he did not have a very good May. Matt Williams then came on and was fine in the 9th inning but then got drilled in the 10th to take the loss. Williams went two innings, giving up three runs on four hits along with three strikeouts and a homerun to raise his ERA on the year to 5.17 and lowered his record to 1-2.
- The Rockcats could not do much offensively until the 10th inning and by that time it was just too little too late for New Britain. The Rockcats scored four runs on 10 hits along with drawing three walks and leaving seven guys on base in this one. Mike McCardell committed his second error of the season on an errant pickoff attempt for the Rockcats. The team was led offensively by Erik Lis, who went 2-5 at the plate with his fifth homerun of the year and two RBI to bring his total up to 16 since his arrival in New Britain. With the two hits Lis improved his batting average on the year to .274 for the Rockcats. Mark Dolenc went 2-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .277 on the year. Juan Portes had his best game in a while going 2-2 at the plate along with a sacrifice bunt to bring his average up to .188. Ben Revere went 0-4 along with a walk and his 20th stolen base of the year. Rene Tosoni, Yangervis Solarte, Danny Lehman, and Brandon Roberts each contributed a base hit in the losing cause for the Rockcats.
- Tonight, the Rockcats begin a weekend series with Binghamton. Tyler Robertson gets the start as he tries to rebound from his last start that was really a disappointment. Gametime is at 5:35 p.m. in New Britain as the Rockcats try to put this series with Altoona behind them and get back on the right side of things.
Fort Myers Minutes
Dunedin 4, Fort Myers 0 (23-30)
- The Miracle almost had their slim playoff chances ended last night as they lost a pitchers duel to Dunedin by a score of 4-0. Miracle starter Adrian Salcedo was very good once again, but the Miracle could not figure out Dunedin starter Chad Beck and four relievers as the Miracle were only able to muster three hits in the game. Adrian Salcedo got the start and went the first five innings, giving up only one run on four hits along with two walks and four strikeouts. His only blemish came on a homerun. After the night, Salcedo lowered his ERA on the year to 4.34 and dropped his record to 1-2. Salcedo is unbelievable as he is probably two levels ahead of where he should be and he is not sinking in the least. He seems to be getting better and better with every start he makes. The 19-year old out of the Dominican Republic has so much upside it is unbelievable. He should be in EST and getting ready to go to E-Town, but instead he is doing very well in Ft. Myers so I take that as a sign that he is a future star for the Twins and is showing how good of a prospect he is. Andrei Lobanov then came on and pitched two innings against Dunedin, giving up one earned run along with five hits and three strikeouts to raise his ERA on the year to a very good 2.02. Tony Davis pitched the last 2 innings and gave up a run on a hit along with two walks to raise his ERA on the year to 3.07.
- The Miracle did absolutely nothing against Dunedin pitchers in this one and when that happens your chances of winning are pretty slim. The Miracle scored no runs on only three measly hits along with drawing four walks and left 9 guys on base. In a game like this you need to take advantage of the few opportunities you do have and the Miracle could not do that in this game. Chris Hermann committed his fifth error of the year on a catcher's interference call for the Miracle. The Miracle were led offensively by Esterlin De Los Santos who went 1-4 at the plate. Chris Parmelee and Brian Dozier each contributed base hits in the losing cause for the Miracle.
- Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Dunedin. Shooter Hunt will make his second start of the year as he tries to make his way back to respectability. Gametime is at 6:05 p.m. at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers as the Miracle try to finish the first half on a good note and build for the second half of the season.
Beloit Beat
Lake County 12, Beloit 6 (26-28)
- It is unbelievable how far the Snappers have fallen in such a small amount of time. The Snappers have now lost 12 of their last 13 games to completely fall out of contention for a playoff berth. In this series against Lake County, Beloit got dominated worse than the scores would indicate. In this one Miguel Munoz got the start and was putrid for the Snappers. Munoz only lasted three innings and gave up seven runs on eight hits along with two walks and three strikeouts and a homerun to raise his ERA on the year to 5.81 and see his record drop to 1-5. Eliecer Cardenas then came on and pitched 2.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits along with three walks and a strikeout to raise his ERA to 2.95. Jhon Garcia then came on and pitched 1.1 innings of relief and gave up three runs on three hits along with two walks to raise his ERA to 3.38. Matt Tone pitched a scoreless 8th inning along with a walk and a strikeout to bring his ERA to 3.77.
- The Snappers did some good things offensively, but it was not enough in a game when the pitching staff provided no help the Beloit batters. The Snappers scored 6 runs on 10 hits along with drawing five walks and 11 guys on base so this was a game the Snappers could have won if they had gotten better clutch hitting. Steve Liddle committed his fourth error of the year in the loss for the Snappers. The Snappers were led offensively in this one by Danny Rams who went 2-4 at the plate with his second and third homeruns of the year along with three RBI to bring his season total up to 15 and his batting average up to .221. Liddle went 3-5 at the plate with his sixth double of the year and his 20th RBI to bring his average up to .216. Angel Morales went 2-4 at the plate with a walk and three runs scored along with his 15th stolen base of the year to bring his average up to .253. Reggie Williams went 1-5 at the plate with his first triple of the year. Michael Gonzalez and Daniel Santana each contributed a base hit in the losing cause for the Snappers.
- Tonight, the Snappers begin a series in Fort Wayne as Brad Stillings gets the start for Beloit. Gametime is at 6:05 p.m. in Fort Wayne as the Snappers try to break out of a four-game losing streak and get back on the right track.
