The debut of Cole De Vries was a game with several ups and downs. De Vries struck out Alejandro de Aza, the first batter he faced. He threw a scoreless first inning. Then in the second frame, AJ Pierzynski got him. He was charged with three unearned runs in the third inning after an error, a pop up and a blooper. He then got seven batters out. Given a 5-4 lead, he went out for the 6^th inning and served up back-to-back home runs to Paul Konerko and Alexi Rios and his debut was over. His line at the end of the day was six runs (3 earned) on six hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out four, but three solo home runs added up. Brian Duensing came in and gave up three hits and a walk. The biggest hit in his inning was a grand slam. Jeff Gray threw a scoreless inning. Jared Burton gave up a run in the eighth inning.

The Twins fell 11-8 to the White Sox. The highlight for the Twins had to be Justin Morneau’s day at the plate. He was 3-5 with his seventh and eighth home runs, both long blasts. Joe Mauer was 2-4 with a walk and his second home run. Alexi Casilla was 2-4 with a double. Denard Span was 2-5 with his tenth double.

If you missed it last night, be sure to listen to last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly. Seth was joined by Kyle Gibson, David Bromberg and Drew Leachman. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Thursday:

ROCHESTER 3, GWINNETT 1

After a day off, the Red Wings got a tidy win on the road in Gwinnett. Liam Hendriks started and gave up only an unearned run on five hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out nine and improved to 3-0. Anthony Slama came in to start the eighth inning. He struck out one batter but gave up two hits. Tyler Robertson came in and got the Red Wings out of the jam. Casey Fien came in and threw a scoreless ninth inning to record the save.

JR Towles went 2-4. Sean Burroughs was 2-4 with an RBI. Matt Carson hit his 12^th double. Clete Thomas and Danny Valencia each drove in a run.

The Red Wings are now 20-26.

NEW BRITAIN 6, BINGHAMPTON 4

BJ Hermsen was back on the mound for the Rock Cats. The righty went seven innings and gave up four runs (3 earned) on ten hits. He walked none and struck out three. Caleb Thielbar pitched the last two innings. He didn’t allow a run and struck out four and picked up his second win.

Deibinson Romero went 2-3 with a walk, his fourth home run and two RBI. Matt Rizzotti hit his second homer and drove in two.

They improved to 28-18, and they are 1.5 games ahead of Reading.

FT. MYERS 1, CLEARWATER 2

Madison Boer threw his best game with the Miracle. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out three. Matt Hauser struck out three in two shutout innings. Bruce Pugh struck out two in two scoreless innings.

Danny Ortiz went 3-4 with his fourth and fifth doubles. He went 0-12 in his first three games with the Miracle. Since then, he has gone 20-64 (.313) in 16 games. Josmil Pinto also hit his ninth double.

Danny Rams was taken off of the Disabled List. The Miracle are now 18-29 and 18 games back in the division.

BELOIT 9, CEDAR RAPIDS 2

The Snappers played on Thursday afternoon and came out with a big win. AJ Achter got a spot start. He gave up two unearned runs in five innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out five. Tyler Jones, a Milwaukee native, threw three scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out five. David Hurlbut threw a scoreless innings.

Adam Bryant went 3-5. Eddie Rosario went 2-5 with his fourth homer run. Drew Leachman was 2-5 with his second double, third home run and three RBI. Kyle Knudson was 1-2 with three walks.

Miguel Sano continues to struggle. He was 0-3 with two walks and two strikeouts. He is now 1-30 in his last seven games and 3-39 since turning 19.

Nate Roberts as activated from the DL. Rory Rhodes went back Extended Spring Training. Jones was promoted with Bart Carter going on the D

Disabled List.

The Snappers are now 28-19, a game and a half back of Wisconsin.

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Players of the Day for Thursday, May 24, 2012

Pitcher of the Day – Liam Hendriks

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Hitter of the Day – Danny Ortiz

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A Look Ahead – Friday, May 25, 2012 Schedule

Rochester @ Gwinnett – LHP Matt Maloney

New Britain @ Portland – LHP Andrew Albers

Ft. Myers vs Palm Beach – RHP Miguel Munoz

Beloit vs Cedar Rapids – RHP Tim Shibuya

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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!