Tough day for Twins affiliates. A pitchers’ duel in Rochester. Josmil Pinto makes his AA debut. Another pitchers’ duel in Fort Myers. Byron Buxton is starting to hit in Elizabethton. Joel Licon is a hero for the GCL Twins.
LEHIGH VALLEY 1, ROCHESTER 0 IN ROCHESTER
Batting star: Evan Bigley was 2-for-3.
Pitching stars: Nick Blackburn gave up one run on seven hits and two walks in seven strong innings. Anthony Slama struck out three in two shutout innings, allowing a hit and a walk.
Opposition stars: Kyle Hudson was 3-for-4. Tom Cochran worked seven innings, giving up two hits and two walks.
Key inning: The first. Hudson led off the game with a single, took second on a bunt, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a Hector Luna single for the only run of the game.
Other: The closest the Red Wings came to scoring was the ninth, when a walk and a single put runners on first and second with one out. Two strikeouts ended the threat. The teams combined for twelve hits, all singles.
PORTLAND 7, NEW BRITAIN 2 IN NEW BRITAIN
Batting star: Josmil Pinto, in his first game at AA, was 1-for-2 with a walk and a home run. Oswaldo Arcia was 1-for-3 with a walk and a double.
Pitching star: Aaron Thompson threw two shutout innings, allowing three hits.
Opposition stars: Bryce Brentz was 4-for-5 with a double and two home runs. He scored three times and drove in four. Ryan Dent was 4-for-5. Jeremy Hazelbaker was 2-for-5 with a double.
Key inning: The seventh. The Sea Dogs already led 4-2, but scored three times to put the game away. Hazelbaker hit an RBI double and Brentz hit a two-run homer.
Other: It was announced that New Britain will host the 2013 Eastern League all-star game.
BRADENTON 2, FORT MYERS 1 IN FORT MYERS
Batting stars: Daniel Ortiz was 2-for-3 with a double. Daniel Santana was 2-for-4.
Pitching star: Tom Stuifbergen took a complete game loss, giving up two unearned runs on six hits and no walks.
Opposition star: Kyle Kaminska worked seven innings, allowing one run on six hits and no walks while striking out six.
Key inning: The sixth. Trailing 1-0, the Marauders scored twice. With two out and none on, Alex Dickerson singled and Justin Howard doubled to put runners on second and third. The next batter grounded to Stuifbergen, who threw the ball away allowing Dickerson to score. The first baseman threw to third, where Anderson Hidalgo missed the ball, allowing Howard to score. The two runs were all Bradenton needed.
Other: The complete game was the first for Fort Myers this season. There were no walks in the game. Fort Myers made three errors.
PEORIA 9, BELOIT 6 IN BELOIT (12 INNINGS)
Batting stars: JaDamion Williams was 2-for-5 with a walk. Wang-wei Lin was 2-for-7.
Pitching star: Taylor Rogers struck out two in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.
Opposition stars: Timothy Saunders was 4-for-6 with a double, scoring three times. Sheldon McDonald struck out four in two shutout innings. Pete Levitt struck out four in 2.2 scoreless innings.
Key inning: The twelfth. In a 6-6 tie, the Chiefs scored three times. They had two out and none on, but a walk, two singles, and three more walks did the Snappers in. Saunders had an RBI single, one run scored on a wild pitch, and the other scored on a bases-loaded walk.
Other: Beloit lost leads of 3-0 and 6-5.
GREENEVILLE 4, ELIZABETHTON 3 IN ELIZABETHTON
Batting stars: Byron Buxton was 3-for-5 with a triple. Romy Jimenez hit a home run, his seventh.
Pitching stars: Joshua Burris struck out five in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit. Tyler Herr struck out three in two shutout innings, walking one.
Opposition stars: Luis Alvarez was 2-for-3 with a walk and two home runs. Tanner Bushue worked 2.1 scoreless innings.
Key inning: The fifth. In a 2-2 tie, the Astros scored twice. Alvarez led off the inning with a home run. Marc Wilk then walked, went to second on a fly out, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the inning, Max Kepler hit a two-out double and scored on a D. J. Hicks single, but that was the last run the Twins scored.
Other: Elizabethton out-hit Greeneville 8-4.
GCL TWINS 2, ORIOLES 0 AT ORIOLES
Batting star: Joel Licon hit a two-run homer, his second.
Pitching stars: Starter Andre Martinez struck out five in four innings, allowing three hits and a walk. Sam Gibbons worked four innings, giving up a hit and a walk.
Opposition star: Adrian Marin was 2-for-3 with a double.
Key inning: The fourth. It was a scoreless tie. With a runner on first and one out, Licon hit a home run to bring in the only runs of the game.
Other: Each team had four hits.
DSL TWINS 5, PADRES 2 AT PADRES
Batting stars: Gabriel A. Ynfante was 1-for-1 with two walks. Eddy Concepcion was 1-for-2 with two walks.
Pitching stars: Edgar Martinez struck out three in two perfect innings. Elias Villasana threw two shutout innings, striking out two and walking three.
Opposition stars: Moises Lendor was 2-for-4 with two doubles. Franchy Cordero was 1-for-1 with three walks.
Key inning: The third. In a scoreless tie, Lendor doubled, took third on a ground out, and scored on a sacrifice fly to put the Padres up 1-0. In the bottom of the inning, Dubal Baez hit a two-run double and scored on an Adonis Pacheco single. A single advanced Pacheco to second, he stole third, and then he scored on a wild pitch to make the score 4-1.
TODAY’S TILTS
9:30 DSL Twins at Padres
11:00 GCL Orioles at Twins
5:35 New Britain at New Hampshire Steven Hirschfeld v. Ryan Tepera
6:00 Elizabethton at Pulaski Jose Berrios v. TBA
6:05 Bradenton at Fort Myers TBA v. Pat Dean
6:05 Lehigh Valley at Rochester Scott Elarton v. Shairon Martis
7:00 Peoria at Beloit