Well, the Twins lost tonight, 7-2 to the Pirates. At least it was in a beautiful ballpark. I enjoyed watching the Twitter feeds of the Twins beat writers, reporters and other journalists this afternoon, as they were filled with pictures of PNC Park. I have to say, I love Target Field, but PNC just might have us beat. At the very least, it was nice to see Trevor Plouffe continue to swing the hot bat (2-for-3 with a walk), and Denard Span homered. Hopefully they have better luck tomorrow.

Let's see how the affiliates did tonight. Spoiler alert: it wasn't pretty.

ROCHESTER 2, DURHAM 8

Lucas French had a rough outing, lasting only 3 and 1/3 innings and giving up 6 runs on 8 hits, walking 2 and striking out 1. French's AAA ERA is 5.44. Deolis Guerra also ran into trouble. In 1 and 2/3 innings, Guerra gave up 2 runs on 3 hits. He walked 1 and struck out 3. Kyle Waldrop threw 2 scoreless innings, and Casey Fein and Tyler Robertson each tossed scoreless innings.

The Red Wings amassed only 6 hits all evening. Right fielder Wilkin Ramirez was 1-for-4 with a 2-run home run. That accounted for all the scoring. Danny Valencia was 2-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Michael Hollimon had a triple and 2 walks, and Clete Thomas and Pedro Florimon each had a single.

Here's the link to the box score.

NEW BRITAIN 1, ALTOONA 8

The Rock Cats continued their slide in the Eastern League standings, getting hammered tonight. Logan Darnell was charged with the loss, throwing 5 innings, and allowing 4 earned runs (6 total) on 10 hits. He struck out 1. Daniel Sattler (recent St. Paul Saints signing) made his AA debut tonight. In 2 innings of work, he gave up 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 2. Blake Martin allowed 1 run in 1 inning of work, allowing no hits, but walking 3 and striking out 2.

Like the Red Wings, the Rock Cats only got 6 hits all evening. Top prospect Oswaldo Arcia had a debut he would probably like to forget. He was 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts. Oh well; he'll be back tomorrow and probably much better. Evan Bigley was the best offensive player tonight, going 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Bigley is likely to lose playing time to Arcia, so he is probably feeling motivated to play well when he gets the opportunity. Aaron Hicks returned to the lineup after being out about a week with an ankle sprain. He was 1-for-4. Deibinson Romero and James Beresford each singled for New Britain. Romero also had the only walk of the evening for the Rock Cats.

Here's the link to the box score.

FT. MYERS 2, JUPITER 6

This must have been another bullpen day for the Miracle. Tom Stuifbergen got the start for Ft. Myers, and gave up 1 earned run (3 total) in 2 innings on the hill. He allowed 4 hits, walked 1 and struck out 1. Jose Gonzalez threw 2 and 2/3 innings and allowed 3 runs. Gonzalez gave up 4 hits, but struck out 6. Kind of an interesting stat line. Edgar Ibarra was excellent tonight: in 2 and 1/3 innings, he allowed no runs on 2 hits, struck out 5 and walked 1. Finally, Dakota Watts threw a scoreless inning.

Kyle Knudson was 3-for-4 tonight with a double and a run. Levi Michael was 2-for-2 with a double and 3 walks (he also committed his 9th error of the season, a fielding miscue). Daniel Rams hit his second home run of the year, and Josmil Pinto and Angel Morales each singled. The Miracle walked 8 times tonight -- it's disappointing they couldn't convert on more of the free passes.

Here's the link to the box score.

BELOIT was not in action tonight, as it was the Midwest League All-Star game. I'll do a quick rundown of the Snappers' All-Star performances: Miguel Sano was 0-for-1 with a walk; Jonathan Goncalves was 1-for-2 with an RBI; Tyler Grimes was 0-for-1 with a walk; Jairo Rodriguez was 0-for-1 with a walk. Pitcher A.J. Achter went 2/3 of an inning, striking out 2 and allowing 1 hit; Jason Wheeler also threw a scoreless 2/3 of an inning, and Michael Tonkin threw 1/3 of an inning, allowing 1 hit.

Here's the link to the lengthy box score.

ELIZABETHTON 5, DANVILLE 7

It's exciting to see some guys that we have read about getting to play in real games. Hudson Boyd took the loss tonight. In 3 innings of work, he gave up 1 earned run (3 total) on 4 hits, striking out 3 and walking 3. Brett Lee also threw 3 innings, and allowed 1 unearned run, striking out 1. Steven Evans allowed 3 runs in just 1 inning of work, walking 3 and striking out 1. Tyler Herr allowed 1 run in 1 inning of work, giving up a solo home run. He also walked 1.

Elizabethton had 7 hits in tonight's game. First baseman Rory Rhodes had 3 hits in 4 at-bats, with a double, a run, 2 RBIs and a walk. Right fielder Candido Pimentel was 2-for-4, designated hitter D.J. Hicks had a double and an RBI in 5 at-bats, and left fielder Romy Jimenez was 1-for-4 with a single.

Here's the link to the box score.

GCL TWINS 5, GCL ORIOLES 3

Dereck Rodriguez has a pretty famous father (future Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez), but he is trying to make a name for himself. The outfielder went 3-3 with a walk in his first game of the season. John Murphy was 1-2 with two walks. Jose Ramirez went 2-4 with a stolen base.

Yorman Landa made his first start of the 2012 season. The right-hander threw four no-hit, no-run innings. He walked two and struck out four. Chris Mazza came in and gave up one run on three hits in two innings. He struck out three. Gerardo Ramirez gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in one inning (and he got credit for the win!). Melciades De La Cruz got the save. He struck out four in two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and walked two.

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Players of the day for Tuesday, June 19, 2012.

Hitter of the Day: Rory Rhodes

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Pitcher of the Day: Edgar Ibarra

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A Look Ahead: Schedule for Wednesday, June 20

Rochester vs. Durham -- RHP Cole De Vries

New Britain @ Altoona -- ??

Ft. Myers @ Jupiter -- RHP Madison Boer

Elizabethton @ Danville -- RHP Ricardo Arevalo

Gulf Coast League Twins vs. Gulf Coast League Rays -- ??

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Please leave any questions or comments here, and Seth or I will be happy to respond.