April 7, 2008

Weekend Wrap-up

Here's a recap of this weekend's games.

Friday

The Twins received a strong start by Scott Baker and the Twins ended up beating the Royals 4-3. Pat Neshek and Joe Nathan continued their dominance and improved their status as one of the best setup man/closer duo's in the league, combining for 2 1/3 innings of scoreless ball to close out the game. Nathan received the save, which was his second of the season.

Carlos Gomez, Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer went 1,2,3 in the order and combined to go 7-10 with an RBI, 2 runs and 2 stolen bases. Unfortunately, Cuddyer had to leave the game after sliding head first into third base. Royals third baseman Alex Gordon's spikes lacerated Cuddyer's right index finger and he was forced to leave the game. Jason Kubel replaced him in right field. Justin Morneau finally broke out of his beginning of the season slump and went 1-4 with an RBI.

Game Ball
Carlos Gomez - Center Field

Line: 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 SB

Saturday

Livan Hernandez gave the Twins another strong outing going 7 strong innings and allowing 4 runs on 7 hits. Far from spectacular, but it got the job done as the offense was able to score 6 runs to give the Twins a 2-run lead that they held the rest of the way. Matt Guerrier pitched a scoreless 8th before Nathan came on in the 9th to get his 3rd save of the season.

Just one day after breaking out of his hitless slump, Justin Morneau went 2-4 with an RBI double and a 3-run home run to bring his total number of RBI's on the day to four. Jason Kubel went 1-4 with a run scored and a run driven in. Matt Tolbert got the start at second base for Brendan Harris who is battling the flu. Tolbert went 2-4 with 2 runs scored while he batted in the #2 spot.

Game Ball
Justin Morneau - First Base

Line: 2-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI

Sunday

Boof Bonser gave a very strong performance going 7 innings and giving up just 3 runs on 8 hits while striking out 4. He didn't get any love from our offense though as he fell victim to a 3-1 loss. Jesse Crain and Dennys Reyes pitched scoreless 8th and 9th innings but the offense just couldn't help the pitchers out.

Justin Morneau followed up a 2-4 game on Saturday with another 2-4 game on Sunday. He also hit his second home run and his 7th RBI of the season. Delmon Young, Joe Mauer, Carlos Gomez and Brendan Harris all had a hit apiece while Matt Tolbert had another 2-hit performance.

Game Ball
Justin Morneau - First Base

Line: 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Cuddy lands on the DL

Michael Cuddyer left Friday's game due to a lacerated finger. The team had to place him on the 15-day disabled list after the doctors told them he'd require at least 2 weeks to heal. The team decided to call up Denard Span from Triple-A to replace Cuddyer on the roster. As many readers know, I've been a big supporter of Denard and have pulled for him to have a great season.

Denard started in right field on Sunday and went 0-2 with a walk.

Twins-White Sox Preview

This afternoon, Nick Blackburn (0-1, 1.29) faces off against Javier Vazquez (0-1, 7.20) of the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox outscored the Detroit Tigers 26-10 in their previous 3 games and have now won 4 straight.

Minor League Scores

If you'd like to know what went on with the Twins minor leagues on Friday and Saturday, make sure to read Seth Speaks for great detailed game recaps. Here are Sunday's recaps:

Rochester Red Wings vs. Richmond Braves

The game was postponed due to bad weather. The game will be made up on Tuesday, April 15 as part of a doubleheader.

Tonight: RHP Kevin Mulvey (0-0, 0.00) will face off against RHP Jim Johnson (0-0, 0.00) of the Norfolk Tides.

New Britain Rock Cats lost to the Portland Sea Dogs, 6-3.

Jay Rainville's first go around in the Eastern League did not go the way he had wished. He allowed 4 runs on 4 hits. However, possibly the worse number of the game was that he walked 5 batters in his 3 1/3 innings pitched. Kyle Aselton and Zach Ward combined for 3 2/3 innings of hitless innings, however they combined for 5 walks as well. Jason Miller allowed 1 run in the 8th inning before Ben Julianel allowed another (unearned) run in the 9th.

Dustin Martin carried the team offensively, however it still wasn't enough. Starting in right field, Martin went 2-3 with with an RBI double, driving in David Winfree after he lead off the inning with a double. Luke Hughes went 2-3 with a run scored while playing third base. Erik Lis and Felix Molina both had one RBI single apiece.

Tonight: The Rock Cats have an off-day today. Their next game is tomorrow against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. RHP Oswaldo Sosa (0-0, 0.00) will face off against RHP Jean Machi (0-0, 0.00) of the Fisher Cats.

Ft. Myers Miracle lost to the Dunedin Blue Jays, 3-0.

The game was called after the 6th inning due to rain, but the game is still official. Tyler Robertson went 5 innings and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 6 in his first action in the Florida State League. Aaron Craig came on in the 6th inning and gave up another run after allowing back-to-back doubles. The game was then called and Robertson was declared the loser.

Toby Gardenhire was the only player to record a hit off of the Blue Jays prized young arm, Kenny Rodriguez. Rodriguez went 6 innings and struck out 7 batters while giving up just the one hit. Great debut for him!

Tonight: RHP Alex Burnett (0-0, 0.00) gets his first taste of the FSL against RHP Julio Pinto (0-0, 0.00)

Beloit Snappers lost to the Kane County Cougars, 5-2.

Daniel Berlind got hit for 3 runs on 6 hits in his three innings of work. Mathew Williams came on to pitch the next 3 innings and did not allow a run on 3 hits and 3 walks. Dominique Rodgers came on to pitch a scoreless 7th inning. Spencer Steedley pitched a scoreless 8th and left the 9th inning after loading up the bases. Blair Erickson allowed 2 of the inherited runners to score, but due to an error by Chris Cates the runs were not earned.

Christopher Parmelee went 1-3 with his second home run (and RBI) of the season. Steven Singleton and Ramon Santana both went 2-4 at the plate. D.J. Romero, Ozzie Lewis and Greg Yersich all had one hit apiece. Yersich's was a triple in the 5th inning. Garrett Olson drove in the other run while grounding out in the bottom of the first inning.

Tonight: RHP Brian Kirwan (0-0, 0.00) will take the mound against LHP Zach Ashwood (0-0, 0.00) of the Peoria Chiefs.

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