Wednesday Night Game Notes (including Minor Leagues)

The Twins got Win #1 in Game #5, and that has to be a relief to all the players, coaches, the manager and the front office. As a fan, it’s kind of nice as well! A very nice 6-5, come-from-behind win. At various times, Josh Willingham, Chris Parmelee, Jamey Carroll, Glen Perkins and Matt Capps played hero. Jeff Gray gets the win! Congrats to the Twins on the win.

The minor league affiliates won three of their four games on Wednesday. In unusual fashion, two of the Twins affiliates played games in the morning. A couple of pitchers with limited time with the Twins pitched well for the Red Wings, while a future Twins player returned to action. The Rock Cats gave up some runs, but a top prospect added another double. The Miracle held on to a lead and getting a big home run from a guy who homered in a game with the Twins late in spring training. And a Minnesota native had a nice game with a lot of strikeouts to record a win for the Snappers.

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ROCHESTER 2, PAWTUCKET 1

Scott Diamond has started his 2012 season very well. In his first start, he threw 6.1 shutout innings. On this night, he threw six shutout frames. He gave up just four hits, walked three and struck out six. Esmerling Vasquez came in and gave up a run on two hits in two innings. He also struck out two. Anthony Slama came in for the ninth inning to protect a one-run lead. He got the first two outs quickly, but just to make it challenging, he walked the next two hitters. He got a ground out to end the game and record his third save.

Aaron Bates led the offense. He went 2-4 with an RBI double. Matt Carson hit his third double. Brian Dozier didn’t start but entered the game as a pinch hitter and went 2-2 with two singles. (Dozier is now 11-21 (.524) on the short-season and has at least one hit in all six games he’s played. He has at least two hits in five of those games.)

NEW BRITAIN 4, HARRISBURG 8

The Rock Cats had an early morning game (10:30 local time) to end this series. Andrew Albers got the starting nod and was up for the challenge. He didn’t allow a run through the first four innings of the game. Unfortunately, he was tagged for four runs in the fifth inning. Bobby Lanigan came in and gave up four runs on four hits and a walk over the next two innings. Lester Oliveros and Blake Martin each threw a scoreless inning.

Offensively, Deibinson Romero went 2-4 and drove in two runs. Aaron Hicks was 1-3 with a walk and his first double (batting left-handed). Mark Dolenc was 1-2 with a walk.

FT. MYERS MIRACLE 6, JUPITER 5

Bruce Pugh came in to protect a one-run lead for the Miracle. He gave up a single to the first batter but got the next three outs to record his second save of the season. Manuel Soliman started and gave up two runs on five hits and two walks in three innings. He struck out three. Tony Davis came in and threw a scoreless fourth inning, but he gave up three runs on the fifth. Jhon Garcia then threw three shutout innings in relief before Pugh pitched in the ninth.

Josmil Pinto led the way going 3-4 with his second double. Lance Ray went 2-3 with a walk. His first home run gave the Miracle their 6-5 lead. Michael Gonzales went 2-4 with his first double.

BELOIT 3, KANE COUNTY 2

In another morning game, the final game of the series in Kane County, the Snappers got a nice start from Madison Boer. The Eden Prairie native gave up one run on three hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out nine. Ryan O’Rourke came in and gave up a run on three hits over the next two innings. Clinton Dempster came in and gave up just one hit over the final two innings to record his first save.

Matt Koch was the hitting hero. He was 2-3 with a walk and two doubles (3 on season). Danny Ortiz went 2-4 with a stolen base. Adam Bryan was also 2-4. Tyler Grimes and Wang-Wei Lin each hit a double.

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Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Hitter of the Day – Matt Koch

Pitcher of the Day – Scott Diamond

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A Look Ahead – Thursday, April 12, 2012 Schedule

Rochester vs. Pawtucket – 6:05 (CST) – RHP Daryl Thompson

New Britain vs Harrisburg – 5:35 (CST) – RHP Jason Marquis

Ft. Myers vs Jupiter – 6:05 (CST) – LHP Pat Dean

Beloit @ Kane County – 6:30 (CST) – LHP Steven Gruver

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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!