Happy Birthday–April 26

Jack Barry (1887)
Ray Caldwell (1888)
Hack Wilson (1900)
Bernard Malamud (1914)
Sal Maglie (1917)
Virgil Trucks (1917)
Ron Northey (1920)
Granny Hamner (1927)
Amos Otis (1947)
Tom Norton (1950)
Mike Scott (1955)
Steve Lombardozzi (1960)
Curtis Wilkerson (1961)
Brian Anderson (1972)
Geoff Blum (1973)
Kosuke Fukudome (1977)
Joe Crede (1978)
Alejandro Machado (1982)
Shawn Kelley (1984)
Sean Rodriguez (1985)
Aaron Judge (1992)

Bernard Malamud wrote the book "The Natural".  He probably wrote some other books as well.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 26

Minor Details: Games of April 24

ROCHESTER RED WINGS 7, ST. PAUL SAINTS 5 IN ST. PAUL

Rochester scored three in the second to go up 3-1 and three in the fourth to make it 6-2.

Multi-hit games:  Anthony Prato was 3-for-3 with three doubles, two walks, and three runs.  Jair Camargo was 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, and four RBIs.  DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. was 2-for-4.

Home runs:  Camargo (3).

Multi-RBI games:  Camargo, 4.

Stolen bases:  Camargo (1).

Pitching prowess:  Scott Blewett pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out two.  Ryan Jensen struck out two in a perfect inning.  Josh Staumont pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition standout:  Alex Call was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs.

Record:  St. Paul is 9-13, in ninth place, five games behind Iowa.

SAN ANTONIO MISSIONS 9, WICHITA WIND SURGE 6 IN SAN ANTONIO

Wichita led 5-2 through five, but San Antonio scored two in the sixth and five in the seventh.  Zach Reks hit a three-run homer in the seventh.

Multi-hit games:  Tanner Schobel was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Carson McCusker was 2-for-5.  Jeferson Morales was 2-for-5.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Schobel, 2.

Stolen bases:  Emmanuel Rodriguez (9).

Pitching prowess:  Travis Adams pitched five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk and striking out three.

Opposition standout:  Connor Hollis was 2-for-3 with a double.

Record:  Wichita is 4-13, in fifth (last) place, ten games behind Springfield.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 3, BELOIT SKY CARP 1 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Cedar Rapids took the lead with two runs in the third.

Multi-hit games:  Gabriel Gonzalez was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.  Luke Keaschall was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Jay Harry was 2-for-4 with a double.

Home runs:  Agustin Ruiz (1).

Multi-RBI games:  Gonzalez, 2.

Stolen bases:  Keaschall, 2 (8).

Pitching prowess:  John Klein struck out six in five innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk.  Juan Mercedes struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Jacob Wosinski struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition standout:  Brett Roberts was 2-for-4 with a home run.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 8-8, in fourth place, 4.5 games behind Quad Cities.

PALM BEACH CARDINALS 5, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 3 IN FORT MYERS

Palm Beach scored two in the seventh to take a 4-3 lead and got an insurance run in the eighth.

Multi-hit games:  Matthew Clayton was 2-for-4.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Rafael Cruz, 3.

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Jeremy Lee struck out six in 4.1 innings, giving up two runs on four hits.

Opposition standout:  Miguel Villarroel was 3-for-4 with two doubles.

Record:  Fort Myers is 7-10, in fourth place, five games behind Clearwater.

TODAY'S TILTS

6:05  Palm Beach at Fort Myers (Cesar Lares, 0-0, 3.12)
6:05  Beloit at Cedar Rapids (Miguelangel Boadas, 1-1, 5.06 and TBD*)--doubleheader
6:37  Rochester at St. Paul (Caleb Boushley, 2-1, 5.14)
7:05  Wichita (Pierson Ohl, 0-2, 6.00) at San Antonio

*milb.com lists Boadas as the starter for both games.  It's possible they're planning to use him as an opener for both games, but it seems unlikely.

Happy Birthday–April 25

John Henry “Pop” Lloyd (1884)
George Fiall (1900)
Bill Grieve (1900)
Roy Parmelee (1907)
Bobby Estalella (1911)
Red Flaherty (1917)
Ed Vargo (1930)
Lew Krausse (1943)
Kerry Taylor (1950)
Greg Wells (1954)
Larry Pashnick (1956)
Tony Phillips (1959)
Darren Holmes (1966)
Joe Buck (1969)
Brad Clontz (1971)
Jacque Jones (1975)
J. P. Howell (1983)
Garrett Mock (1983)
Robert Andino (1984)
Daniel Norris (1993)

Shortstop Pop Lloyd was called the Black Honus Wagner.

A member of the basketball hall of fame as part of the “Renaissance Five” team, shortstop George Fiall played in the Negro Leagues from 1918-1931.

Bill Grieve was an American League umpire from 1938-1955.

Red Flaherty was an American League umpire from 1953-1973.

Ed Vargo was a National League umpire from 1960-1983 and was an umpire supervisor from 1984-1997.

Kerry Taylor played for the GCL Twins in 1968.  He then went into the Army and was killed in the Vietnam War.

The son of Hall of Famer Jack Buck, Joe Buck was a major league baseball broadcaster for many years.

Garrett Mock was drafted by Minnesota in the fourteenth round in 2002, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 25

2024 Game 23: Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins

Garret Crochet
vs
Joe Ryan

The 2023 Oakland Athletics got their fourth win on game 20 and by game 23 were 5-18. They scored 81 runs in their first 22 games (3.7 runs/G) while the White Sox have scored 50 (2.3 R/G). If the 2024 White Sox have one thing going for them compared to last season's Athletics, it's the 129 runs allowed through 22 games compared to the 178 runs allowed for the Athletics.

Crochet strikes out a lot of batters, doesn't walk many, and gives up a few too many home runs but everything else is good enough for his 3.86 FIP. His current ERA of 5.61 comes from being shelled in his last two games. The Twins need to study the Phillies game and repeat that for today.