GAME 29: ROYALS @ TWINS

The Twins are 5-5 in their last 10 games and 10-10 in their last 20.  That pace is, of course, enough for them to pull away from the rest of the AL Central as no one else has more than 8 wins in their last 20 games. If they win today, this April will be one of only two 17+ win months we've seen from this team in the last 3+ seasons.

Feasting on the bottom of this division seems like a very solid and doable plan. So far, so good.  Minnesota is 5-1 against the Royals, with the only loss coming because they didn't like nibbish's game log yesterday.

Hopefully this game log is more palatable.  Sonny Gray goes against Brady Singer. One of these pitchers has an ERA that is 10 times larger than the other.

 

Minor Details: Games of April 29

RED WINGS 2, SAINTS 1 IN ROCHESTER

Kevin Plawecki homered in the ninth as St. Paul lost by the same score on consecutive days.

Andrew Stevenson was 2-for-4.
Elliot Soto was 2-for-4.

Randy Dobnak pitched four innings, giving up one run on five hits and striking out one.
Kody Funderburk pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.
Cody Laweryson pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and striking out one.

CARDINALS 16, WIND SURGE 10 IN WICHITA

Wichita led 2-0, 5-2, and 6-5.  It was 8-7 Springfield when the Cardinals scored six in the seventh.

Yunior Severino was 4-for-6 with a home run (his sixth), two runs, and four RBIs.
Seth Gray was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.
Will Holland was 2-for-5.
Brooks Lee was 2-for-5.
DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. was 2-for-6 with two runs.
Jake Rucker was 2-for-6 with two runs.
Pat Winkel hit a home run.

Starter Carlos Luna pitched three innings, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks and striking out four.
Osiris German pitched a perfect inning.

WHITECAPS 4, KERNELS 0 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

West Michigan scored single runs in the first, second, seventh, and ninth.

Jose Salas was 2-for-4.

Pierson Ohl pitched four innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk and striking out two.
John Wilson struck out two in two scoreless innings, giving up one hit.
Matthew Swain pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

FORT MYERS AT DAYTONA

Postponed due to lightning.

TODAY'S TILTS

12:05  St. Paul (Aaron Sanchez, 0-1, 3.12) at Rochester
1:05  West Michigan at Cedar Rapids (Jaylin Nowlin, 0-1, 5.40)
1:05  Springfield at Wichita (Blayne Enlow, 0-0, 2.30)
4:00  Fort Myers (C. J. Culpepper, 0-1, 4.50)

Happy Birthday–April 30

Dave Eggler (1849)
Charley Jones (1850)
Jack Sheridan (1862)
Jumbo Brown (1907)
Chet Laabs (1912)
Ernie Tyler (1924)
Ken Retzer (1934)
Ray Miller (1945)
Phil Garner (1949)
Tracy Ringolsby (1951)
Jeff Reboulet (1964)
Ryan O'Rourke (1988)
Edouard Julien (1999)

Jack Sheridan was the first home plate umpire to crouch behind the catcher in the style that umpires do today.

Ernie Tyler was the umpires’ assistant for Baltimore Orioles home games from 1960 through 2010.  He went from opening day of 1960 through July 27, 2007 without missing a game, a streak of 3,769 games.  He missed two games that weekend to go to Cooperstown for the induction of Cal Ripken, Jr. into the Hall of Fame.

Ray Miller was the manager of the Twins in 1985 and 1986, replacing Billy Gardner and being replaced by Tom Kelly.

Tracy Ringolsby has been a baseball writer since 1976 and was given the Spink Award in 2005.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to Rhubarb_Runner's brother.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 30

Game 28: royals @ twins

This series marks the beginning of a very important stretch of games for the Twins. We're two games into a ten game stretch of games against our central division rivals where the only opponent with a winning record is....well, nobody. It's the Royals and the Clevelanders and the utterly terrible White Sox. Then things toughen up against the Padres and the surprisingly beatable Dodgers.

All the time, this is our time. 7 wins in these 10 games won't be enough. These are three of the four worst offense in baseball (the other, of course, is the Tigers). Allowing so much as a runner in scoring position against these teams is nearly unforgivable.

You hear that, Over? I want a perfect game today. A. PERFECT. GAME. Get it done.

Minor Details: Games of April 28

RED WINGS 2, SAINTS 1 IN ROCHESTER

Rochester scored two in the sixth to break a 0-0 tie.

St. Paul had only two hits.

Simeon Woods Richardson pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks and striking out four.
Austin Schulfer pitched a perfect inning.

CARDINALS 9, WIND SURGE 1 IN WICHITA

Springfield scored two in the first and led all the way.

Jake Rucker was 2-for-4 with a double.
Alex Isola was 2-for-4.

Starter Chad Donato pitched 3.2 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out two.
Andrew Cabezas struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up three hits.
Michael Boyle struck out two in two perfect innings.

KERNELS 7, WHITECAPS 5 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Trailing 5-4, Cedar Rapids scored three in the eighth.  Two of the runs scored on sacrifice flies.

Ben Ross was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.
Noah Miller was 2-for-5 with three RBIs.

Starter Marco Raya pitched three innings, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk and striking out two.
Niklas Rimmel pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.
Regi Grace pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

MIGHTY MUSSELS 3, TORTUGAS 2 IN DAYTONA

Fort Myers scored single runs in the second, third, and sixth.

Dylan Neuse was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs.
Jorel Ortega was 2-for-4 with a walk.
Rubel Cespedes was 2-for-4.
Carlos Aguiar was 2-for-5 with a triple and a double.

Zebby Matthews struck out eight in 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk.
Johnathan Lavallee struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.
Jackson Hicks struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

TODAY'S TILTS

12:05  St. Paul (Randy Dobnak, 1-0, 5.94) at Rochester
1:05  West Michigan at Cedar Rapids (Pierson Ohl, 1-0, 2.70)
2:05  Springfield at Wichita (Carlos Luna, 0-0, 4.09)
5:35  Fort Myers (Tomas Cleto, 0-1, 2.57) at Daytona

Happy Birthday–April 29

Frank Hankinson (1856)
Ernie Johnson (1888)
Mickey McDermott (1929)
Steve Ridzik (1929)
Ed Charles (1933)
Luis Aparicio (1934)
Akira Ohgi (1935)
Tom House (1947)
Rick Burleson (1951)
Bob McClure (1952)
Ron Washington (1952)
Steve Crawford (1958)
John Vander Wal (1966)
Sterling Hitchcock (1971)
Rafael Betancourt (1975)
Tony Armas (1978)

Akiri Ohgi was a long-time manager in Japan, winning nearly a thousand games.

Rick Burleson was drafted by Minnesota in the eighth round in 1969, but did not sign.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Papa MagUidhir.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 29