Friday's Thoughts

Twins Notes

Cuddyer to return from DL Today.

All reports are that the Twins are planning on activating Michael Cuddyer from the DL before tonights game against the Cleveland Indians. The right fielder hasn't played a game since he injured his thumb sliding into second base on July 18th.

There is no official word of who's place he will be taking on the roster, but some believe that Luis Rodriguez may be the one to go. I think that Ramon Ortiz would be a better option right now. But I do agree that with the promotion of Alexi Casilla, L-Rod is probably the last position player on the bench. And with there only being 11 pitchers on the 25 man roster right now, I think that we can rule out Ramon Ortiz or Juan Rincon being the ones Cuddyer replaces.


The games will go on!

According to Joe Christensen, the Minnesota Twins will infact play this weekends series against the Cleveland Indians. There were talks of postponing tonights game (or all the series) against the Indians after the tragic event which took place on Wednesday evening. Here is what Twin's President, Dave St. Peter had to say:

“The Minnesota Twins and all of Major League Baseball are shocked and saddened by the tragic events, which took place on the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis last night,” Twins president Dave St. Peter said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and families who are impacted by this horrific situation. “Since the moments following last evening’s tragedy, the Twins organization has been in regular contact with public safety officials,” St. Peter continued. “Those discussions led to the decision to play last night’s game and the postponement of today’s game versus the Royals. Following additional consultation with various agencies including the Minneapolis Police Department and the Department of Public Safety today, the Twins have been encouraged to proceed with the series against the Indians as scheduled.”

Thursday's afternoon game was postponed until August 31st in which it will then be part of a day-night doubleheader.

Here are the probable pitchers for the Cleveland series: (Twins starters in Blue/ Indians Starters in Red)

• Friday: Johan Santana vs. C.C. Sabathia. This is going to be a great game featuring two of the best lefties in baseball.
• Saturday: 23 year old Matt Garza vs. 22 year old Aaron Lafey. The Twins hope to beat up on Lafey in his Major League Debut.
• Sunday: Scott Baker vs. Fausto Carmona. Carmona won 5 straight before his last start. The Twins hope to make it two in a row for Carmona.
• Monday: Carlos Silva vs. Paul Byrd. This should be a quick game with a small amount of walks.

Minor League Scores

Rochester Red Wings beat the Syracuse Chiefs, 7-4.

Starter Brian Duensing continued his impressive season with another great start in AAA. The 24 year old southpaw went 7 innings and gave up just 1 run on 6 hits while striking out 7. Julio DePaula gave up a 2-run HR in his inning of relief and Bobby Korecky gave up a solo home run in his only inning of relief as well. Glenn Williams had 2 hits including his 7th HR and 2 RBI's. Denard Span went 2-5 with 2 runs scored and 2 stolen bases. Tommy Watkins batted in his 43rd run of the season and also stole his 12 base. Matt Tolbert and Darnell McDonald both went 2-5 with an RBI.

New Britain Rock Cats lost to the Erie Sea Wolves, 13-3.

Joshua Hill gave up 7 runs (3 earned) in just 3 innings on Thursday. Tristan Crawford gave up 2 runs in 2 innings. Frank Mata gave up another run in his two innings of relief. And J.P. Martinez gave up 3 more in his 2 innings of work. Brandon Roberts, Matt Allegra, and Felix Molina all drove in a run each. Garrett Guzman and Allegra were the only batters to have 2 hits.

Ft. Myers Miracle beat the Lakeland Flying Tigers, 9-5.

Errol Simontisch had another solid start in his rehab assignment. The southpaw gave up 2 runs on 4 hits over 6 innings. It was his 2nd win of the season for the Miracle. Armando Gabino and Eddie Morlan gave up 3 runs in their combined 3 innings of relief. Rob Delaney pitched a scoreless ninth in the non-save decision. Dustin Martin hit his 1st HR as apart of the Twins organization. It was his 6th of the season. Danny Valencia, Korey Feiner, and Ed Ovalle each had 2 RBI's. Juan Portes went 3-3 with 2 runs scored and his 44th RBI of the season. Brian Dinkelman had two hits to go along with his 16th RBI of the season.

Beloit Snappers lost to the Fort Wayne Wizards, 2-1.

Despite outhitting the Wizards 11-8, the Snappers fell short behind a good outings by Brian Kirwan and Jesus Carnevales. Kirwan gave up 2 runs over 6 1/3 and struck out 6. Carnevales gave up 1 hit over the final 1 2/3 innings. Joe Benson had 3 hits and is now hitting over .400 over the last 10 games. Steven Singleton also had 3 hits along with his 8th stolen base. Matt Betsill had 2 hits including his 6th double.

GCL Twins beat the GCL Orioles, 3-2. (Game 1)

Daniel Berlind gave up 2 unearned runs over 5.1 innings pitched. He also struck out 6 of the 21 batters he faced. Danny Rondon pitched the final 1.2 innings to pick up his 8th save. Both now have ERA's under 0.75. Jeanfre Brito had 3 hits and also recorded his 13th RBI. Yangervis Solarte had 2 hits and an RBI. Juan Richardson drove in the other run. Ben Rever went 1-2 and Angel Morales went 1-3.

GCL Twins beat the GCL Orioles, 8-0. (Game 2)

Liam Hendricks pitched 5 shutout innings and struck out 9 of the 17 batters he faced en route to his 2nd win of the season. Dutchman, Tom Stuifbergen and Australian, Jarrad Eacott both pitched scoreless innings of relief. Jeanfred Brito went 1-4 with 2 RBI's, Ben Revere went 2-2 with his 7th triple and 2 RBI's, and Danny Rams went 1-3 with his 2nd double and 2 RBI's.

Elizabethton Twins lost to the Danville Braves, 5-3.

Jose Castillo gave up 3 runs on 7 hits over 4 innings of work. Spencer Steedley gave up 2 runs over 3 innings before Danny Latham pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief. Rene Tosoni finally went hitless. Greg Yersich went 2-3 with a HR and 3 RBI's. Mark Dolenc had 3 hits and D.J. Romero had 2 hits.

Incase I don't blog, have a safe and fun weekend!