Happy Birthday–July 27

Davy Force (1846)
Joe Tinker (1880)
Rube Walberg (1896)
Biz Mackey (1897)
Benny Bengough (1898)
Zack Taylor (1898)
Leo Durocher (1905)
Kazuto Tsuruoka (1916)
Ray Boone (1923)
Harry Wendelstedt (1938)
Larry Biittner (1945)
Rich Dauer (1952)
Bump Wills (1952)
Brian Kingman (1954)
Shane Rawley (1955)
Dave Dombrowski (1956)
Tom Goodwin (1968)
Shane Bowers (1971)
Enrique Wilson (1973)
Alex Rodriguez (1975)
Tsuyoshi Nishioka (1984)
Max Scherzer (1984)
Xzavion Curry (1998)

Biz Mackey was a star in the Negro Leagues from 1923-1945.

Kazuto Tsuruoka was a star in Japan from 1939-1952 and was a very successful manager from 1953-1966.

Harry Wendelstedt was a National League umpire from 1966-1998.

Dave Dombrowski has been the general manager of the Montreal Expos, the Florida Marlins, and the Detroit Tigers.

Xzavion Curry is the only major league player to have both an x and a z in his first name.

We would also like to wish a very happy anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. Rowsdower and a happy birthday to cheaptoy's bauble.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 27

Minor Details: Games of July 26

ST. PAUL SAINTS 6, OMAHA STORM CHASERS 1 IN ST. PAUL

Two-run homers by Patrick Winkel and Dalton Shuffield in the fourth inning gave St. Paul a 4-0 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Shuffield was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs.  Winkel was 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs.  Wynton Bernard was 2-for-4.

Home runs:  Winkel (4); Shuffield (1).

Multi-RBI games:  Winkel 3 (28); Shuffield 3 (12).

Stolen bases:  Bernard (13); Anthony Prato (9).

Pitching prowess:  Adam Plutko struck out eight in six shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk.  Justin Topa pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.  Scott Blewett pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

Win:  Plutko (5-1).

Save:  Matt Bowman (1).

Opposition standout:  John Rave was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Record:  St. Paul is 12-13, in fifth place, 4.5 games behind Columbus.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 4, AMARILLO SOD POODLES 1 IN AMARILLO

Luke Keaschall led off the game with a home run and Wichita led all the way.

Multi-hit games:  Ben Ross was 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.

Home runs:  Ross (8); Keaschall (6).

Multi-RBI games:  Ross 2 (26).

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Marco Raya struck out five in five shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Andrew Morris struck out six in four innings, giving up one run on four hits.

Win:  Raya (1-3).

Save:  Morris (1).

Opposition standout:  Billy Corcoran pitched six innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks and striking out three.

Record:  Wichita is 8-17, in fifth (last) place, eight games behind Springfield.

QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS 3, CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 2 IN QUAD CITIES

Justin Johnson hit a two-run walkoff single in the ninth.

Multi-hit games:  Jay Harry was 2-for-3.  Rubel Cespedes was 2-for-4.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  Rayne Doncon (3).

Pitching prowess:  Darren Bowen pitched four shutout innings, giving up two hits and one walk and striking out three.  Mike Paredes pitched four innings, giving up an unearned run on three hits and striking out three.

Loss:  Gabriel Yanez (0-3).

Opposition standout:  Johnson was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 16-12, in second place, 2.5 games behind Wisconsin.

DUNEDIN BLUE JAYS 11, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 10 IN DUNEDIN (12 INNINGS)

It was 6-6 after nine.  Each team scored one in the tenth and two in the eleventh.  A ground out scored the winning run.

Multi-hit games:  Nick Lucky was 3-for-3 with a home run, a double, and two runs.  Angel Del Rosario was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Poncho Ruiz was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Rixon Wingrove was 2-for-6 with a double.

Home run:  Brandon Winokur (7); Lucky (4).

Multi-RBI games:  Winokur 2 (35); Del Rosario 2 (9).

Stolen bases:  Del Rosario (16); Lucky (14); Maddux Houghton (13).

Pitching prowess:  Wilker Reyes struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Loss:  Samuel Perez (1-1).

Opposition standout:  Victor Arias was 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.

Record:  Fort Myers is 18-8, in first place, 2.5 games ahead of Lakeland.

DSL TWINS 7, DSL ARIZONA BLACK 4 AT ARIZONA BLACK (7 INNINGS)

The Twins scored four in the second inning to take a 5-1 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Nestor Urbina was 2-for-3.  Merphy Hernandez was 2-for-4 with a triple, a double, and two runs.  Ramiro Dominguez was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.

Home runs:  Dominguez (1).

Multi-RBI games:  Dominguez 2 (15); Irvin Nunez 2 (14).

Stolen bases:  Irvin (5); Ruben Velazquez (2).

Pitching prowess:  Leonardo Rondon pitched five innings, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks and striking out two.

Win:  Rondon (1-1).

Opposition standout:  Kyle Sinzza was 3-for-4 with a double.

Record:  The DSL Twins are 19-18, tied for fifth with the DSL Mets Orange.  six games behind the DSL Rangers Red.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:00  DSL Mets Orange at DSL Twins
5:30  Fort Myers (Charlee Soto, 0-3, 5.73) at Dunedin
6:00  Cedar Rapids (Connor Prielipp, no record) at Quad Cities
6:37  Omaha at St. Paul (Zebby Matthews, 1-0, 3.60)
7:05  Wichita (Cory Lewis, 0-2, 4.50) at Amarillo

Minor Details: Games of July 25

ST. PAUL SAINTS 5, OMAHA STORM CHASERS 2 IN ST. PAUL

St. Paul scored two in the first and built a 5-0 lead after five innings.

Multi-hit games:  Patrick Winkel was 3-for-4.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. 2 (21).

Pitching prowess:  Randy Dobnak pitched seven innings, giving up one run on seven hits and one walk and striking out five.  Ronny Henriquez pitched a scoreless inning, walking two and striking out one.

Win:  Dobnak (9-5).

Opposition standout:  C. J. Alexander was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Record:  St. Paul is 11-13, tied for sixth with Memphis, 3.5 games behind Columbus.

AMARILLO SOD POODLES 3, WICHITA WIND SURGE 2 IN AMARILLO

Wichita scored both of their runs in the ninth and had the tying run on third with one out.

Multi-hit games:  Tyler Dearden was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Tanner Schobel was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Schobel 2 (39).

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Taylor Floyd retired all four men he faced, striking out one.  John Stankiewicz struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Loss:  Christian MacLeod (0-1).

Opposition standout:  Dylan File pitched six shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out four.

Record:  Wichita is 7-17, in fifth (last) place, eight games behind Springfield.

QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS 5, CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 3 IN QUAD CITIES

Cedar Rapids led 3-1 through eight, but Shervyen Newton hit a walkoff grand slam.

Multi-hit games:  Kyle Hess was 2-for-4 with a double.  Gabriel Gonzalez was 2-for-4.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Jeremy Lee struck out six in 5.2 innings, giving up one run on four hits.  Nolan Santos struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Loss:  Juan Mendez (0-1).

Opposition standout:  Dustin Dickerson was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 16-11, in second place, 2.5 games behind Wisconsin.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 6, DUNEDIN BLUE JAYS 2 IN DUNEDIN

Leading 2-0, Fort Myers scored four runs in the seventh.

Multi-hit games:  Matthew Clayton was 2-for-4.  Byron Chourio was 2-for-5 with a double.

Home runs:  Brandon Winokur (6).

Multi-RBI games:  Winokur 2 (33).

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Spencer Bengard pitched five shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one.  Juan Mercedes struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Kyle Bloor pitched a perfect inning.

Win:  Bengard (7-2).

Opposition standout:  Nate Garkow struck out six and walked one in 2.2 scoreless innings.

Record:  Fort Myers is 18-7, in first place, 3.5 games ahead of Lakeland.

FCL TWINS 1, FCL ORIOLES 0 AT ORIOLES (7 INNINGS)

The run came on a sacrifice fly in the third inning.

Multi-hit games:  None.  The Twins had four hits.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Dylan Questad struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Eduardo Soriano pitched two shutout innings, walking one and striking out one.  Yency De Jesus pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Ezequiel Ventura pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Win:  Soriano (2-5).

Save:  Ventura (1).

Opposition standout:  Bryan Bautista struck out six in three perfect innings.

Record:  The FCL Twins are 28-31, in fourth place, eight games behind the FCL Pirates.  This apparently brings the FCL regular season to an end.

DSL MIAMI 8, DSL TWINS 7 AT TWINS (10 INNINGS)

The deciding run scored on a sacrifice fly.

Multi-hit games:  Merphy Hernandez was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Daiber De Los Santos was 2-for-5 with two runs.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Nestor Urbina 2 (6).

Stolen bases:  Hernandez 3 (22); De Los Santos 2 (6); Urbina (6).

Pitching prowess:  Sebastian Pulido retired all four men he faced.  Aaron Carranza pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and three walks and striking out one.  Aiberson Ventura pitched two innings, giving up an unearned run on a hit and a walk.

Loss:  Ventura (1-1).

Opposition standout:  Jose Made was 2-for-3 with a double and two walks.

Record:  The DSL Twins are 18-18, in sixth place, eight games behind the DSL Rangers Red.

TODAY'S TILTS

10:00  DSL Twins at DSL Arizona Black
5:30  Fort Myers (Tanner Hall, 2-0, 4.85) at Dunedin
6:30  Cedar Rapids (Darren Bowen, 2-5, 6.46) at Quad Cities
7:05  Wichita (Marco Raya, 0-3, 5.83) at Amarillo
7:07  Omaha at St. Paul (Adam Plutko, 4-1, 4.44)

Happy Birthday–July 26

Sam Breadon (1876)
Brick Eldred (1892)
Sad Sam Jones (1892)
Larry Woodall (1894)
Paul Gallico (1897)
Alex Radcliffe (1905)
Sam Leslie (1905)
Ellis Kinder (1914)
Jimmy Bloodworth (1917)
Sibby Sisti (1920)
Hoyt Wilhelm (1922)
Norm Siebern (1933)
Pete Ward (1937)
Ken Kaiser (1945)
Jody Reed (1962)
Greg Colbrunn (1969)
Joaquin Benoit (1977)
Kevin Jepsen (1984)
Brandon Morrow (1984)
Alex Burnett (1987)

Sam Breadon owned the St. Louis Cardinals from 1917-1947.

Brick Eldred got over two thousand hits in the Pacific Coast League, playing there thirteen years.

Paul Gallico was a sportswriter from 1919-1936.  He went on to become a noted writer and is best known as the author of The Poseidon Adventure.

The brother of Double Duty Radcliffe, Alex Radcliffe played in the Negro Leagues from 1932-1946 and played in eleven all-star games.

Ken Kaiser was an American League umpire from 1977-1999.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 26