Twins affiliates were 2-2 to start the season.  Drew Butera was a hero.  Scott Baker faced only three batters.

ROCHESTER 7, SYRACUSE 4 IN SYRACUSE

Batting stars:  Matt Carson was 4-for-5 with a double and a triple.  Drew Butera doubled and homered, driving in three.  Brian Dinkelman tripled and drove in three.

Pitching stars:  P. J. Walters struck out four in four shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.  Jeff Manship got the win, allowing only a walk in 1.1 innings.  Casey Fien worked a perfect ninth for the save.

Opposition star:  Bryce Harper singled and doubled.

Key inning:  The seventh.  Rochester led 2-0 after six, but put together a five-run seventh.  Dinkelman hit a bases-loaded triple and Butera capped off the inning with a home run.  The big inning allowed the Red Wings to withstand a four-run bottom of the inning by the Chiefs.

NEW BRITAIN 3, RICHMOND 2 IN NEW BRITAIN

Batting stars:  Chris Herrmann, Mark Dolenc, and James Beresford each had two hits.

Pitching stars:  Luke French got the win with five shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks while striking out four.  Deolis Guerra struck out three in two perfect innings.  Lester Oliveros struck out the only man he faced to get the save.

Opposition star:  Chris Dominguez singled and doubled, driving in two.

Key inning:  The ninth.  New Britain led 3-0 after eight.  Four ninth-inning singles gave the Flying Squirrels two runs and runners on first and second.  Oliveros came on and fanned Ryan Cavan to end the game.

CHARLOTTE 8, FT. MYERS 6 IN CHARLOTTE

Batting stars:  Daniel Santana was 3-for-4 with two doubles, driving in two.  Angel Morales was 3-for-4.

Pitching star:  Edgar Ibarra pitched 2.2 shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Philip Wunderlich passed his initial test, going 3-for-5 with a double.  Derek Dietrich singled and doubled, driving in three.  George Jensen worked 3.2 shutout innings, striking out four while walking four and giving up one hit.

Key inning:  The fourth.  The Miracle led 3-2 after three, but the Stone Crabs scored three times in the fourth to take the lead.  Dietrich hit a two-run double to put Charlotte in front and scored to give the Stone Crabs an insurance run.

Other:  Scott Baker started for Ft. Myers, but faced only three batters, giving up hits to two of them before coming out of the game.

PEORIA 5, BELOIT 2 IN BELOIT

Batting star:  Jonathan Goncalves was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Matthew Tomshaw struck out three in two perfect innings.  Matthew Summers struck out the side in his only inning.

Opposition stars:  Pin-Chieh Chen singled and tripled.  Michael Jensen gave up two hits and a walk in five shutout innings to get the win.  Jeffrey Lorick struck out three in two shutout innings to get the save.

Key inning:  The third.  The Chiefs scored four times to break a scoreless tie.  Madison Boer had retired the first six men he faced, but gave up four singles to start the third inning.

TODAY’S TILTS

3:00—Rochester at Syracuse.  Scott Diamond v. TBA

3:35—Richmond at New Britain.  Jason Stevenson v. Steve Hirschfeld

       --Richmond at New Britain.  Craig Westcott v. Logan Darnell

6:05—Charlotte at Ft. Myers.  Enny Romero v. Pat Dean

6:30—Peoria at Beloit.  Patrick Francescon v. TBA

Yes, it does seem strange that New Britain has a scheduled doubleheader on the second day of the season.  It also seems strange that Beloit has not announced who its number two starter is.