Three batters into the game, Nick Blackburn had given up two mammoth home runs and the Twins were down 3-0. He actually settled down nicely after that, giving up just one more run (a second long BJ Upton home run) and working into the 7^th inning. The bullpen did a nice job and kept the Rays at four runs. Unfortunately, the Twins offense didn’t do much in this game off of David Price. Justin Morneau and Darin Mastroianni each had two hits. Brian Dozier hit hit sixth home run. The Twins fall to 49-64.

Ben Revere and Joe Mauer each went 0-4, and tomorrow they will both appear among the top 10 hitters in the American League. Revere (.319) reach enough plate appearances to qualify. He’ll be just ahead of Mauer (.317).

Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from the Saturday games in the minor leagues.

ROCHESTER 5, PAWTUCKET 3

Lefty Pedro Hernandez, who came to the Twins in the Francisco Liriano trade, made his second start for the Red Wings. This one went much better than the first. In this game, he gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out three. Bobby Lanigan pitched two scoreless innings. He gave up no hits, walked one and struck out three. Anthony Slama came in to protect a three-run lead in the 9^th. He got the first two batters out (which dropped his ERA to 0.37). However, he gave up a single to the third batter, who advanced to second on a passed ball by Rene Rivera. The next batter got an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-3. It was just the second earned run allowed by Slama all season and raised his ERA to 0.74. Daniel Turpen came in and got the final out on a fly ball to record his second save.

Trevor Plouffe batted fourth and played third base. He was terrific in the field. At that plate, he went 0-4 with weak ground balls to the pitcher and to first base and two strikeouts.

Chris Parmelee went 1-3 with a walk and his 13^th double. Clete Thomas was 2-4 and drove in two runs.

NEW BRITAIN 10, READING 6

Oswaldo Arcia has made it pretty clear that he is the top hitter in the Twins farm system. On Saturday night, he continued his remarkable season. The outfielder went 3-3 with two walks, his 14^th double and his seventh home run. He drove in four runs, and as Twins Fan from Afar points out, he now has 47 RBI for the Rock Cats in just 176 at bats.

Chris Herrmann got the team started. In the second inning, he hit a three-run homer (his 9^th) to give the team a 4-2 lead. Herrmann was 2-3 with two walks and the home run. Chris Colabello went 2-3 with a walk, his 34^th double and two RBI. He now has 87 RBI on the season. James Beresford was 2-3 with his eighth double.

Blake Martin got the start on the mound. The lefty went the first five innings and gave up two runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out five. Matt Hauser went the next 1.2 innings without allowing a run. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out two. Bruce Pugh was charged with one run on three hits in 1.1 innings. He struck out three. Edgar Ibarra came in for the 9^th. He got the first two outs. He gave up three runs (1 earned thanks to his own error) on three hits. Dakota Watts came in and got the final out.

With the win, the Rock Cats take a 1.5 game lead for the second playoff spot in their division.

FT. MYERS 0, ST. LUCIE 3

Tom Stuifbergen gave up two unearned runs in the first inning, and that proved to be enough. In all, he gave up three runs (1 earned) on three hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out two. Ricky Bowen came on and threw three scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out four.

The Miracle managed just four hits in the game. Lance Ray and Josmil Pinto each had a single and a walk.

BELOIT 3, PEORIA 5

Jorge Soler is the highly publicized Cuban defector that signed earlier this year with the Chicago Cubs. Last week, he was promoted to their Low-A affiliate in Peoria, and on Saturday, he played in Beloit for the first time. In this game, he had just one hit. It happened to be a grand slam that made the difference in this game.

Taylor Rogers started for the Snappers. He gave up four unearned runs on six hits in 5.2 innings. He walked two and struck out five. Steven Gruver came in and worked the final 3.1 innings. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk. He struckout three.

Miguel Sano led the offense. He went 2-3 with his 23^rd and 24^th doubles and his 88^th and 89^th RBI. Eddie Rosario drove in a run with his third triple. JD Williams was 1-3 with two walks. Wang-Wei Lin walked twice from the leadoff spot.

ELIZABETHTON 8, BRISTOL 0

Twins supplemental first round pick J.O. Berrios made his first appearance in the Appalachian League. The right-hander went 3.1 innings without giving up a base runner. In total, he went four innings and gave up no runs on one hit and one walk. He struck out five. Travis Huber came in and threw two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and struck out two. Luis Nunez struck out three in his two shutout frames. Tyler Herr pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

Max Kepler again led the offense. He went 3-5 with his 11^th double and two RBI. Jhonathan Arias also went 3-5. Candido Pimentel was 2-4 with a walk and his 7^th and 8^th doubles. Jorge Polanco hit his third home run. Byron Buxton doubled for the second time. Niko Goodrum walked three times.

An update from last night’s report. The Twins second supplemental first round pick, Luke Bard, left last night’s game after facing just one batter. He was to be re-evaluated on Saturday, but to this point, there has been no updated. It was an arm injury though.

GCL TWINS 3, GCL RED SOX 6

Minnesota native Austin Malinowski started for the Twins. It wasn’t his best outing. The lefty gave up four runs (2 earned) on six hits and four walks. In just 1.2 innings, he struck out one. Hung-yi Chen came in and went the next 2.1 innings. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. Alex Muren then threw two shutout innings. Melciades de la Cruz struck out four in two scoreless innings.

Bryan Santy led the offense by going 2-3 and was hit by a batter. Javier Pimentel went 2-4 with his first stolen base. Zach Larson hit his first double.

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Players of the Day for Saturday, August 11, 2012

Hitter of the Day – Oswaldo Arcia

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Pitcher of the Day – JO Berrios

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A Look Ahead – Sunday, August 12, 2012 Schedule

Rochester @ Lehigh Valley – RHP Liam Hendriks

New Britain vs Reading – RHP Steve Hirschfeld

Ft. Myers vs St. Lucie –RHP Carl Pavano

Beloit vs Peoria – RHP Tyler Jones

Elizabethton @ Bristol – TBD

GCL Twins – No Game Scheduled

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If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!