For the first time in quite awhile, the Twins game was very enjoyable to watch on Friday night. Scott Diamond had his best pitching performance in his big league career by throwing a complete game shutout with only three hits surrendered. He was remarkably efficient by throwing less than 100 pitches during his nine innings on the mound. With some not so smooth outings in his last few appearances, it was good to see Diamond get a fantastic start under his belt and hopefully he can stay on track for the rest of the season.

While Diamond was busy tossing a gem, the Twins offense blew up for 11 runs on the strength of 15 hits. Justin Morneau crushed a huge 3-run home run in the first inning to put the Twins up from the early going. Later in the game, Josh Willingham hit his team leading 26th home run of the season by sending one into the bullpen and he now has 76 RBI. Joe Mauer had two RBI and three hits to raise batting average to .332 for the year.

ROCHESTER 1, SYRACUSE 2

There was just not enough offense for the Red Wings on Friday evening. Danny Valencia was noticeably absent from the line-up with his call-up to the Twins so this could have taken a little away from the offensive output. But most of the credit should go to Yunesky Maya for holding the Red Wings to a single run over eight innings pitched with the lone run being scored on a home run from Chris Parmelee. Besides the home run from Parmelee, there were no other hits for the Red Wings during the entire game so there is not much else to discuss from an offensive standpoint.

Jeff Manship pitched a very good game for Rochester as he tossed six innings with a couple earned runs. It was his first loss since May 11th and it's not often that a pitcher expects to get a loss when they only give up two runs. Lester Oliveros did very well in his three innings on the mound. He pitched three innings while allowing a single hit and striking out six to lower his ERA to 3.04 for the season.

Before the game, there were a few different roster moves including the Red Wings. RHP Deolis Guerra was reinstated from the 7-Day Disabled List and he was replaced on the DL by RHP Daniel Sattler. As many fans heard about on Thursday's off day, Anthony Swarzak had to make a trip to the DL so RHP Luis Perdomo was called up to Minnesota for the first time. To take the place of Perdomo with Rochester, RHP Daniel Turpen was transferred from Double-A New Britain.

NEW BRITAIN 9, READING 10

The Rock Cats tried their best to comeback against the Phillies by scoring multiple runs in the last three innings but Reading had too much of a lead. There were five members of the Rock Cats to collect multiple hits in the game including 2-for-4 nights from Joe Benson and Rene Tosoni. Benson hit his second home run with New Britain and he knocked in three runs. Chris Herrmann matched the three RBI of Benson including his 22nd double of the season, the second most two-baggers on the team.

Logan Darnell started for the Rock Cats and lasted five innings while giving up six earned runs on 10 hits. He didn't walk any batters but he only struck out one hitter and gave up two long balls for his eighth loss of the year. David Bromberg pitched a scoreless inning by striking out two of the four batters that he faced while on the mound. Edgar Ibarra got roughed up for the second straight outing by giving up three runs and only being credited for one out.

FORT MYERS 6, BREVARD COUNTY 3

Madison Boer picked up his first win since July 1st and his fifth win of the year. He threw six innings by giving up eight hits and three earned runs. The two home runs that he allowed were basically harmless since the Miracle jumped on starter Taylor Jungmann of the Manatees for six runs in under four innings. Clint Dempster and AJ Achter threw three hitless innings to finish out the victory for Fort Myers. It was the second hold fro Dempster and the fourth save for Achter.

Steven Liddle was appearing in his fourth game for Fort Myers but he didn't waste any time making his mark with the Miracle. On this day, he went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI to raise his batting average to .583 during his second trip to the FSL. Lance Ray and Daniel Santana each had three hits to their credit but Ray knocked in three RBI including his 11th home run of the year. The only other member of the Miracle to have a hit was Michael Gonzales and he did collect an RBI.

BELOIT 2, BURLINGTON 7

The Snappers didn't manage any extra-base hits against the Bees and the team went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position so it's hard to come out on top with very little offense. Adam Pettersen had the only RBI for New Britain with his two-out RBI in the fourth inning. Miguel Sano had a hit for the third straight game but he hasn't had an extra-base hit since he hit a home run on July 19th. Kennys Vargas had a hat trick by striking out three times to lower his batting average to .211.

Beloit sent Taylor Rogers to the mound for his first start since being called up from Elizabethton. He took the loss by giving up three earned runs on six hits over four innings. The worst part of his outing might have been the six walks that he allowed compared to his three strikeouts. Cole Johnson did very well in relief with four strikeouts and no hits in two innings. He lowered his ERA to 1.16 in nine games with the Snappers.

ELIZABETHTON 9, GREENVILLE 12

The Greenville Astros pounded out 17 hits against the pitching staff of the the E-Twins. Hudson Boyd got shelled for eight hits and four earned runs in 3.2 innings pitched. It was easily his worst start of the year as it only raised his ERA to 2.15 for the season and he hadn't given up more than one earned run in his last five starts. Christian Powell tried to relieve Boyd but he didn't fare much better by giving up four runs in a little over two innings on the mound. Tyler Duffey and Andrew Ferreira combined to give up three runs over the last three innings.

Candido Pimentel lead the team with three hits in his four at-bats including his third double of the season and two RBI. The other E-Twins player with multiple hits was Adam Walker who went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, an RBI, and his seventh home run. Niko Goodrum only got one hit but his double did knock in his 26th, 27th, and 28th RBI of the year. Max Kepler seems to have found his man muscles by hitting his seventh home run of the season when he only had one home run during the last two years.

GCL TWINS 12, GCL RED SOX 3

The Twins might have gotten a glimpse of their future with Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario in the same line-up on Friday afternoon. Rosario is rehabbing on the way back from an injury and he went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI before being lifted from the game. Buxton wouldn't be outdone by Rosario as he hit a home run of his own while going 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Joel Licon and Jose Ramirez helped pace the offense with three hits each.

A few different big name pitchers got into the game for the Twins. Two former first rounders, Kyle Gibson and Luke Bard, pitched scoreless outings to help improve their ERAs in the GCL. Alexander Muren picked up his second win of the season by tossing two innings without giving up a hit but he did walk three batters. It was good to see Muren not give up any runs for the first time in his last two appearances but his three walks were the most this season.

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Players of the Day for July 27th, 2012

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A Look Ahead- Saturday, July 28th Schedule

Rochester @ Columbus- RHP Liam Hendriks

New Britain @ Reading- RHP Steven Hirschfeld

New Britain @ Reading- Game 2

Fort Myers vs Brevard County- LHP Pat Dean

Beloit @ Peoria- TBA

Elizabethton vs Greeneville- RHP Angel Mata

GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox- TBA

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